Lats night I finished Jeannette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle. The book was a very detailed account of Jeannette's life growing up with three siblings in an unusual household with an alcoholic father and mother who would rather be an artist than raise her children. Jeannette spent her early years moving out West going between California, Nevada and Arizona. Each time the family would run out of money or into trouble they would "skedaddle" out of town and move on, usually in the dead of night and in a hurry.
Jeannette is a great writer and a master story teller. Her book is both well written and engaging. The short chapters (very short in some cases) make this book an excellent "just before bed" book as you don't have to spend much time getting through a chapter in a race against The Sandman. The only issue I have with the book is Jeannette's seeming unnatural memory. She can recall events that took place at an age when most people do not have any lasting memories. True, some events were traumatic, so it could be understood that perhaps one could remember an event from a young age. All I can say is I don't have any memories from three or four years old. In fact the earliest memory I have is from the first day of preschool and that would have been about five years old, I think.
But that said this book is an enjoyable read, well worth the purchase price and time invested to read. I'm looking forward to Jeannette Walls' next book (not to mention Maureen Walls, I hope she writes a book about her perspective as the youngest sibling, I think she would have some interesting perspectives).
***1/2 out of *****
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