The Glass Castle: A Memoir, by Jeannette Walls, Paperback: 288 pages, Publisher: Scribner;
1 edition (January 9, 2006), ISBN-10: 074324754X
Source: Farming of Books Book Club and on my General Non-Fiction TBR List
Rating: 4.5 of 5 STARS
It seems like everyone has read this book! I remember when a friend first told me about it years ago and had loaned me a copy. I was on a road trip somewhere with a bunch of gals and had brought it with me. (Along with a whole bag of other books. My theory is when traveling you can never have too many books or underwear so I always have plenty of both!) Another friend hadn't brought anything with her to read and I let her have The Glass Castle. She gulped it down and insisted I read it as soon as possible. But, for whatever reason, I never did and eventually returned it to its owner.
I picked up a copy at a used book store a couple of years ago and put it on my TBR list for General Non-Fiction. And now I've finally read it... I inhaled it, too. For me, anyway. I'm usually a pretty slow reader. I read it last weekend while we were driving to and from D.C. and in little snippets in the hotel lobby waiting for E and Matt to join me for breakfast each morning. It was our book club's pick for the month of April and we discussed it this past Thursday. We gave it a rating of 4.6 as a group.
Jeannette Walls story totally captivated me. So, why not a 5 star rating? Well, I didn't mark one single page as especially beautiful or truthful writing like I do in so many books. (See Good Words entries.) But, oh, the story! A vagabond family - mother, father, four children - always on the move, always on the edge of homelessness, always fighting for the next meal. But loving each other and loving the excitement of life. True - the father was an alcoholic. True - the mother was either totally selfish or mentally ill. True - the children were really the parents of the family. True - the children suffered at the hands of their inept parents. But, they all loved each other.
In telling her story, Jeannette Walls never condemns her parents for their choices and how they affected her. That made a big impact on me. I spent so many years (especially in my twenties!) blaming my parents for things I didn't like about myself until I finally realized it was my own sinful nature that made me the way I was and no amount of blame-placing on my parents was going to change me. The only thing that could ever change me was God. That was a long road for me. It seems Jeannette Walls skipped that phase.
Also, the last half of the book is set in West Virginia and is a powerful description of the poverty that so many live in there. One of my best friends hales from West Virginia and grew up in extreme poverty. I know her story and I've visited her hometown with her twice. I remember when she read this book she said, "This was my life." Now reading it, I understand a little more. And my heart hurts for the little girl that grew up in such poverty in the "holler." And now even more, I admire the woman she is now... the one who "got out," went to college, moved to NC to live a different life... and went on to graduate from Duke with her masters a couple of years ago. Oddly enough, like Jeannette Walls, I've never heard her condemn her parents either. She's often told me they did the best they could. And that seems to be enough for her.
So, I definitely recommend this one to you. It's a quick read. I wouldn't say easy, necessarily. You'll be heartbroken for the children and outraged at the parents. But it's a fascinating story and one I'm glad I read.
Have a great Saturday, bloggy friends!
1 edition (January 9, 2006), ISBN-10: 074324754X
Source: Farming of Books Book Club and on my General Non-Fiction TBR List
Rating: 4.5 of 5 STARS
It seems like everyone has read this book! I remember when a friend first told me about it years ago and had loaned me a copy. I was on a road trip somewhere with a bunch of gals and had brought it with me. (Along with a whole bag of other books. My theory is when traveling you can never have too many books or underwear so I always have plenty of both!) Another friend hadn't brought anything with her to read and I let her have The Glass Castle. She gulped it down and insisted I read it as soon as possible. But, for whatever reason, I never did and eventually returned it to its owner.
I picked up a copy at a used book store a couple of years ago and put it on my TBR list for General Non-Fiction. And now I've finally read it... I inhaled it, too. For me, anyway. I'm usually a pretty slow reader. I read it last weekend while we were driving to and from D.C. and in little snippets in the hotel lobby waiting for E and Matt to join me for breakfast each morning. It was our book club's pick for the month of April and we discussed it this past Thursday. We gave it a rating of 4.6 as a group.
Jeannette Walls story totally captivated me. So, why not a 5 star rating? Well, I didn't mark one single page as especially beautiful or truthful writing like I do in so many books. (See Good Words entries.) But, oh, the story! A vagabond family - mother, father, four children - always on the move, always on the edge of homelessness, always fighting for the next meal. But loving each other and loving the excitement of life. True - the father was an alcoholic. True - the mother was either totally selfish or mentally ill. True - the children were really the parents of the family. True - the children suffered at the hands of their inept parents. But, they all loved each other.
In telling her story, Jeannette Walls never condemns her parents for their choices and how they affected her. That made a big impact on me. I spent so many years (especially in my twenties!) blaming my parents for things I didn't like about myself until I finally realized it was my own sinful nature that made me the way I was and no amount of blame-placing on my parents was going to change me. The only thing that could ever change me was God. That was a long road for me. It seems Jeannette Walls skipped that phase.
Also, the last half of the book is set in West Virginia and is a powerful description of the poverty that so many live in there. One of my best friends hales from West Virginia and grew up in extreme poverty. I know her story and I've visited her hometown with her twice. I remember when she read this book she said, "This was my life." Now reading it, I understand a little more. And my heart hurts for the little girl that grew up in such poverty in the "holler." And now even more, I admire the woman she is now... the one who "got out," went to college, moved to NC to live a different life... and went on to graduate from Duke with her masters a couple of years ago. Oddly enough, like Jeannette Walls, I've never heard her condemn her parents either. She's often told me they did the best they could. And that seems to be enough for her.
So, I definitely recommend this one to you. It's a quick read. I wouldn't say easy, necessarily. You'll be heartbroken for the children and outraged at the parents. But it's a fascinating story and one I'm glad I read.
Have a great Saturday, bloggy friends!
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1 comment:
I just read and reviewed her second book, Half Broke Horses this week. I didn't love it as much as The Glass Castle, but it made me want to read The Glass Castle again right away! You might want to pick it up while TGC is still fresh! My review is at smallworldreads.blogspot.com
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