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The Glass Castle: A Memoir

by Jeannette Walls

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
19,519779206 (4.16)763
Biography & Autobiography. Nonfiction. HTML:MORE THAN EIGHT YEARS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST

The extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly) memoir from one of the world's most gifted storytellers.
/> The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishingâ??a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

The memoir was also made into a major motion picture from Lionsgate in 2017 starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Wat… (more)
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(see all 22 recommendations)

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» See also 763 mentions

English (759)  German (3)  Spanish (3)  French (2)  Piratical (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (769)
Showing 1-5 of 759 (next | show all)
eh. ( )
  ooh_food | Mar 8, 2023 |
True story about children raised by neglectful parents. Excellent writing. ( )
  KimMahaffey | Jan 30, 2023 |
Fascinating book about a woman's neglectful upbringing. It is very interesting to see a child's perception of events when they are younger versus older. I think this one will stick with me for a while. ( )
  bangerlm | Jan 18, 2023 |
Memoirs aren’t my kind of book usually, but this kept my attention all the way to the end. An amazingly crazy and difficult childhood, but told with a lot of humor and good will. ( )
  steve02476 | Jan 3, 2023 |
This book is rough but so important ( )
  jackpotmedia | Dec 21, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 759 (next | show all)
''The Glass Castle'' falls short of being art, but it's a very good memoir. At one point, describing her early literary tastes, Walls mentions that ''my favorite books all involved people dealing with hardships.'' And she has succeeded in doing what most writers set out to do -- to write the kind of book they themselves most want to read.
 

» Add other authors (11 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Walls, Jeannetteprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gibson, JuliaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dark is a way and light is a place,
Heaven that never was
Nor will be ever is always true
-Dylan Thomas
"Poem on His Birthday"
Dedication
To John, for convincing me that everyone who is interesting has a past
First words
I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
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Wikipedia in English (3)

Biography & Autobiography. Nonfiction. HTML:MORE THAN EIGHT YEARS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST

The extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly) memoir from one of the world's most gifted storytellers.
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishingâ??a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

The memoir was also made into a major motion picture from Lionsgate in 2017 starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Wat

No library descriptions found.

Book description
The child of an alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing, during which she and her siblings fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors and the authorities.
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