Despite living a life with no food, no toys, very little clothing and virtually no "parental supervision," Jeannette Walls, author/narrarator of The Glass Castle, was, if nothing else, rich in a unique love unlike any other I've ever encountered in a work of non-fiction, fiction or otherwise.
Shuttled around the country in what her alcoholic, rootless father and "excitement addict" mother call the skedaddle-usually a midnight dodge of bills or the law- Walls and her siblings parent their mother, father and one another as best they can when confronted with what would normally tax any other person, both mentally and physically.
The family, no doubt, loves one another, if only in a love others cannot understand. Mother Rose Mary resides in an alternate universe of painting and writing and an "everything's an adventure" mentality while father Rex conspires to build his family a glass castle with his self-taught entrepreneurial efforts. Their stance on society, the world, and even the universe paired with their hearty non-conformist ideals were at best, a blessing and a curse, resulting in a life of only the most organized chaos expected.
The family, no doubt, loves one another, if only in a love others cannot understand. Mother Rose Mary resides in an alternate universe of painting and writing and an "everything's an adventure" mentality while father Rex conspires to build his family a glass castle with his self-taught entrepreneurial efforts. Their stance on society, the world, and even the universe paired with their hearty non-conformist ideals were at best, a blessing and a curse, resulting in a life of only the most organized chaos expected.
Effectively emotional without being a sob story, I found Walls' story of survival awe-inspiring while at the same time devastating to realize that people have really lived the way many of us cannot imagine. Walls and her siblings marched on the only way they knew - sleeping under a tarp when the roof over the bed leaked, scrounging for food in the cafeteria trash cans, sleeping in their car when they were inbetween homes, making a cross country move in the back of a U-haul, and most poignantly, choosing what star they wanted for Christmas during a particularly harsh holiday. I was touched by Walls story but for whatever reason did not feel "sorry" for the unique family. That conflict of emotions, nearly bothered me as I feel I am an empathetic reader and person; but at the same time, I wanted to read The Glass Castle as an observer and really understand a childhood to which I could never relate.
One reviewer found the story "sad and occassionally bitter," but I saw neither. Hardly comparable to the other hardscrabble childhood recounts I've read in the past, The Glass Castle, in fact, far surpasses it. It is a memoir, yes, but more than that it is an amazing recount of a survivor (arent we all survivors of childhood) rather than a victim of an unimaginable and more-than-unconventional lifestyle.
OVERALL: Technically, an easy but beautifully-written read and without a doubt, emotionally, completely heartrendering. The Glass Castle is something everyone should read if only to understand the accomplishments of overcoming a childhood, the person one becomes as a result of that accomplishment and the importance of family.
OVERALL: Technically, an easy but beautifully-written read and without a doubt, emotionally, completely heartrendering. The Glass Castle is something everyone should read if only to understand the accomplishments of overcoming a childhood, the person one becomes as a result of that accomplishment and the importance of family.
