The novel begins with a story that seems to be set in the present. The very first line of the book is so saturated with irony, and it sets up the story perfectly; "I was sitting in a taxi, wondering of I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster" (3). As the author worries she is too elegant, her own mother is wearing rags. Walls is well-to-do, and she doesn't want to be associated with the homeless woman on the street. She turns her head to avoid her mother's gaze.
After the bold introduction, the tense switches to the past. Jeannette Walls is three years old, unattended, cooking hot dogs over the stove, and she catches on fire. After a three week long stay at the hospital, her father comes, picks her up, and essentially "Dines n' Dashes" from the hospital. In this manner we are introduced to the authors father, Rex Walls, who plays possibly the largest role in her life. I have to work hard to limit what I write about to the first fifty pages, and keep myself from raving too much about the rest of the book (I'm almost to page 300).
I can see two possible ways to read and enjoy this book. The first: reading the novel like a story. If one were to keep a closed mind, they would be shocked by how different this family is. "A father who encourages his children to play with fire?! That's crazy!" This person would really enjoy the book, as the lifestyle of the Walls's is indeed very different. But the literary route I have chosen requires more depth of thought. I want to focus on the way this family thinks, and how the children are effected by living the nomadic life they were born into. In the first fifty pages alone, I can name five major life lessons learned by the author (by the age of three) that many people never learn.
I love this book. It will definitely be on my list to re-read whenever I am between books. The anecdotes are hilarious, and the matter-of-fact way that Walls writes makes them even better. I feel like I am reading the diary of an oddly literate three year old, because the author somehow remembers so many details of her childhood and how she felt at the time. The middle of the book grows less humorous, but the beginning just emulates the care-free way that she and her family lived, going wherever the wind blew them, then cutting ties and moving again. It is a seriously intriguing prospect.
This sounds like a very interesting book and I'll definitely be reading this soon. I like your take on it, you idea about learning life lessons from the memories of this author.
ReplyDeleteIt turn out with all the holiday rush my mom forgot to hit send when she ordered Glass Castle on amazon but ran out to borders and bought it an I am almost to page 50 already :-) I'm liking it and will post my response as soon as I get to 50.
ReplyDeleteThe Glass Castle is definitely one of my most favorite books of all time. The more it progresses, the better it gets- but the ending is quite upsetting, as far as I can remember. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI had not even turned to the first page when I realized The Glass Castle would be an amazing and unique story. Although the first fifty pages on the novel have been excellent, what really caught my attention was the Acknowledgments. From reading the back of the novel the readers learns that The Glass Castle is a story of a young girl growing up with a destructive alcoholic father and crazy irresponsible mother. The idea of a tragic family is easy enough to comprehend. We have all heard stories of bad parenting and the pain that it brings to children. Honestly at this point I had gotten tired of reading the black and white "my childhood was horrible" stories. But after reading the Acknowledgments I realized The Glass Castle was entirely different. In the Acknowledgements the author, Jeannette Walls, thanks her mother for teaching her about art and her father for always dreaming.Walls does not resent her parents for being themselves but instead thanks them for the good they brought to her life. This showed me that The Glass Castle would not be another novel about a horrible childhood but instead one about a unique childhood.
ReplyDelete****
"Where are we going, Dad?" I asked.
"Wherever we end up," he said.
****
The Walls family moves from place to place without ever finding a stable home. The children play with fire at the age of three while their father runs from an FBI squad that does not exist. It is easy to judge this life style but like Fiona I am choosing to read this book with an open mind. This open mind set has been more difficult than I anticipated. At age of three the main character is accidentally set on fire while making dinner. The burns are severe but instead of doing everything for the benefit of their child's health her parents kidnap her from the hospital. A few pages later the father is throwing the family cat out their car window and onto the highway. Not exactly the average family.
But the events that shock me most in the story are also what shape the children for the better. If there is one thing that the Walls children understand it is how to be fearless. After falling face first out of a car Jeannette's father calmly wipes up the blood that is gushing from her nose and tries to make her laugh. The typical child would cry for hours while their concerned parents rushed them to the nearest hospital. After falling out of a car the typical child would be surrounded by panicked voices and their hysterical mother's cries. But the Walls family is not typical nor are they wrong. Although both Jeannette's mother and father have the tendency to be neglectful they treat their children with kindness and a more carefree type of love. Jeannette was taught to laugh instead of cry at the things that can not be changed, such as a awful nosebleed. Although the circumstances were extreme that in itself is a beautiful life lesson.
I am fascinated with the nomad lifestyle of the Walls family. They don't know where they are going until they have arrived there and even after that the stay is never permanent. The parents search for the most isolated small towns they can find as if hiding from the real world. The family travels from state to state without ever leaving a mark on where they have been. It is almost like the Walls family does not exist at all. This ghost-like wandering is completely foreign to myself and anyone living in a community like Lake Oswego. Being a part of L.O. shapes us in the same way that living without a home shapes the Walls children. I am interested to see the contrast between my own life and the life of the Walls children. So far reading The Glass Castle has been like visiting a world of people so free from the rules of society that the only thing keeping them from loosing touch of reality is their own chaotic family.
This post is a mix of writing and a question at the end. Fee, feel free (<-Alliteration and assonance cool!) to answer the questions or not.
ReplyDeleteI realize in my last post I said I would read this book without judgment… Well I lied. With most books it is difficult to read without forming opinions about the characters but with Glass Castle it is impossible.
Jeannette’s parents have done nothing to deserve the title of mother and father other than having sex and giving/watching someone give birth. Give some one nine months and almost anyone can become a “parent”. This lead me to question, “What makes a parent?” in more than the physical/biological way. I think a general rule is a parent must be older than the child. You are probably saying duh but I mean developmentally and emotionally older not just physically. Multiple times in Glass Castle it appears that the parents have yet to grow up. A trip to the zoo ends with Jeannette’s father letting her feed the cheetah.
Although being quirky and wild is common for her father there is a line and it has been crossed. I don’t care how eccentric a parent is when the choices they make put their children at risk they are no longer being the grown up. Playing with a cheetah is a dream that should be left in the minds of 10 year olds not encouraged by 40 year olds. Of course part of being human is messing up and the grand secret about parents is they are simply winging it. After all no one is born with an instructor’s manual. So mistakes are common and almost always forgivable but Jeanette’s parents learn nothing from their mistakes. In fact her father is angered by the suggestion “perhaps your child should not stick her hand in that cheetahs mouth”
To be a parent one must also embrace fear. Fear is what guides a first time parent. The fear of harming ones child leads one to make rational choices like “lets not feed that cheetah”. But the entire Walls family is not allowed to feel fear. In fact the parents take this idea so far that after Jeannette is almost molested her parents refuse to close the doors at night. “WHAT!?” was all I could think. A pervert walked into their 9-year-old daughters room touched her private parts and attempted to rape her and they don’t want to close their doors because it’s hot outside.
This leads to the next requirement of a parent they have to care. I’m not saying Jeannette’s parents don’t care but they don’t care enough. Both the mother and father possess the narcissism of a child who still believes the world revolves around them. But being a parent means giving up a little bit of oneself. On Christmas Jeannette’s father sets the tree on fire out of anger. He thinks of no one but his own rage and by doing that all he did was hurt the three kids who love him.
I realize I don’t have as many examples of the mothers bad parenting (and there are quite few) but the fathers are more dramatic and easier to discuss. However the fact that the mother allows her children to live this way is reason enough for her not to get the Mommy of the Year award.
Question: (page 29)
“If you spend one night in some town, did you live there? What about two nights? Or a whole week?
This idea of what makes a place lived at intrigues me. Anyone feel free to answer.
This is an awful answer, but honestly I really think it depends. I mean, you can stay one night somewhere, and have a life changing experience and meet some really amazing people. And you can reside somewhere for years and never really connect.
ReplyDeleteI do want to comment on your post. I agree that the parents are not very good at parenting. The basic needs of their children are not met. The children sleep in cardboard boxes. But when the parents talk of buying real beds, the children say no! "We liked our boxes. They made going to bed seem like an adventure." To us, this seems awful. But thats what the children need! They inherited Rose Mary's excitement addiction. True, the parents put themselves first, and are very immature. Yet, the children learn so much from them! The dad makes up games where the children have to draw conclusions from two facts, answering a question or claiming there was insufficient information. They learn binary, constellations, and page 55 tells all about their flawless manners.
As far as the leaving the door open goes, that was bad. It was dangerous, especially after such a traumatizing event. Yet, I can't say no good came from the children being forced to be brave. When the boy comes and shoots BBs through the window at the children, they don't curl up and cry. They run and get their dad's gun. In that town, that's what you had to do to survive. So I agree, if the were parents in Lake Oswego, it would be bad news. But considering their home and financial situation, some of the techniques were necessary.
The Walls family is on the far end of the parental spectrum. One could argue that over-protective parents are doing their kids an equal injustice. So, while they are immature and fail to put their children first, much of what they did was necessary.
Here is my post for these chapters:
ReplyDeleteWhen I opened up the novel just a moment ago so I could decide what to write about, I opened right to a page I had overlooked. Before the copyright page, there is a photograph of the authors parents on their wedding day in 1956. The picture is very strange to me because her parents look normal! In my mind I form images of the characters I read about in novels. That is obvious, I'm pretty sure that is a common thing to do. But rarely do I read nonfiction books, or ones based on real people. So it was quite strange to see what the people I had been reading about actually looked like.
I imagined Rex Walls with a potbelly. He had intelligent eyes, with lots of crinkles and smile lines. He wore unique clothing; not expensive, but not classic. He had a permanent scruff of a beard, and actually looks like a bit of a lumberjack. His hands are strong and leathery, from doing various odd jobs and manual labor.
My imaginary Rose Mary had long, dark, slightly tangled hair. Her eyes were wild, dancing with inspiration for paintings and books. She saw such amazing things in the world, she wanted to put it all down on paper. Her hands were dainty but tough; they were made to hold parasols and teacups, but fate had another plan. They were strong and worn from washing dishes and floors. I'm not sure why I imagined them that way, because she wasn't much into cleaning... But she definitely had strong hands.
The Rex in the photo wears a suit with a white jacket and a black bow tie. More unique than most, but nothing all that special. He is clean-shaven, his hair gelled back... Not like a man who would disappear for days on end only to stumble home once he runs out of money for liquor... money from his wife's paycheck. But he looks polite. I see none of the passion with which the author described him living each day. He does not look like someone with enough creativity or kindness to offer his daughter, for her tenth birthday, anything in the world. "You know if it's humanly possible, I'll get it for you. And if it ain't humanly possible, I'll die trying" he told her. When she asked him if he could stop drinking, he walked away. She came home from school the next day to find him tied to his bed with belts, writhing in agony as though he was being cut off from oxygen, not booze. But I don't suppose you could see that in a person.
The photographic Rose Mary is wearing a traditional wedding dress, and holding a bouquet. She looks beautiful, not like a woman who would cut around the maggoty parts of a ham that had been sitting out for days. Not like a woman who would sift through dumpsters, looking for sweaters with only a few stains. She belonged in a house with a two door garage and a white picket fence, not various trailer parks and run down houses with rotting floorboards. There is one thing about her that fits- her eyes are focused off in the distance. A self proclaimed "excitement addict", it only makes sense that she should be looking at what's coming next.
Finally, the very way that they stand next to each other is unrealistic to their relationship. They look polite, like they are no more acquainted with each other than a couple before a school dance. Rex looks willing to hold the door for Rose, or lend her his jacket in the rain. In truth, he would be more likely to throw her part-way out of a window. She would be more inclined to jump out of his moving car and run, with him driving after her through the desert, yelling profanities.
The way the author portrays her parents shows that people are often far from what they appear to be. I am a bit disappointed, but still amazed that such incredible people look completely average.
It shows a lot about how we (or maybe I) perceive people and how I generalize how people look. A lot can be learned from the authors portrayal.
ReplyDeleteI saw the picture... mind blown! Just got home from the mountain and too tired to type I shall respond better over break
ReplyDeleteIn the third section of this novel, I found quite a few examples of inner conflict that the children face. While they love their parents, they can't shake the feeling that they have the potential to live a better life. The kids constantly cover up their poverty for the public eye, claiming that they are collecting coal bits from the road to add to their "rock collection." And as they walk down to the laundromat behind their mother who has a basket on her head, Jeanette recalls rolling her eyes "when people passed to show we agreed with them: The lady with the bag on her head looked pretty peculiar" (178). They refuse to give in to their circumstances. While they cannot instantly become richer, or live in a house that can stay upright for long, the children will not accept their seemingly pre-determined fate to live their lives in constant need.
ReplyDeleteWhen the authors father is too drunk to walk on his own, a man helps Jeanette get him home by driving them in his truck. During the drive, the author tells the stranger her plans to become "either a veterinarian or a geologist specializing in the Miocene period." She does not let her circumstances hinder her dreams. The driver remarks, "For the daughter of the town drunk, you sure got big plans" (183). Jeanette is hurt, and tries to get her father the rest of the way on her own, but ends up back in the car, staring silently out the window. I believe she had thought the same thing, and it scared her that he might be right. She was afraid that no matter how much she tried to escape the lifestyle she was born into, she would never be able to excel to the heights that she dreamed of. That is why she suggested to her mother that she get a divorce.
"I can't believe you would say that. I can't believe that you, of all people, would turn on your father. He loves you so much, how can you do this to him?" (188). Jeanette know that her father loves her. She loves him too, with all her heart. But she explains that (her father) "seemed hell-bent on destroying himself, and I was afraid he was going to pull us all down with him" (188). It had nothing to do with love or lack of it. The girl simply had to but her family and herself first.
It has been a long time since I read this, but like you, Fiona, I remember also being impressed by the determination of Jeanette (and her siblings) even in the midst of her poverty and parental neglect. The fact that she had such dreams for her future would have been almost unrealistic to me if I hadn't known I was reading a true story. I think what I found most inspiring was the sibling bond that the three older siblings shared. I felt like that might have been the reason they were able to eventually lead such successful lives in spite of their beginnings. I often wondered while I was reading how Jeanette's life would have turned out had she been an only child.
ReplyDeleteHey I'm posting tomorrow but I have been collecting "rules" of the Wall's family:
ReplyDeleteThe Walls family’s rules:
• What doesn’t kill you only benefits you in the long run.
• You’re never too young to play with fire.
• Don’t trust doctors.
• Never be afraid.
• Small towns with no opportunities are the best place to pass through.
• You learn more from the world than from school.
• Don’t leave a mark. Just float through life.
(this is almost entirely about the character Maureen)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I have been thinking a great deal about nature vs. nurture as I read Glass Castle. For some basic knowledge on the term nature vs nurture is a debate on whether personality is decided at birth or formed through upbringing. One of the greatest part of Glass Castle is you get to watch as the four Wall's children develop given their family situation. By just looking at the three oldest children Brian Lori and Jeanette it appears that difficult childhoods lead to successful futures. After all Brain grows up to be a detective, Lori is a skilled artists and Jeanette is an award winning author. From reading about the stable and semi-normal lives of the older Walls children one could assume the unorthodox nurture the children received had either no effect or a positive effect.
But what about Maureen? She is the outlier in this theory. Maureen does not experience the success of her siblings. In New York her life goes down hill. She becomes a platinum blonde, chain smoker*, with a creepy fascination with cults. Maureen even goes as far as stabbing her mom and getting locked up. A first I thought Maureen proved that nurture has nothing to do with the way a person lives later. But then I realized Maureen did not have the same nature as her brother and sisters. By being the youngest Maureen arrived in time to see her family completely fall apart. The age difference separated her from her siblings. Jeanette Brian and Lori looked after each other and for part of their lives they looked after Maureen too. But after a while the three older Walls children wanted to move on and leave their dysfunctional family behind. In other words the older siblings found their success but left Maureen to be cared for by neighbors and parents who were tired of being parents. Also a lot of the good family events that happened in Glass Castle happened before Maureen was born. While Lori Jeanette and Brian grew up with struggles they also had adventure and enlightenment. But all Maureen got was a fraction of the good moments and a lot more of the bad. Especially in New York where everyone was so focused on making a new life Maureen was no longer a part of it.
Jeanette says "I'd been too busy taking care of myself to look after her. I'm sorry Maureen/ sorry for everything."
In a book of tragic events, I feel that Maureen is the most tradgic. In fact I believe Maureen is an example of how Jeanette would have turned out if she was an only child.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Ms. Huss:
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I think that the "Us Against the World" bond that the three oldest siblings shared made them closer that they would have been in better circumstances. They knew that their best chance of amounting to anything was each other. At many times I did question the validity of the novel. It was just such a perfect success story that I had trouble believing that it was true! As for the only child prospect, I fear she would have ended up like the youngest sister, Maureen. The age barrier as well as her lack of ambition separated her from her siblings, and she just accepted her circumstances. She stayed with the families of her friends most of the time, and when they moved to New York, she just went downhill, getting into trouble and hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Oh wow, I just read Emily's post! I didn't know it was a response, so I hadn't read it yet. I guess great minds think alike, haha! I totally agree with you, Em. The Walls family had arguably as good of times as they had bad, just fewer, if that makes sense, but Maureen missed them all. You are right, very tragic.
Did you like my use of the word chain smoker? :)
ReplyDeleteBook Review: Glass Castle
ReplyDeleteI have had very little experience reading memoirs. Originally I had thought The Glass Castle would be just another story about a weird family. In all honesty, I felt like I could just watch MTV if I wanted to see messed up families. But The Glass Castle turned out to be one of the most astonishing and thought provoking books I have read. It was a bit like reading a fairytale minus the whole perfect happily ever after. After finishing the novel, I realized I had three major compliments and only two major criticisms.
As for compliments, I feel that Jeannette could have written this book with a lot more resentment towards her childhood. But instead of being bitter about her un-orthodox childhood, Jeannette narrates from a passive voice. This makes it easier to understand the characters like her mother and father instead of instantly hating them. Also, as a reader, I found it much easier to read the book with an open mind because of the slightly withdrawn feelings of the author. Another amazing aspect of The Glass Castle was the complex characterizations of Rex, her father. I felt that Rex was the most unusual father figure. His constantly changing emotions and mental health would have been a lot more difficult to keep up with if Jeannette had not thoroughly developed his character.
My final compliment of the novel is simply the complete honesty and depth that Jeannette wrote with. The life of the Walls family was unique and border line psychotic but the more I read the more I was swallowed into their world. A world where fire is a game and Cheetahs are petted like dogs. At times reading The Glass Castle felt like believing in the magic of Santa Claus and at other times it felt like the moment you realize the magic isn’t real. I had always thought memoirs where super factual but The Glass Castle read like a fantasy novel.
It is difficult to critique a memoir because it is like critiquing the author’s life but there was more than one moment during the book I didn’t believe what was written. Since I know it is a true story, I know the plot was not fabricated but I feel the passive writing style was inappropriate at certain parts. The voice of an author should not possess the same feeling throughout the entire novel. There were sections of the novel in which more emotion would have made the crazy events more realistic. It felt like some one else was telling Jeanette’s story for her. A little emotion and commentary would have greatly benefitted the plot.
My second critique is while some characters where powerful and amazingly developed, it felt like she forgot about others. Her little sister Maureen was only briefly developed in the last ten pages and yet she was in the book since the second chapter. The worst part is I felt like Jeannette forgot to develop herself. I felt like her character was too static to have gone through all the events she went through. I would have preferred having universally strong characters instead of a few extremely strong ones.
All in all for the first memoir I have ever read I found it to be incredibly enlightening experience. I learned how enjoyable it could be to hear about someone’s life directly from the person who lived it. That is why I give The Glass Castle 7.6 out of ten.
Ps. I really enjoyed reading this book with you Fee. I think I would like to read it again when I have a family of my own or when I'm old enough to really understand the insanity of Jeannette's childhood.
ReplyDeleteI give this novel eight out of ten stars: ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ _ _
ReplyDeleteI gave it the eight because honestly, I had so much fun reading it! The anecdotes made my face sore from smiling, and I believe I chuckled on occasion, which is big for me. A funny, joyful story that is also realistic always appeals to me. I am mostly referring to the beginning of the novel at this point, though I do remember a very happy time in Welsh. Jeannette went to the pool during the free time when all of the black people went, and she remarks that, despite the chlorine, she had "never felt cleaner" (192). Of course, the joy was killed quickly afterward when the welfare man comes.
I thoroughly enjoyed the happy parts of the novel, but, while I am completely open to more serious and even sorrowful themes, I was not pleased with what "The Glass Castle" had to offer. The sad parts were only that- sad. They had little theme or lesson to be learned, only that "life sucks." In the beginning of the novel, Rex Walls teaches his children how to swim and find constellations. He teaches them positive life lessons that many never learn. Then, when they move to Welsh, any happiness or positive vibe is gone. I almost feel like the author grew depressed at the point in her life when she wrote that section because honestly, there is no joy. I gained nothing from reading it but sadness and pity.
Still, I enjoyed the first half so much that I will give it eight stars, because the anecdotes were that priceless.