The Glass Castle: A Memoir

by Jeannette Walls

This is a startling memoir of a successful journalist's journey from the deserted and dusty mining towns of the American Southwest, to an antique filled apartment on Park Avenue. Jeanette Walls narrates her nomadic and adventurous childhood with her dreaming, 'brilliant' but alcoholic parents. At the age of seventeen she escapes on a Greyhound bus to New York with her older sister; her younger siblings follow later. After pursuing the education and civilisation her parents sought to escape, Jeanette eventually succeeds in her quest for the 'mundane, middle class existence' she had always craved. In her apartment, overlooked by 'a portrait of someone else's ancestor' she recounts poignant remembered images of star watching with her father, juxtaposed with recollections of irregular meals, accidents and police-car chases and reveals her complex feelings of shame, guilt, pity and pride toward her parents.

• ISBN10: 074324754X
• ISBN13: 9780743247542
• Publish Date: 17 January 2006 (first published 1 March 2005)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nicole Lynn]

This left me really loving the memoir genre. I loved Jeannette Walls' writing style and it was an easy read that left me glued to the pages. I really felt like I came to understand the different personalities of her family members and the story really was heart-wrenching in some instances. I wouldn't say I hated her parents, but I don't think I ever really thought of them positively throughout reading the story. In my opinion The Glass Castle is definitely a must read if you're looking to sink your teeth into something. The memoir was a great read and truly humbling. I loved reading every page of it.