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The Glass Castle: A Memoir

56 Ratings: 3.6
A book by Jeannette Walls.

Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. InThe Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Cafe Libri, Memoirs, Dysfunctional Families, Children Of Alcoholics
Author: Jeannette Walls
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: January 9, 2006
16 reviews about The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Showing 1-16 of 16
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review by . July 05, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Jeannette Walls reveals to all the truth of her impoverished childhood...one of which you thought did not exist in America.      The book starts with Jeanette being a successful MSNBC writer and is on her way to a ritzy party in a NYC cab and at a light sees her mother digging through a dumpster.  This scene compelled the writer to tell the truth about where she came from and who she really is and stop hiding from herself and her family.       The …
review by . July 21, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
the glass castle, while at times an emotionally challenging read, is one of the more uplifting and triumphant books that i have read.  jeannette walls and her siblings had an incredibly difficult childhood, suffering through poverty, countless moves, an alcoholic father, and a mother described as at best  a 'free spirit.' the children manage to survive through the trials of their childhood, and are actually able to use these trials and lessons to become generally successful and …
review by . July 01, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Real! Epic! Enjoyable!
I honestly haven't read a novel the whole way through since college. I worked in South Korea last year and some friends of mine and I started a book club. Because English books were so hard to find, we only had one copy of each of the chosen books; this was one of them! We chose to pass them around, all reading a different book that someone else in the group had already read and then discuss them. This book was a real page-turner for me-- my favorite of the book club books!   This …
review by . July 14, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Some books take a few chapters to draw you in, the Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls, takes a page to completely sweep the rug out from under your feet.      "You had me at Hello." Random movie quote.      My deepest gratitude and praise to Jeanette Walls for laying herself bare in the pages of this book. You made me laugh and cry, and by the last couple of chapters I had to lock myself in the bathroom so I wouldn't be disturbed while I finished …
review by . July 12, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Glass Castle was difficult for me to read because it was emotional and there were some very difficult situations to stomach. Jeannette Walls lead an interesting childhood, to say the least. I think the emotional aspect is what made it so hard for me to read. I can't imagine a parent who would willingly provide such a rough childhood for their children. I would recommend reading this to someone who isn't overly emotional (like I am) because they would probably get more out of this book …
Quick Tip by . July 19, 2010
Heart-touching story. Incorporates a family's determination to survive while the father battles his own demons.
Quick Tip by . July 02, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Very well written memoir. Hard to believe that there are places like this in the US. Highly recommend this book!
Quick Tip by . June 24, 2010
A sad, but good memoir
Quick Tip by . June 24, 2010
Fascinating exploration of grown up off the grid...
Quick Tip by . June 16, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
I couldn't even finish this book...it just couldn't capture my attention.
review by . February 22, 2010
While reading The Glass Castle I found myself swinging from one extreme to the other--one minute condemning the irresponsible Walls parents, the next minute shaking my head at the wasted brilliance and originality of these people. Jeannette Walls parents, who spent her childhood running from police, bill collectors and child protection, refused to take charity or welfare, and filled their broken down home with library books were simply amazing. How one wonders again and again, was it possible for …
review by . January 11, 2010
This is one of those stories that no one could possibly make up. By now everybody knows that Jeannette Walls and her siblings spent their childhoods traveling all over the country from flop to flop, living on bare subsistence with a father and mother who wouldn't take a stable home on a bet. That, however, is not what I find so astonishing; there are probably thousands of families just like that, and social workers write books about them and appear on morning talk shows. It's a lot more common than …
review by . March 04, 2009
I read this well after the James Frey controversy where the notion of what constitutes a memoir and what constitutes fiction was hotly debated in the news.    I have to say, this memoir about a girl growing up with her siblings with eccentric parents (with issues) covers so much ground both geographically (Arizona, West VA, NY) and emotionally (alcoholism, mental illness, homelessness) that it's actually hard to believe they lived all this.     It is absolutely …
review by . August 29, 2007
Other reviewers here have mentioned things that struck them most about Jeannette Walls's story, all of which are valid. What struck me most about it is that it illustrates that kids can turn out okay if their parents love them, almost no matter what else. A year ago I was helping (Volunteer) an art teacher and I noticed that some kids had depth and a sense of resiliency, whereas other seemed fragile and imperiled. I spent some time trying to isolate some of the commonalities of each type. When I'd …
review by . March 05, 2007
It's very difficult, while reading this book, to keep in mind that it is actually non-fiction. The story appears so incredible that it just shouts out "fiction!". When you read this book, you truly see the workings of a very dysfunctional family, with the oddest set of parents I think that I have met in my years of reading. That the children turned out relatively well-adjusted is just short of a miracle. The book is sad, hilarious, solemn and dangerously funny all at the same time, and it's probably …
review by . March 25, 2005
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The life of Jeannette Walls should inspire everyone who reads The Glass Castle. It is a very moving memoir about it feels likes to be poor. Living with a father who suffered with the disease of alcoholism made her childhood tense and scary, and I think Walls describes this well. She writes very openly about asking her father to stop drinking and to find a steady job to support the family. I think Walls also presents her father as a loving supportive person when he was sober. Walls also urged her …
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