finished reading the glass castle today. eh. parts of it were really good but the lack of plot and real resolution made for a frustrating read. i was definitely dragging my feet at the end. Anyone else ready to move on? Any thoughts you want to share? I found this on youtube:
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Very cool. I was hoping to see a painting of the Joshua Tree! I am only a third into the book but will be reading more tonight. Her favorite memory of Christmas with her dad is my favorite story she tells of her childhood so far. What a great gift.
ReplyDeleteI like the book. I don't usually read memoirs so this is something new.
Yup finished it. Some quick thoughts before I resume my research paper:
ReplyDeleteIts interesting the shift in how she recounts her early childhood memories and then on into her teen years, you can tell what memories she's romanticized if anything to cope with the drama.
Her relationship with her mother as she becomes disaffected also shows as the story progresses and I think began to change my own opinion of mom.
The end did seem hurried in a rush to prove she was in fact normal and everything had turned out. We follow all of her most personal childhood confessions and then she seems embarrassed or hesitant to talk of her present day life in a way that lets the reader relate at the same level
but good read, maybe would of worked better as a collection of short stories, I've had that criticism with Agusten Burroughs (Running with scissors etc) aswell, lots of great stories don't always fit together to make a great plot
yeah, i agree. she could have written some awesome short stories. i don't feel as disappointed as i did when i first finished.
ReplyDeleteisn't her life in welch totally haunting? yikes. that grandma could be in horror movie. speaking of movies, i wonder if they'll make it into one?
You could just feel her life coming to a screeching halt while living there, everything seemed to be falling apart. Her parents weren't the same wacky idealist characters they were in the beginning, just depressing loafs. Lard sandwiches on Wonderbread! I would have died.
ReplyDeleteOverall I did like the book, and some of the stories have sort of stuck with me. Her childhood was definitely a story worth telling.
I finished the book, then started to read it again right away, something I am not sure I have ever done. I think the stories made me think of work (I work for Child Protective Services). This family would so have been called in today! I also wonder about the change in the parents from the early years where they are portrayed as idealistic, non-establishment dreamers/artists/thinkers, to the later years where they are just alcoholic, lazy, disinterested and neglectful of both the children and themselves. It probably is, as Amy suggested, that the writer was able to romanticize the early years, when her memories are less vivid, than they were of her teen years, when she would be more aware of the differences between her family and the families of those around her.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me that some children are so resilient, they can succeed despite such indifferent parenting. It made a huge difference, I am sure, that their parents were not directly abusive.
Jane-I didn't know you worked for CPS! Very interesting. I worked for Joan Male Family Support Center as a respite worker/mentor for just less than a year. It was emotionally exhausting! I give you a lot of credit!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the book, are you on board for Shadowland?