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The Glass Castle : A Memoir
 | The Glass Castle : A Memoir Walls, Jeanette Date: 01 March, 2005 — $16.01 — Book Rating: |
Review of The Glass Castle : A Memoir
In yet another memoir of a dysfunctional family, MSNBC
gossip columnist, Jeanette Walls, details her unusual childhood and young
adulthood. Rex and Rose Mary Walls were
unconventional parents who believed three year olds should be allowed to cook
their own meals, did not trust hospitals, and who moved their family for
seemingly no reason. Rex was a dreamer
who would often talk about building a glass castle for his children, and who
clearly adored his children. Unfortunately,
Rex was also extremely paranoid, constantly worried that the FBI was after him
and never holding a job. Rose Mary was
a frustrated artist who would take teaching jobs that she would eventually quit
in pursuit of her art. Each parent is
equally appalling in his or her own way. Rex, for instance, nearly lets Jeanette get seduced in a bar in order to
swindle money from another patron, and later steals the money his children have
been saving. Rose Mary hides candy bars
while the rest of her family is nearly starving, and insists that the
incubation periods for her four children have all been around twelve rather
than nine months.
The Glass Castle is riveting, and better written than
most of the other memoirs of this genre. It is hard to believe, however, that anyone can remember such exact
details and dialogue from thirty and forty years ago. And, since Jeanette Walls is the narrator, she, of course, comes
across as the best of the four children. If one can dismiss that from her mind and pretend that she is reading an
autobiographical novel rather than a straight autobiography, The Glass
Castle is quite enjoyable. I highly
recommend for the teens in your library who loved books such as Dave Pelzer’s A
Child Called It. The Glass Castle is a much better written
alternative.
Laura B.
