6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
A great fast read
Date of Review: Apr 2, 2008
The Bottom Line: The story is incredible.It makes you appreciate hardships others must live through. You will be captivated until the end.I could not put this book down!
This memoir opens with,"I WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster." WHAT AN OPENING! If that does not get your attention nothing will.
The Glass Castle may be the best real life tale ever written about a real dysfunctional family. I can't even imagine the courage it must have taken to put this into a book.This is a real life story, a biography. Which makes it even more amazing. At times it is funny, addicting, entertaining and yet very sad all at the same time.
While reading it I laughed and cried.
Jeannette recounts her childhood through her eyes at time.She writes a story of survival under terrible conditions.She describes events so clearly, you feel almost like you were there with her. She relates her emotions fully, you feel just as she must have felt.
Her father, Rex, has a genius IQ but he cant keep a job and has a drinking problem.
The mother is an eccentric artist and cant be bothered with much of anything.
The children, extremely smart, are all forced to become sadly self reliant early on.
The author's parents do have major defects,through her eyes you see the whole picture and their redeeming qualities as well.
I think, The Glass Castle shows the perfect example of how a child sees things. She never put her parents down,not even when they deserve it. She also doesn't make any excuses.
This is a touching and addicting story that almost anyone can relate to, in whatever small way. I found myself understanding how the children accepted their parents explanations.
To a child, a parent is all knowing. Jeanette Walls has captured this greatly in her memoir. She and her siblings survived and grew from their experiences.
I read this book in two days, both not wanting to rush through, and wishing the tale would not end.The story is so incredible, I wondered many times if it was a made up tale. It makes you appreciate the difficulties and hardships others must live through.
I will not spoil this book for you by revealing too much. I can promise you, you will be captivated until the end.
I could not put this book down!
