| | |  | Politics & Government | Home » » The Glass Castle: A Memoir | | | | | | | Description: | | Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780743247542
• Condition: New
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| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Jeannette Walls | | Paperback:
| 288 pages | | Publisher:
| Scribner | | Publication Date:
| January 09, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 074324754X | | Package Length:
| 7.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.2 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 1516 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 The Glass CastleSep 07, 2010
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.
 Too much graffitiSep 06, 2010
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.
Wow!Sep 06, 2010
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.
booksbytuckerSep 01, 2010
Unbelievable delivery time-Ordered August 28 Received by September 2-will use seller when available even if not the lowest price
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A review of the negative reviewsSep 01, 2010
First off, I want to admit that I have NOT finished the book yet, but if my overall opinion of it changes as I polish off the final sentences, I vow to come back and change my review accordingly.
That said, I think the book is wonderful. It's more than wonderful. Walls's story is heartbreaking and uplifting, frightening and life-affirming, oftentimes all in a single sentence. But what I have to say is less about my personal opinion of the book as it is about many of the negative reviews I've read, which largely focus on the incredible details of the story, "incredible" meant in it's traditional definition (as in they think Walls made them up).
Many seem to find her story too far-fetched to believe. I understand that for the average WASP raised in the suburbs, or hell, even your average Poor Joe raised on the "wrong side of the tracks," some of the aspects of this memoir are hard to swallow. But take it from someone who feels he has much in common with Walls: there is nothing impossible about what is found within these pages. I'm not saying I had it as hard as she did, but I see many parallels in our early lives, and by sheer statistical probabililty, I know there have to be people out there who've been brought up in similar but even worse conditions. Jeanette's story is a case in the extreme, but that isn't a very good arguement for it being a falsehood.
I can attest to the fact that a family unit truly can maintain itself (a better phrase would probably be survive) in such situations of destitution and despondency. I'm twenty-four years of age and can list at least as many residences. My father, who was a drug addict, had no job and did little to contribute to the raising of me and my brother. My mom left him when I was around four years old, and we continued to move from state to state, city to city for the remainder of my life in her care. While I can't say I went hungry as often or for as long as Walls did, I remember times when kethcup and crackers were all my mother had to offer us, and our body-weight would have probably sunk into dangerously low numbers had it not been for school lunches. Anyway, this isn't about me; I merely wanted to let it be known that the reason I believe the events in The Glass Castle to be true is not out of blind faith or gullibilty, but because I myself have experienced similar hardships, or have seen others do so with my own eyes. That being established, I wanted to address a few specific things people seemed to have a hard time believing...
One reviewer found it too unlikely that a three year old could cook her own food, referring to the book's opening passages. First of all, what Walls described herself doing there can only be called cooking by a very loose definition of the word. If the reviewer will recall, all she was doing was boiling hotdogs, and not very well I might add, seeing as how it ends in third-degree burns. If my three year old nephew can operate a DVD player (which he can), then I assure you that any relatively intelligent three year old can be taught to fill a pot with water, turn the nob to HIGH, and throw in a couple hot dogs.
The reviewer goes on to ask how a mother could allow such a young child to do so unmonitored, to which I respond, "You'd be surprised." I've seen with my own eyes examples of worse neglect. All you have to do is turn on the news to hear reports of mothers leaving their kids to fend for themselves for hours while they go downtown to turn a trick, or giving birth in a McDonald's bathroom toilet, or strapping them into cars that they intentionally let roll into rivers. Reading about someone letting a kid boil water is practically pedestrian in comparison, and therefor hardly incredible enough as grounds for calling a bluff.
One person who gave a single star review on the basis of the unbelievability of The Glass Castle cited a situation in which the father throws a cat out of the window of a moving car, followed later by a situation where he gives a speach on animal rights. This person calls it an inconsistency. The point he misses, I think, is that what Jeanette was trying to showcase here was her father's tendency toward being a hypocrite. Lack of behavioral consistency is not necessarily a writing flaw, as it is evident in ALL people to varying degrees.
I got the impression that some of the further "inconsistencies" he alluded to were the passages in which Jeanette spoke highly of her father's intelligence (engineering skills, mathematical prowess, nigh-comprehensive knowledge of astronomy and geology to name a few) compared with his financial irresponsibility and inability to hold down a job. I find this mildy offensive for one, but mostly just ignorant. Apparently, this person has never encountered someone of notable intelligence who simply never developed the social constructs in which their knowledge may thrive and better themselves. Let us not forget that the man was an alcoholic. A comparison I could make is to the idiot savant; someone born with incredible gifts in a certain subject, but otherwise undeveloped. These include people who can repeat complex musical compositions after one listen at age five, but never learn to tie their shoes. Men who, in their heads, can calculate pi thousands of digits in but still need the care and aid of their parents.
Yet another reviewer doesn't seem to have any patience for the author's way of writing in fully-fleshed out dialogue, i.e. word-for-word conversations. He somehow took them as lies. I don't think Walls intended to imply that she memorized every one of these conversations verbatim. It's for the sake of narrative that she fills in the blanks. As long as she stays true to the spirit of her memory and the personalities of the people involved, and indeed transcribes what she DOES remember as closely as possible, I see no reason to complain
But maybe I shouldn't be so bothered by these reviews. Maybe it's a GOOD thing that so many people find these things so unbelievable. It likely means that they've never encountered such meanness, hypocrisy, destitution, and plain ol' bad luck in their own lives. But I can't help but think that the ignorance of there being even a POSSIBILITY of these things must have some kind of negative effect on society. I think it leads to an overall lack of sympathy. Just remember people, not everyone is dealt the same hand. For every life of advantage, there is a life of disadvantage.
One more comment regarding a complaint, not only common for The Glass Castle, but seemingly all memoirs: That it is too author-centric, e.g. "Look at all the bad things that happened to me! Look what I did with my life!"
To that, I say, "Why the hell are you reading a memoir?"
Really, if you don't like someone going on and on about what happened in their life, stick to novels and more scholarly non-fiction.
As a final point on the matter, why would someone even write a memoir unless they had an unusual/exceptional life? Think about it. It's the INCREDIBLE lives that drive the people who lead them to write in down in the first place.
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