The Glass Castle

HMMM it's so hard to talk about the book without talking about Walls's childhood? It's... impressively weird and cringe-inducing. It's impressive how Walls is able to document an arguably abusive childhood while still expressing some level of empathy and even admiration for her parents. I was furious reading about Jeannette's mother hiding chocolate while her children went hungry, but I also felt for her mother when she cried to her children that they always forgive their father for his drinking, and they should forgive her for her weakness as well. I also thought her framing device, of starting off with Jeannette seeing her homeless mother and not doing anything for her, was great. It starts her off as a somewhat less-than-sympathetic narrator, but by the time you get to the end and see more of the Wallses... it's understandable.Overall, I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed [b:Half Broke Horses 6366437 Half Broke Horses Jeannette Walls http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348507420s/6366437.jpg 6553801], but I admired it and appreciated it.