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| The Glass Castle: A Memoir | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $2.45
You Save: $12.55 (84%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $2.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  (1118 reviews)
Sales Rank: 143
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8
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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| Customer Reviews:
 Clear-eyed portrayal of a rough upbringing August 13, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
In this book, Walls writes about her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents. Her mother is a potentially-crazy mother, and her father is an alcoholic. Walls, along with her brother and two sisters, was left largely to her own devices. Walls' removed, nonjudgmental voice is the only thing that saves this book from typical, sappy sentimentality. I found many parts of the story to be cliched, including many of Walls' reactions to her life circumstances.
 Five stars: An inspirational true story August 11, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
An amazing story of courage, confidence, and most of all, love. The tales from Jeannette's crazy childhood are, at times, unbelievable. There were moments when I wanted to scream through the pages of the book at her parents, and even at Jeannette herself. Her parents followed their beliefs and failed to hold steady jobs. As a result, Jeannette and her siblings often went hungry, were unable to bathe, and endured freezing winter nights in their shack that didn't have running water or a heater. Rex and Rose Mary's actions were appalling and abusive. However, it's apparent they loved their children, even though their behavior was very rarely in the kids' best interest. This must be why Jeannette shows no contempt toward them; only disappointment at times. Jeannette's unconditional love for her parents is inspiring. I also loved the way the siblings stuck together throughout the good times and bad -- and the reality is there were a lot of bad times. Jeannette has plenty to complain about, but she doesn't. She rose above her upbringing and persevered; there's a lot to be learned from her story. Five starts and a must read!
An Inside View of One Crazy Family August 10, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This was a very interesting but also disturbing memoir about a very strange mother and an alcoholic father raising a family of four and barely scraping by needlessly. Jeannette tells about her childhood from a child's point of view and does an excellent job of communicating the feelings she had towards her parents and their situation. Her dad was a very smart man, but drunk a lot which caused him to have difficulty holding a job and neglected his children. He'd talk about big plans, but did little in handling everyday problems.
The mother was selfish, thinking mostly of just herself, choosing to live in poverty instead of selling land she inherited. She'd rather see her children go without food that get a job. Her priorities were all mixed up.
This was a sad book from the standpoint of the parents being so pathetic. It seemed as though the kids had more sense than they did. Reading her story made me even more grateful for the parents I had and I couldn't help but think that could have very well have been the life my foster sisters and brother may have had if my parents hadn't taken them in. It is disturbing to me that kids actually live in conditions such as in this book.
The author shares many unusual experiences which made for a very interesting book.
On my "favorites" shelf! August 10, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm not going to REtell the story here, or even sum it up as others have done, but I will throw my thoughts of it out there. This is one of my absolute favorite books! I read this book one night in Iraq. I could relate to her life story in so many ways that I just absolutely HAD to finish that book! Now, while stationed in southern Baghdad you don't really have a whole lot of extra time on your hands- especially not LARGE chunks of time and especially not me. You know a book is dang good when you find time to read it in Iraq!!
This is one book that I keep repurchasing and am, in fact, buying another copy today. When I enjoy a book, I'll pass it around to everyone else who I think would like it. Eventually, everyone I know has read the book and that's just one more connection we all have to each other. My friends are all so different, that it's very rare when we all agree on something- but we ALL agree that this book is outstanding! That goes to show you how this book can affect all types of people. Practically anyone can relate to this book in at least one way or another.
All in all- this book gets the highest of ratings on my scale! I always try to keep an extra copy handy just in case I need to lend it out again :) I also keep a copy on my shelf of "must read favorites".
Loved this book!
~*luci*~
a must read August 8, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Simply put: you MUST read this book! It's the best I have read in a very long time. You will not be dissapointed.
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