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The Glass Castle

Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Virago Press Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

16 reviews
Sales Rank: 7769

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1

ISBN: 1844081826
EAN: 9781844081820
ASIN: 1844081826

Publication Date: May 4, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from the UK Mainland within 2 working days.

Also Available In:

•	Paperback - The Glass Castle
•	Hardcover - The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Alex Awards (Awards))
•	Library Binding - Glass Castle: A Memoir
•	Library Binding - The Glass Castle: A Memoir
•	Hardcover - The Glass Castle
•	Hardcover - The Glass Castle : A Memoir (Alex Awards)
•	Paperback - The Glass Castle: A Memoir

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Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

what an amazing story May 28, 2008
Such a shocking account of how some children draw the lot of having parents who are quite unsuited to raising a family. JW writes with such accuracy and style that it disturbs at the same time as lifts your spirts. The child and youth of JW was so painful and yet her personality takes you through this journey in such a way that you feel she could live through any hardship and yet still stand back and view the situation with such objectivity and intelligence that it would carry her through to a better place. A moving and deft read, comparing this to Eat, Pray, Love, another memoir that I have recently read, is like comparing haute-cuisine to a fastfood.

4 out of 5 stars

Compelling reading! May 24, 2008
This was was so compelling I hardly put it down! A great memoir of a family of four children that showed tremendous resilence considering their parents choice of lifestyle! It was a surprise that no self pity showed in the author's writing at all especially as considering the Father's intelligence and the Mother's background, life could possibly have been so different. A great read.

4 out of 5 stars

Compelling yet sad. April 13, 2008
Wow - what a childhood! One hopes no one should ever have to endure such a childhood. Parents are quirky and brilliant yet alchoholic and totally self absorbed. Parents are quite horrid is some respects - i.e. when the brother is being molested by the grandmother, the parents do not side with the children about how massively inappropriate this behavior is, they turn on the children. The parents steal from the children and don't even feed them.

Not a book to make one feel uplifted and happy - it's a massively compelling story. This book is like a car accident - you don't want to look but you HAVE to. Read it - especially from the section call Welch to the end, it's a real page turner. The single most interesting item about this book is that the author Jeanette Wells never once writes 'poor us' or says how wretchedly they were treated. She never wallows in self pity or plays the martyr.

5 out of 5 stars

Very much enjoyed this book January 1, 2008
I bought this book on a hunch and I am glad I did. Jeannette Walls relates her story with clarity and beauty. Although her childhood was fascinating and kept me interested through the entire book, what's truly astounding isn't so much that Jeannette and her family were poor, it's that she and her siblings overcame so many obstacles (really big obstacles that most of us don't even realize are still obstacles for people today) and learned-- by necessity-- to be so much more self-sufficient than many adults. It's really stunning that she and two of her siblings were able to persevere and make better lives for themselves considering how difficult they had it growing up.

Walls' story is truly inspiring and motivating. It's also a perfect example of the American dream, right here, right now. Thoroughly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars

Far From Fairytale November 3, 2007
While I was reading this book, I had to keep reminding myself that it was a memoir, a true story about someone's childhood. I found it shocking that Jeannette and her siblings were brought up in such a way, by parents who can be called "eccentric" (if we are being nice), or rather "neglectful" (if we are being honest). Their methods of child-rearing are tantamount to child abuse, in that they fail to provide anything at all for their children, apart from misery, poverty, hunger and desperation. That Jeannette Walls grew up to be a success is miraculous, given the circumstances of her childhood. She even manages to infuse humour into what would otherwise be a very bleak read.

There are many sad childhood memoirs out there to read, but I would recommend this one. It is shocking and yet wholly unsentimental, tragic and yet filled with wry humour.