The Glass Castle
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
304 Pages
Childhood Memoir
Non-Fiction
Published 2005
Children either grow up because of their parents or almost in spite of them, either way the years still pass and little kids who are cared for or pretty much neglected become adults. Jeannette Walls wrote her story in The Glass Castle and I can say that so far this year it is my top pick, no doubt about it. Jeannette grew up with an alcoholic dad, who made too many broken promises and a mother who thought working was giving up on her dream to become an artist. So they lived in willful poverty. Jeannette had three siblings and life was not easy. The dreams of their parents never seemed to materialize into anything that could get them enough food, a warm house or clothes. As much as it would have been daunting, even more than I care to know, to grow up hungry, cold, and neglected, Jeannette speaks in an honest voice and she never seemed to loving her mother and father. The Glass Castle is an incredible memoir of a life, and more importantly of perseverance, dreams and the heart to see things through.
The honesty of The Glass Castle is what rang the clearest, the voice of a girl while not enjoying her childhood the way it could (should) have been enjoyed, she made the best of it. A childhood filled with rotten food, the digging in the school's bathroom trash for leftover lunches, but what a woman those circumstances made! There is a conscious choice Jeannette makes over and over to try and believe that her parents have their best interests in mind, that they are trying, that they will make it, a choice to live on.
The writing is so beautiful. The voice is of a girl, now woman that is so strong, so stunning and yet so openly vulnerable that the reader feels completely engulfed in her life and in the outcome. I marvel, I have not been impressed like this for a while. If all I could do would be to tell any slightly interested reader:"Even if you don't think you'll like it, this is a must read!!! " That would be exactly what I would say. I hope you'll give it a try if you haven't, I didn't think I'd like it, since I usually have a hard time with non-fiction, it seems boring and slow, this was nothing like that...just pure beauty.
Book Review: The Glass Castle
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
304 Pages
Childhood Memoir
Non-Fiction
Published 2005
Children either grow up because of their parents or almost in spite of them, either way the years still pass and little kids who are cared for or pretty much neglected become adults. Jeannette Walls wrote her story in The Glass Castle and I can say that so far this year it is my top pick, no doubt about it. Jeannette grew up with an alcoholic dad, who made too many broken promises and a mother who thought working was giving up on her dream to become an artist. So they lived in willful poverty. Jeannette had three siblings and life was not easy. The dreams of their parents never seemed to materialize into anything that could get them enough food, a warm house or clothes. As much as it would have been daunting, even more than I care to know, to grow up hungry, cold, and neglected, Jeannette speaks in an honest voice and she never seemed to loving her mother and father. The Glass Castle is an incredible memoir of a life, and more importantly of perseverance, dreams and the heart to see things through.
The honesty of The Glass Castle is what rang the clearest, the voice of a girl while not enjoying her childhood the way it could (should) have been enjoyed, she made the best of it. A childhood filled with rotten food, the digging in the school's bathroom trash for leftover lunches, but what a woman those circumstances made! There is a conscious choice Jeannette makes over and over to try and believe that her parents have their best interests in mind, that they are trying, that they will make it, a choice to live on.
The writing is so beautiful. The voice is of a girl, now woman that is so strong, so stunning and yet so openly vulnerable that the reader feels completely engulfed in her life and in the outcome. I marvel, I have not been impressed like this for a while. If all I could do would be to tell any slightly interested reader:"Even if you don't think you'll like it, this is a must read!!! " That would be exactly what I would say. I hope you'll give it a try if you haven't, I didn't think I'd like it, since I usually have a hard time with non-fiction, it seems boring and slow, this was nothing like that...just pure beauty.
95/100
The Heartbreak Diet
Title: The Heartbreak Diet
Author: Thorina Rose
Pages: 178
Yearly Count: 39
A book about life, about changes and making the best of what comes our way even when we wish it wouldn't. The Heartbreak Diet is all about moving on. I really wanted to enjoy it, it is a graphic novel autobiography....doesn't that sound great!? I guess I was hoping for more, I think it ended before I felt like she got her pride back again, or before her husband got what he deserved, but I need to not give away any more than that. It is very hard to know what to say about someone's life, you can't criticize content.
Besides that, it is a good read, a super quick read....it only took one of my little boys' nap time to finish it, maybe an hour or so? I enjoyed it, and I thought the format of an autobiography in graphic novel form was really neat! Interested?Want to read it?? leave a comment and on this post by Thursday! I'll pick a new home for it on Friday. it is BAFAB week right? or that was last week...whatever.
The Wishing Year: An Experiment in Desire
Title: The Wishing Year: An Experiment in Desire
Author: Noelle Oxenhandler
Pages: 286
Yearly Count: 35
What are wishes for, are they to rule our lives or to make us aimlessly scurry after every shooting star and blown out birthday candle. While wishing, could we miss the gifts that are placed in our laps, since they are not what we had known to wish for? The Wishing Year: An Experiment in Desire is a book of wishes and the journey they take Noelle on from the day they are born. While the writing of this book was strong, and many times captivating I found that there were long segments of this philosophy or that mentality of wishing which were the definite low points. The reading would slow down at these times and drag.
I believe that this book was not best suited for me however, as it is more of a self help book in staying the course, keeping on, and calling out dreams from the deep. Because I am not at this point in my life at all, there was not much I could cling to. However I do believe that if you are in a challenging place in life of uncertainty, or you have a hard time wishing for good things to come to you, but want to know more about it: this is the book for you. The Wishing Year is a book of hope, of desires that are met, of dreams that are reached, and therefore carries a powerful message.
If your life is in a dreamless state, or hope has long gone and you need a true story of hope and wishes come true to bring you to a place of realisation that there are good things to come, read The Wishing Year: An Experiment in Desire.
Persepolis and Persepolis 2
Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Published: Pantheon Books, New York
Pages: 153
Yearly Count: 28
The beginning of a story, a story of one little girl and what surrounds her. She is an Iranian, a Persian growing up in time of political unrest, societal insecurities and confusion of religion and law. Marjane conveys through the eyes of a child, what she felt, what she had to hold in and what happened when she didn't. To see all the horrors through the eyes of a little girl make them more real, more vivid and even more horrible.
This graphic novel was amazing to read, this was my first graphic novel experience and I loved the drawings to go along with the writing. Both the storyline and the art tied together to make the work a complete whole, and completely a five star read. I highly recommend it, and enjoyed learning more of the nation of Iran and its struggles. Not only is it about the nation, but it is mostly about one family and their interactions and how each political and religious decision affects them. Immediately when I finished the first book I grabbed up the sequel: Persepolis 2: The Story of Return.
Title: Persepolis 2: The Story of Return
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Publisher: Pantheon Books, New York
Pages: 187
Yearly Count: 29
Persepolis 2 shows the confusion of a child-now-teen who had to live in complete strictness and severity. Marjane heads to Germany and is on her own. She will live through such solitude and a sense of abandonment. Because of these feelings she turns to fillers, things and activities that will take the place, but fillers never work. She finds herself alone, embarrassed and someone she doesn't even know or recognize anymore, life must improve. This second half to me was a search for herself, Marjane had lived in order and control in Iran, and then moved to Germany where she was free to make choices...what she became made her fearful.
I enjoyed the second of the Persepolis books, but it seemed a little too introspective to me. I liked the first better because I loved learning about what was going on in Iran and how it affected Marjane, in Persepolis 2 Marjane takes the priority and her sufferings and depressions. It was good, because I cared about her and what became of her, but I would have enjoyed more about the situation when she returned to Iran. At the end of the book, it almost seemed like there would be another book after it. I looked everywhere and I don't think that there is, but it ended in a strange spot to me. I would definitely recommend it, but not as hard-core whole-heartedly as the first.
Links to other Bloggers reviews:
Marg from ReadingAdventures: Persepolis and Persepolis 2
Raidergirl3 from an adventure in reading: Persepolis and Persepolis 2
tinylittlelibrarian from tiny little reading room: Persepolis
If you have read either of these books let me know and I will include a link to your review at the end of this review.
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