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The Glass Castle: A Memoir | 
| Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 16.50
Buy New: CDN$ 7.59
You Save: CDN$ 8.91 (54%)
New (27) Used (20) from CDN$ 3.09
Avg. Customer Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 41
Media: Paperback
Edition: 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 within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: From our American Warehouse - Delivery in 7-10 days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 63 more reviews...
 What am I missing? August 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was astounded while reading this book that the reviews were so good. I found it rang false, not because I thought she was lying or exaggerating, but because there was something missing. Accepting one's upbringing as dysfunctional and coming to terms with it is healthy. But this didn't feel healthy to me. It seemed almost romanticized, like her life was a character-building lark. Somebody's in denial: perhaps it's me, since I'm so entirely outnumbered.
Inspirational to the very last word.... July 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was simply addictive and is written beautifully! Jeannette Walls has a way of recalling her childhood with such intricate detail to unfold such an inspriational pieice. This book is definiately worth the time & the money! Her memoir allows her readers to appreciate what they have in life and to never give up even when faced with hardship. Pick up the book - you will never regret it!!!
great June 25, 2008
this book was really good, and either so well told or so different from my own experience that it's hard to beleive as truth... but i got it in the biography section of the bookstore and it does say memoir right on the front, so i guess it must be so.
i really enjoyed the author's writing style. i read a bit of the introduction and bought it, she's a good storyteller. it's like she paints a coat of glaring reality.. or some such thing that makes the story so palpable, over the plot (which is fascinating enough on its own.
i thought this book did a great job of outlining the positives and negatives about people and situations. the parents were very interesting. they were learned people, more so than the average joe, and they taught their kids so many things and really stimulated them intellectually. they were inventive and artistic and let their kids be who they wanted to be and discover the world at their own pace. however, they were far from perfect. the mother had a very laiser faire attitude about raising the kids, though this could just be my personal bias as i was raised in a more stuctured household. when the kids are struggling with problems or when something isn't going right, she doesn't get too involved in their lives and either focuses on herself or brushes whatever it is off telling them to be stronger. so while her artistic hairbrainedness is wonderful and fun, it also backfires a bit. and i also didn't enjoy her relationship with her husband who lorded over her.
the husband was interesting because he was such a creative, inventive guy. when he put his mind to something he got a solution to whatever it was that fixed the problem (though to be fair kids can be easily pleased, especially without any prior world views to taint the perspectives their parents throw at them) and he was so intelligent and cared so much for his kids, but he was a drunk and used his intelligence poorly in inappropriate settings and he was somewhat pigheaded. also, despite this intelligence he and his family coast along the bottom half of the economic scale.
i think they were both wonderful characters and would have loved to meet them in real life. i love their view on the world, if not so much the negative exectutions, and think they're both really metaphorical characters and really display how something can have both a good and bad side well. i think the mother says at one point -life has both tragedy and comedy, you should focus more on the comedy than the tragedy- or something like that. there's a good and bad to everything... though at some point this philosophy could lead to intentional blindness to certain aspects of a situation.
Simply one of the best books I have ever read April 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Jeannette Walls is an incredible storyteller. She skillfully maintains a balance between her original childlike perspective and her later comtemplation as an adult when recalling scenes of her childhood. It gives the reader a magical connection to all of the rich characters and places explored in the book. A must read for any enthusiast of hardship, redemption, and humanity.
A great Book February 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just read this book and was blown away.
What I'm even more excited about is I heard that she will be speaking in Toronto on Mar. 4th 2008 at the MTCC. Call this guy at 1-866-887-9804 at ext 227 for tickets.
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