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| The Glass Castle: A Memoir | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $3.99
You Save: $11.01 (73%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (1096 reviews)
Sales Rank: 79
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 074324754X
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.82092
EAN: 9780743247542
ASIN: 074324754X
Publication Date: January 9, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor. TO INQUIRE ABOUT SCHEDULING JEANNETTE WALLS FOR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS PLEASE CONTACT: Keppler Speakers
Dustin L. Jones
Associate, College & University Division
703.516.4000 (P)
703.516.4819 (F)
Amazon.com
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. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1091 more reviews...
 An Autobiography that Reads Like a Novel August 29, 2008
I'm really not much on non-fiction, but this book reads like a novel. Incredible what this woman went through as a child. Just shows the resiliency of children. So well written; you can picture every place and detail that is described. A book you won't want to put down, and will pass on to others.
Fantastic brave memoir of a life of abuse August 25, 2008
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wall is the type of book that makes you want to give your parents a hug and thank them for being such wonderful parents, no matter how bad they were. Wall was raised by free spirits who want their children to become toughened by life and believe firmly in survival of the fittest. Her mother wants to be an artist and not to be bothered by the inconvenience of feeding and caring for her children. Her father is brilliantly smart but also a vicious drunk. Every time I thought that her childhood couldn't get any worse, I would turn the page. Which is worse? The Christmas he lit the entire Christmas tree on fire (on purpose) destroying their presents or the time he chased his pregnant wife with the car through the desert at night until he pinned her against a rock wall. Wall's story of perserverance through adversity is inspiring and amazing. You can't help but admire the courage it took to survive what she did and accomplish everything she has since. The sick thing about the book. I finished it last night, and today I realized I was a bit sad that I didn't have any more of their crazy life stories to read about!
Captivating August 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really liked this book. I felt completely sucked-in to the story. I found it to be well-written, and thoroughly entertaining. The characters are deep and well-developed. I highly recommend this novel; it's a great read!
Some scenarios in the book are outlandish/unrealistic. Additionally I had a hard time accepting that Jeannette would behave the way she did toward the end of the book, but overall I still give it 5 stars.
WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK! August 24, 2008
This story is truly a must read. Jeannette Walls writes an incredible story of courage and triumph! I love that a majority of the book was written from her viewpoint as a child...it makes the story that much more real and honest. I fell in love with all the characters, and yes, even her father and mother.
This book is sensational!
terrific book, repulsive human beings August 21, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
my son was assigned this as a "coming of age" book for 9th grade, and I was absolutely outraged. The language is vulgar and coarse. I was prepared to hate it. He asked me to read it and it is spectacular. But the emotions it generated were really intense, and frankly the parents are beyond defensible; they are not dysfunctional; they were sick, repulsive, narcissistic, paranoid, shameful and neglectful. In fact, words fail me. They were that despicable. I kept hoping a chapter would end with a kid pushing a parent into a river or setting them on fire. Oh, sure, Dad occasionally gave 'em some good insight or information about the universe or mankind, but put enough monkeys in a room with enough paper and typewriters....and the mother was even worse. Both parent's essentially pimped their kids for room, board, and gambling money. I've never had such emotions of anger and disgust about parenting. What sets this off is that usually there's one functional but co-dependent family member creating some attempt at normalcy. In this case, nothing like it. What an amazing testimony to the resilience and internal strength of these kids.
Read it. (just best let your kid read it when they are late high school or college!)
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