The Glass Castle Book Review

Jeannette Walls’ foreword can be understood as a foundation for the novel:

To John,
for convincing me that everyone who is
interesting has a past.

Before beginning the memoir, I knew nothing about the author. I read the tidbit on the back cover, which was only a short, two sentence biography. Her motivation to begin the novel became clear with each page. Memoirs are unique in the sense that Jeannette did not choose to write about one specific event; she instead wrote about her entire life. Many people may question the entertainment value of reading about another person’s life, but Jeannette Walls is different. Her life story is not only dysfunctional and one of true hardships, it is inspirational and remarkable.
I was initially drawn to her memoir through word of mouth. Every time I spoke of The Glass Castle, someone around me would explode with remarks of how they were unable to put it down even for a moment. Naturally, I shrugged off others’ enthusiasm because I knew in order to feel their same passion, I needed to become a part of Jeannette’s world myself.
The Glass Castle begins at the end, one of my favorite literary tricks. In the first few paragraphs, Jeanette exposes the reader to her mother: a homeless woman digging through the New York City dumpsters. Jeannette is nicely dressed and driving to some sort of meeting, but ducks at the sight of her mother for fear of being seen. Already we can tell a complex relationship exists between mother and daughter, and it is something that has been building for a lifetime. In addition, the reader initially becomes familiar with grown-up Jeannette where as the majority of the novel is narrated by her adolescent self.
Part two of the novel opens with four words: “I was on fire.” Three-year-old Jeannette had been cooking hot dogs, something she did quite often when her parents were busy. Her scream startled her mother and they rushed to the hospital. Doctors said Jeannette was lucky to be alive, and her large scar across her abdomen proved she was a survivor. At this point in Jeannette’s life she was living in the desert somewhere in Arizona; but a few months after Jeannette’s doctor visit, Dad woke the family, announcing it was time to do the “skedaddle.”
There were four Walls at the time: parents Rose Mary and Rex, Lori who was a year older than Jeannette, and Brian, her younger brother. Maureen was still an unfertilized egg in Mom’s belly at the time. Rex was an alcoholic. It had gotten so bad that he would not come home for days on end and when he did it would only be to collect money or drunkenly beat Rose Mary. The family rarely had enough money to buy food, clothing, or other essentials. Rose Mary never wanted to put her teaching degree to use, or even act as a mother, and spent her time painting. Rex held occasional odd jobs, but all of the money he earned vanished in under twenty four hours because of his alcohol habit. The children of the family were not enrolled in school until they were approaching ten. The Walls parents let their children roam free throughout the desert, and the kids became tough and knowledgeable without a classroom setting. In fact, the Walls children were brilliant. They all had artistic skills combined with an understanding of the outdoors, physics, and geography. No one in the family ever complained – even when days went by without an ounce of food.
Lori learned to take care of Maureen and helped Mom out when she did have a teaching job. Jeannette and Brian were always messing around outdoors and going with the flow of their crazy life without a degree of self-pity. The three eldest children started working as soon as someone would hire them, but even their money was not safe from Dad’s rampages. They lived in broken homes without electricity and toilets. When Dad couldn’t pay bills, they got up and left in the middle of the night, leaving what little belongings they had behind. It is clear that Rex and Rose Mary are stubborn characters, unfit to be parents.
Jeannette was twelve when it seemed her family had run out of options. Again, she was rattled awake in the darkness of night and obediently followed her dad into the “oldsmobile” for their journey to Welch, West Virginia, the hometown of Rex’s parents. For years the family was plummeting into depths of poverty unimaginable to a person like me. The children knew the only way they would ever escape poverty was if they left their parents’ household. The decision to leave was heart-wrenching and would ultimately tear the family apart. Jeannette never wanted to witness her parents in danger, but the only way to save herself was it abandon them.
The Glass Castle is an amazing true story of a woman who escaped a broken home, an intoxicated father, and a life of poverty to become the successful individual she had imagined. Jeannette Walls strength and determination led her to become a well-known writer in New York City, a profession that seemed unreal when she was a child. Her memoir engrosses the reader from the first page and teaches values of compassion and appreciation with each new chapter. The Walls are satisfied with the smallest meal, a shiny rock, or a single thrift store jacket to get them through the winter whereas the average middle-class family desires much more. The extraordinary memoir The Glass Castle is a book you will not want to skip out on. This book appeals directly to the reader’s emotions; I found myself wanting to cry one page and then accidentally laughing out loud the next. Jeannette Walls is a heroic woman with a past that heightens the impressiveness of her achievements. Her talent for stringing phrases together and engaging the reader makes The Glass Castle a must-read for all ages.