The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Book Review: You will never forget this book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book and the author are unforgettable. As much as I hate to be the 1000th person to say they hate giving 5 star reviews, I do too but this one definitely deserved it. I actuallly read this book in two days, as a sub-read during my epic read of East of Eden, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
What's weird about this book as that at the end of everything, she has no contempt for her parents. It's remarkable actually the resilience of these kids and the stark intelligence of each one of them.
What's interesting to me is that they were never given basic needs (i.e. food, clothes, shelter) but they were given other gifts instead that which children who have basic needs will never get from their parents. One scene when they were in the desert I will never forget. They had no money, no food, and it was Christmastime. The father (who I don't really applaud) brought them out to the desert stars and told them to pick one out, and that was their gift. He said that when other kids' plastic toys fall apart and grow old you'll always have a star, it will always be there.
The insane mother ALWAYS was urging them to read, bringing them to the library, reading great literature. And then they moved to West Virginia, and their lives completely turned to the worst. I sincerely applaud Jeannette and her siblings, they literally raised themselves with NO help from their parents. And what's better is that it is not written with a hint of self-pity, she is simply straight forward telling you her story.
A great read and leaves you with something to think about.
Book Review: Great Read
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this book per a friends recommendation for a good vacation read. It was an excellent memoir of a life that most of us never even imagine happens to many children out there. At the time time it is humorous and a very fast and enjoyable read.Book Review: A strange and offbeat childhood
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not the kind of book I would normally read, but my wife recommended it so I decided to give it a try. From the moment I started, I could barely put it down.
Author Jeannette Walls gets you hooked in the first half of the book with disturbing and funny tales of her peculiar childhood. Her parents, though clearly smart in an academic sense, avoided steady work and conventional lifestyles, keeping the family perpetually poor. They often "skeedaddled" out of town in the middle of the night to avoid bill collectors.
Walls and her three siblings had to learn to be self-reliant early on. She was cooking her own hot dogs at age 3 (resulting in getting seriously burned), she learned to shoot a gun at age 4. All the kids learned how to forage for food in dumpsters and garbage cans -- they had to, since the refrigerator was frequently empty. Once, Walls fell out of the car when the door flew open on a hard turn, and her parents almost didn't notice.
Her parents were selfish, unstable and irresponsible. But just when you're ready to hate them, they do something right.
Walls' father was an alcoholic whose parenting philosophy was illustrated when he throws Walls in deep water repeatedly and literally expects her to sink or swim. He's horrid with money, but later on, miraculously comes up with $1,000 to keep Walls in college.
Her mother was artist who seemed to have little idea of how to raise children, and really didn't care. But she did have a love for books which was passed on to her children.
The second half of the book takes a turn for the grim, when the family finally settles in a depressing and unfriendly small town in West Virginia. The kids get in fights, they help their mother shoplift, their roof leaks so bad that Walls' brother has to sleep under a rubber raft. They forage for food yet again.
If the book had started this way, I might have been turned off. But by this point, I was hooked and found the story tugging at my heart. I read eagerly all the way to the end to see how the Walls children would turn out.
This isn't one of those memoirs where the author whines. Walls tells her stories with graceful detachment, offering colorful details, but doesn't ask for pity.
On the whole, "The Glass Castle" shows the resilience of children. Despite their strange and difficult upbringing, it's remarkable how well Walls and her siblings turned out.
Book Review: Great Read
Summary: 4 Stars
One of the better books I have picked up this summer! The author keeps you engaged through an awesome retelling of her childhood. This is an excellent book for a book club discussion!Book Review: Life lessons and a true gift
Summary: 5 Stars
A fellow West Virginian, I have read this book twice, and seen Ms. Walls in person twice at local speaking engagements. She is the real deal. Her story is inspirational to all of us, and teaches us valuable lessons in today's world of fortune and excess. Her no-nonsense, positive, practical attitude is one which we should all emulate. She chose this attitude in the face of dire circumstances which toughened her into the successful woman she is today. This book articulates with consistent, logical tone the true story of a poor family's struggles in the Southwest and eventually in Welch, WV. The story is unbelievable as her parents make outrageous choices which contradict what is best for their children. The Walls children were hungry, cold, and ridiculed by peers. However they were too proud to let it show, even refusing hand outs. Instead of letting their upbringing ruin her life, Ms. Walls instead sees her hardships as gifts, with a lesson in toughness hidden inside. This book has helped me to look at people differently, with more compassion and understanding. She has helped me understand a parent's impact on a child's life...her parents, although neglectful and selfish, never put their children down or abused them, always believed in them, and taught them the self-reliance and responsiblity that today's children lack. Let us all take our children demon-hunting and give them the gift of the stars in the night sky.