The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

June 5, 2006
Book suggested by Pat S., and meeting hosted by Pat D.

Viewpoints on this book were polarized - readers either loved it or disliked it intensely! Many of us felt it was the best book we've read to date, while others thought it was the worst book we've read. The session leader thought the book was "the most depressing book I've ever read."

Many of us found the book to be haunting, thinking about it for days and weeks after we'd read it. We thought the mother was probably bipolar, and the dad suffered the ill effects of a terrible upbringing that resulted in problems with alcoholism. We thought it was a story of triumph for the children who were able to break away from horrible living conditions, and wondered how they managed to find the strength and resolve to accomplish all that they have. We wonder about and feel compassion for the youngest child who evidently was not as successful in breaking the chain of self-destructive behavior.

We talked about how it is interesting that the girls have had no children and marveled at the loyalty they continued to demonstrate toward their parents despite the circumstances surrounding their upbringing. We commented about the fact that the book was written devoid of emotion, and included no self-pity whatsoever. We discussed some of the extreme hardships the children faced and how it was amazing that they lived through it all. The thought was introduced that perhaps some parents today may have swung the pendulum too far the other way resulting in over protectiveness that may have their children developing an excessive sense of entitlement.

We found it interesting that various members of our group had such diverse opinions of this book, and agreed that this diversity is one of the things that make our meetings so enjoyable!