Meghan's Review of The Glass Castle

My friend recommended this book to me so I picked it up from the library without really knowing what it was about. This book is a memoir of the author, Jeannette Walls' childhood. She grew up with two parents who were extremely smart and could do anything if they actually tried, but they moved from town to town, living in run down houses or in their car, or in the California desert. Her dad never wanted to keep a job because he was an "entrepreneur" and said he needed time to research and invent and keeping a real job stopped him from that. Whenever he looked for work, he found it, but he always got himself fired and then spent most of the money he made on alcohol and cigarettes anyway. Walls has three siblings and they always lived in squalor- not because that was the only option they had but because her parents always made decisions that led them to that. They owned a house and also owned some property in Texas, but her parents would never even consider selling it even though they never had food or clothes, or place to live. They lived in the house after their grandma died for a while, but the parents didn't like living in the city, so they just up and left it one day and moved to a town where they didn't have anything and ended up in a broken down house that didn't have any plumbing or even a bathroom. I was just amazed that two parents who had every opportunity to provide for their children didn't do it. They were so caught up in living their dreams (her mom wanted to be an artist, her dad an inventor) that they never provided for their children. And they never took charity from anyone. The parents wouldn't go on welfare because "they didn't need it", but they also wouldn't provide their kids clothes or even food because they were too busy squandering the little money they did make on art supplies or alcohol. Walls doesn't tell her story as a way to say how horrible her life was, but just as a way to remember her experiences. It was a touching story and has humorous moments and sentimental moments. But it also infuriated me that two parents could act the way hers did. The wonderful thing about the book is that three of the four children actually find a way to make it out of the slum that their parents put them in and have wonderful lives. And even though the kids always asked their parents what they could do to help (by the end the parents were completely homeless), all the mom would say was how sad she was that her daughter had lost sight of her values because she lived on Park Avenue. I just wonder what is going through a mind of someone like that, and how many people are on the streets that have similar thinking. I guess at the end of the book, I'm just baffled how anyone could want to live like that. I wish I understood a little more of why the parents acted the way they did. There is some language and some perverse moments Walls was subjected to, but I was very intrigued by the book.

P.S. sorry if this review is too long or gives too much away. I never quite know how much to say in a review, but if you want to read it at least you know what you're getting, right? :)