Review: The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls

Publisher: Pantagruel (Norwegian Publisher)
Pages: 375
Format: Hardback
Release: March 2011













'Walls doesn't pull her punches. Walls's parents - just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book - were a matched pair of eccentrics. And raising four children didn't conventionalise either of them. [Walls has] a fantastic storytelling knack.' Publishers Weekly 'Just read the first pages of THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeannette Walls, and I defy you not to go on. It's funny, and sad, and quirky, and loving. I was incredibly touched by it.' -Dominick Dunne, author of The Way We Lived Then : Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper and Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments * 'Like JD Salinger or Hemingway before her, Jeannette Walls has the talent of knowing exactly how to let a story tell itself, crafted without self-pity or analysis or judgement' Independent on Sunday * 'A terrific story, grippingly told' Sunday Times * 'Funny and brilliantly written' Evening Herald * 'There isn't a shred of self-pity in this deeply compassionate book' Marie Claire

Fascinating and warm

Jeannette Walls has written an incredible memoir, so fantastic in it's descriptions you have a hard time believing that this has actually happened. There is nothing ordinary about her childhood.

Walls' parents had a somewhat eccentric perpective on life in general. They lived for art and their own fantasyprojects. Their kids just had to tag along. They moved frequently, and lived in poor living conditions. Sometimes they didn't have money for food. But they had a strong bond in the family, even when Walls' father used up all the money on alcohol.

A meeting with her mother in New York, sparked Walls to write this memoir. For many years she had repressed her childhood memories, and not dared telling anyone about what she experienced. Her life had gone a long way since she was a child and she was ashamed of her background.

Some people may point to neglect and childabuse whilst reading Walls' memoir, but she does not point a finger at anybody in her book. On the contrary she describes her so childhood warmly and enthusiastically which makes the readers feel like they are reading a fantastic fictionnovel.

The book has a lot of lessons, and I especially liked the scene where Jeannette "gets" the planet Venus for Christmas.

This is a fascinating book that will make you keep on reading to find out what happens next. Your own childhood will seem dull in comparison, despite the seriousness surronding the situations described in this book. It is hard not to be engaged in the story, and I think Walls' have done a great job writing about her childhood in a way that makes the reader forget the seriousness in it.

This is an easy and fascinating read, and I liked the book very much.

Other reviews:
It's All About Books
Addicted to Books
Vishy's Blog


The Glass Castle on Goodreads