Recommened: "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Wallis - A Book Review

I just finished an enjoyable book, "The Glass Castle". If you enjoy reading real-life stories, this is one not to miss. It has heart.

It is a personal memoir of the author, Jeannette Walls, who recounts in a non-judgemental way, about her harrowing , bittersweet and often poverty-stricken childhood growing up with two emotionally immature, erratic and irresponsible parents, who never gave up on the American dream that they would strike it rich one day.

Instead, a lifetime was spent chasing rainbows, ignoring the fact there were hungry children to feed and the obvious, – there was never going to be any riches…not from their ideas, anyway.

Yet, the book holds an enduring sense of affection for these wayward and eccentric parents, who by their neglect, taught self-sufficiency, not by example, but rather for the need to survive; love, from each other, as the siblings watched the other’s back, and a rich imagination from the father, who promised one day to build them a glass castle, which they believed... for a long while.

Jeannette's parents, Rex and Rose Mary Wall’s wedding photograph graces the inside of the book. They make a handsome, normal looking couple full of promise. Indeed, they managed a successful marriage, but it was an unorthodox venture to the last day.

They fought; at one point the children go outside to play so the neighbors would think nothing was going on, despite the fact their parent's yelling could be heard down the street. At one point during the evening, the mother ends up dangling outside of the upstairs window, while her husband is yelling , “I did not push her”. Eventually, the mother climbs back in and the parents make up, much to everyone's relief, as life returns to as normal as it gets.

The parents have an education, Rose Mary is a qualified teacher, but she feels she is an "artist" and spends her life painting pictures rather than taking care of her children. Holding a job is something she loathes and considers unecessary. Child-care is not her specialty either, her excuse is the children must learn to be self-sufficient. Rex, the father, an electrician and self-taught expert on a variety of subjects has trouble being employed. He is forever hatching "get rich" schemes to avoid regular work. Sometimes they have money when Rose Mary decides to work, which she hates with a passion or when Rex is employed. Invariably, the money is squandered on unnecessary luxuries and the children are left hungry.

The behaviour of the parents is bizarre and often bordering on insane, but when one is a child, there is nothing to compare to. One makes the best of the situation.

Rex Wallis is always inventing and looking for research money for is the "Prospector", a device that will locate gold. As young children, the siblings believe their father and support him, but as the years go by it becomes painfully obvious, the Prospector is just a flight of fancy as are other equally far fetched ideas. They lose interest as they mature and discover the reality of their lives. The drive to find a better life for themselves is what saves the children in the end.

You would think a book such as this would be depressing. It isn’t. While you can be exasperated at the total selfishness and silliness of the parents, you have to cheer at the children for their heart.

It goes to show, poverty isn’t necessarily a dead end. For some, that have the right spark, the initiative and sometimes just a little break, the world can be their oyster. Poverty is a powerful motivator for some.

The Walls did succeed after all, but in a way the parent’s never envisioned.

Alternately, Jeanette Wallis makes us chuckle at the engaging father that could make his children believe every word he uttered, no matter how preposterous the situation. Jeanette was her father’s favorite child. On one of her birthday's,when there was no money for gifts, he gave her the planet Venus as her own.

Originally published in 2005 as a hardcover, it has been out in paperback since 2006 and now is also available as a Kindle edition.