The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis
Reviews
I absolutely loved this book and had a hard time putting it down. I think the Walls children did a great job of getting out of their very tough childhood situation. Jeannette Walls was very successful in describing her childhood. I also loved reading her other book about her grandmother.
The easy read and quick humor sucked me in. But the extremely foul language and immoral scenes painted in my mind pulled me out. I could not finish the book.
Was quite surprised that it came totally marked up by someone with some words even obscured in the copy. Delivery was fast but even though a second hand book, I've never gotten one through Amazon that looked so bad.
This book is engrossing and exhilarating. It's hard to believe that anyone could have parents like the ones described here in this book. From the very first page, you will be mesmerized by this compelling narrative. Jeannette Walls tells the unbelievable story of her life and family, and how some of her siblings overcame incredible trials and tribulations to become responsible citizens of the world. The book is fabulous and should be read by everyone for inspiration and encouragement.
Unbelievable delivery time-Ordered August 28 Received by September 2-will use seller when available even if not the lowest price