One of my all-time Favorite Books

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	• The Glass Castle: A Memoir Jeannette Walls Scribner, 2006 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 1097 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Great Read

This is a remarkable story of survival. How Jeannette Walls made it out of her family intact and alive makes her memoir a page turner that you will not be able to put down. While other memoirs often leave us questioning their veracity, Walls convinces us that she lived through the terror of growing up with two parents who could not manage themselves or their family. Even better, Walls' portrayal of her family is not two dimensional, each of her siblings and her parents are complex and we are never certain what will happen next as the book progresses. These a terrific book that should be read immediately.

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Catharsis, period...

This is an incredible story...and I mean incredible. It is almost impossible to believe that these three children (I'm not too sure about Maureen)survived such a childhood. That both parents were mentally ill goes without saying, and it actually does go without saying. At the end of the book, the mother is still living rough and being portrayed as some sort of Apple Annie.

As for the writing, it wasn't particularly good--certainly nothing like Angela's Ashes or The Liars' Club. It was like a recording of events; not too much emotional depth in what she had to say. The subject matter was what kept me reading. As the kids got older, things skipped a bit...I'm still a bit fuzzy as to how this tall, skinny, ugly kid with buckteeth was able to attend an Ivy League university, marry a millionaire and become the knock out on the back cover. Did I miss the "makeover"? I just don't believe her homemade braces actually worked.

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Profoundly disturbing.....

There are a lot of books about dysfunctional families, but the Walls family goes way beyond that...well educated, intelligent, people CHOSE to be worthless, and to let their four kids live in poverty. That's not "dysfunctional", that's evil. Mrs. Walls had considerable inherited wealth out west [Jeanette {I'll use first names, as everybody here is named Walls} could have given a bit more detail, but there may be good reasons for keeping quiet], and decided not to use it..."You never sell land". Some of the schemes coming from Mr. Walls' whiskey-soaked brain are almost funny, but remember that this was an educated man who neglected his family when he didn't have to.

Jeanette moves around, just like her family did...the parts of the book out west, I can't address; I've never been there. Welch, West Virginia, is another matter. I worked there, at the old Stevens Clinic, for a few months in the fall of 1969 prior to leaving for the Navy...I was there when they were, and Jeanette's description is spot-on. Fantastic. My Dad grew up in Welch many years earlier, but is was a far different place then, and his circumstances were better...my grandfather was a successful merchant, and my great uncle was a legendary crooked lawyer, and judge. Jeanette has captured the Welch of 1969 to perfection.

This is a quite well written book, even if it is disturbing. That three of the four kids have turned out OK is God's superintending grace, though the difficulties two have with marriage are not surprising. Lori would appear to be the champ, but she gets little space. [Of course, with living persons there are privacy concerns that don't apply to Thomas Jefferson]. All-in-all, Jeanette has done well; maybe this is therapy for her...God knows, she's entitled. I do think she missed the boat in not placing the blame for her early difficulties squarely where it belongs.

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What a GREAT book!

I borrowed this book from a friend's bookshelf and could not put it down. Yes, even with 11 month old twin daughters, I was still able to read the entire book in 3 days -- it's that good! Fascinating story that would have made great fiction. The fact that it's a memoir makes it truly amazing. Loved it!

One of my all-time Favorite Books

Seriously. I loved this book. I'm running through Amazon today reviewing some of the best books I've read this year and this is one of the best of the best. It's a great, sad story without even a touch of woe-is-me. The reader doesn't pity Ms. Walls, she admires her for her great strength, humor and resolve. If you think your parents were hard to live with, read this book and you'll see how relatively easy your life was!

Also, I must say that one of the best compliments I've ever received about my own book was when a 72-year-old woman told me that the only book she liked as much as mine was The Glass Castle. I was so flattered I couldn't speak! The Glass Castle should be on every reader's MUST READ list!

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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