Title: The Glass Castle
Publication Year: 2005
Plot: The book recounts the unconventional, poverty-stricken upbringing Jeannette and her siblings had at the hands of their deeply dysfunctional parents. The title refers to her father’s long held intention of building his dream house, a glass castle. A tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that, despite its profound flaws, gave the author the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
Miscellaneous: The memoir spent over 260 weeks in hardcover on The New York Times Best Seller list and it remained on the paperback nonfiction bestseller list until October 10, 2018, having persisted for 440 weeks.
It feels great to be meeting with a book club again. The Glass Castle was a great way to kick off our group of memoirs. Our discussion leader took us straight a quote that really resonated with her, on page 144. Walls’ mother says, “Everyone has something good about them…You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.” Saying that to a group of inmates was impactful, and struck a chord with the discussion leader.
One question she had for the group was, “Would you blame your parents if they raised you like this?” There was a mixed bag of responses. Some think it would be difficult, especially as you get older and see the bigger picture. Many cited that the Walls children didn’t know any different, so how could they blame their parents. They all agreed, however, it was clear that the mother and father instilled core values in their children that guided them the rest of their lives. The family was tight-knit and relied on each other. A word that came up frequently was “resilient,” not only in regards to Jeannette but for everyone in the Walls clan. One reader said, “I didn’t have the issues she did growing up. I had a stable household and yet, I ended up an addict and in prison! She’s resilient!”
The discussion leader took a moment to share something that stuck out with her. She noted that it can be tempting to criticize the parents. “But you know what? My kids still think I’m the best mom there is. They’re proud of me and the progress I made, and they wouldn’t trade me for any other mom.” It’s clear Walls’ parents instilled good values and a good core in her, and those helped guide their children.
One thing we returned to throughout the discussion was how Walls never made herself a victim. She didn’t make excuses for herself. Again, this points back to her parents and the way they raised her. She had to be an adult beginning at an early age. And her scrappy resilience (there’s that word again) shines through at many moments throughout the memoir.
Then came the discussion of what The Glass Castle actually is, and why her father kept talking about building it. The readers thought it was ironic he wanted to build a glass castle, since he was always hiding from the “mob” or the “government.” But one reader said, “Hey, at least he’d never have to pay for electricity. They’d be off the grid.” A few readers thought it may have been a promise to keep his children, particularly Jeanette, close to him. A reader said, “For years, my dad talked about taking me to a Scorpions concert. Every year was going to be the year, and it was a bond between us. It never happened, but it was a shared goal.” It’s a similar thing for the glass castle. He was an adventurous person, and he hoped that the promise of more adventure would keep his children near him.
One side note that the readers found it interesting that Walls’ brother grew up to purchase houses and renovate them. Considering his background of growing up in dilapidated homes and rundown environments, it obviously provided some value and perhaps some therapy for him to own something and reinvent it. He worked with houses that needed the work!
It was a great discussion, and everyone shared their reactions and opinions. We agreed the book is highly readable, and ultimately very inspiring.
Next week, we’ll be discussing All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg.
Feel free to leave comments below. We’d love to hear what you think.
Until next time,
E.
If you’d like to purchase The Glass Castle, you may do so here:
