Monday 22 January 2018

The Glass Castle by: Jeannette Walls

Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir
Published: January 26, 2006 by: Scribner
Pages: 288
Rating: 5/5 stars



Jeannette Walls tells the both tender and heartbreaking story of her life. Of living in a family of nomads, travelling along the Southwest desert and scrounging up whatever they could find. Her father was a drunk, but when sober, he captivated Jeannette and her three siblings with imagination and teachings that you could not replicate in a classroom. But when the money ran out, the family had to settle, and with it, Jeannette's father started drinking and became abusive. Their mother was absent and uncaring, and the Walls children began to fend for themselves. When they finally found the courage to leave home, Jeannette knew that this story had to be told.

Wow. Just wow. This book was unreal, unexplainable, probably the most captivating non-fiction I have ever read. What's incredible about this story is that it reads like a fiction, it's almost like the characters are made up and the author is simply telling just a heartbreaking tale. But it's all real. Jeannette used such vivid descriptions of her childhood that drew me in and made me not want to put it down.

Jeannette obviously had a hard life. Her and her siblings grew up very fast, and they could have ended up anywhere, but they decided to turn their lives around. But amazingly, Jeannette speaks of her parents with such fondness and affection. She doesn't look at them as horrid people who she is estranged from, instead, she looks upon them with generosity for their sacrifices and an appreciation for the fond memories. This is one strong woman.

I would recommend this book to anyone. Even if you don't like non-fiction, this book is not boring in the slightest and has such a beautifully painted picture of a not so beautiful life.

Have you read The Glass Castle? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

8 comments:

  1. Oh this sounds amazing! I've been dying to watch the movie because I love Brie Larson, but now I really wanna read the book, too. It sounds incredible.
    Lovely review, Emily :)

    Amy @ A Magical World Of Words

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    1. I haven’t seen the movie yet but I hear it’s awesome! I can totally imagine Brie as Jeannette :)

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  2. Honestly, I didn't even know this was a book before it was a movie! I saw the previews for the movie and put it on my to-watch list but now I'm definitely aiming to read the book before I see the movie. I'm glad you thought it was still engaging and vivid, even for a nonfiction book. I read some nonfiction (mainly Erik Larson's books) but mostly I stay away from it because it's never as immersing as fiction but I'll definitely have to check this out. Lovely review!

    Laura @BlueEyeBooks

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    1. You should totally read the book first! I haven’t seen the movie but the book is just so precious that I would say experience it first. I’m always happy when I find non fiction this powerful.

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  3. I guess it's difficult for the children of not-so-great and/or bad parents to come to terms with the complexity of that relationship; sounds like Walls has found a way of thinking of her childhood that she can use to move forward :)

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    1. Yes definitely! She has such a complex way, like you said, of thinking of her parents that just makes her storytelling ability so unique.

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  4. I rarely read non-fiction but this has been on my radar for quite some time, because of how unbelievably popular and well-loved it is. I love what you wrote about it being a lot like a fiction novel, that sounds very promising, and like Jeannette Walls has a great talent for writing. Great review! Adding it to my TBR, and wishlist.

    Veronika @ The Regal Critiques

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    1. Yes, you should totally read this, Veronika!! It’s such a good non fiction that I think would keep anyone interested :)

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