Author | Jeannette Walls |
---|---|
Cover artist | Rodrigo Corral |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Memoir |
Publisher | Scribner |
Publication date | March 2005 |
Media type | Print & E-Edition |
Pages | 289 |
ISBN | 0-7432-4753-1 |
Preceded by | Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip |
Followed by | Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel |
The Glass Castle is a 2005 memoir by American author Jeannette Walls. Walls recounts her dysfunctional and nomadic yet vibrant upbringing, emphasizing her resilience and her father's attempts toward redemption. Despite her family's flaws, their love for each other and her unique perspective on life allowed her to create a successful life of her own, culminating in a career in journalism in New York City. The book's title refers to her father's ultimate unfulfilled promise, to build his dream home for the family: a glass castle.
The Glass Castle has received broad readership and positive critical feedback for Walls' balanced perspective on the positives and negatives of her childhood. [1] [2] [3] It has been used in North American grade school curriculum, leading to some controversy, as The Glass Castle was listed No. 9 on the Office for Intellectual Freedom's list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in 2012. [4] Noted reasons for challenging the book include its "offensive language" and being "sexually explicit". [4]
The memoir spent over 260 weeks in hardcover on The New York Times Best Seller list, and it remained on the paperback nonfiction bestseller list until October 10, 2018, having remained for 440 weeks. [5] [6] [7] By late 2007, The Glass Castle had received many awards, including the Christopher Award, the American Library Association's Alex Award (2006), and the Books for Better Living Award. [8]
The Glass Castle was adapted as a feature film, released in the summer of 2017, starring Brie Larson as Jeannette Walls. [9]
The Glass Castle is Jeannette Walls' memoir of her childhood to adulthood, documenting how her parents both inspired and inhibited her life. The book is told in five parts. The first part, "A Woman On the Street", documents her conversation with her mother, Rose Mary, who was squatting in an abandoned apartment in New York City, which pushed her to tell the truth and write this memoir.
Part Two, titled "The Desert", covers young Jeannette Walls living with her parents, Rex and Rose Mary, and her siblings Lori and Brian. Walls opens with her first memory, which takes place when she is three years old and is living in a trailer park in southern Arizona. She is engulfed in flames when attempting to make hot dogs over the stove, resulting in her going to the hospital and receiving skin grafts on her stomach, ribs, and chest. Due to fear of the mounting medical bills as well as skepticism of modern medicine, Rex takes Jeannette out of the hospital without permission or paying. A few months later, the children are woken up in the middle of the night and are told they are "doing the skedaddle" (skipping town). Their parents' nomadic lifestyle imposed by their avoidance of financial responsibilities results in the family frequently moving about to locations in various states including Nevada, Arizona, and California. As Jeannette grows older, she is more aware of Rex's alcoholism and its consequences. For her 10th birthday, she asks him to stop drinking, which he successfully does for a few months. Following his relapse, Rose Mary decides that since they have no money it is time to move again, and she takes the family to their paternal grandparents in Welch, West Virginia.
Part Three, titled "Welch", covers approximately a seven-year period and documents Jeannette and her siblings' shifting perspectives on life with their parents from being one of adventure and whimsy to abuse and brokenness. While in Welch, the Walls children face bullying, sexual abuse, and hunger. Ultimately, Lori and Jeannette hatch a plan for Lori to move to New York City, with Jeannette following shortly thereafter. Eventually, Lori moves, and Jeannette joins her shortly before finishing high school.
In Part Four, "New York City", after experiencing the freedom and safety gained from no longer living with her parents, sister Lori offers to help siblings Brian and Maureen move to New York City. Three years after all the children have left Welch, Rose Mary and Rex decide to move to New York City. With little money, the parents fall behind on rent and become homeless. They find themselves at home amongst squatters in an abandoned apartment, and the Walls children discover who they are. Years later, Rex calls Jeannette and tells her that he is dying. A few weeks after they had met and talked about their adventures and struggles, he dies of a heart attack.
Part Five, titled "Thanksgiving", takes place five years after the death of Rex when the family gathers for Thanksgiving at Jeannette's country home where they toast to Rex.
The Glass Castle was positively reviewed by The New York Times , Kirkus Reviews , Entertainment Weekly , and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , among others. [10] [11] [8] However, several school districts have found the book's inclusion in syllabi to be controversial. [12]
In The New York Times Book Review , critic and novelist Francine Prose wrote, "The autobiographer is faced with the daunting challenge of ... attempting to understand, forgive and even love the witch ... Readers will marvel at the intelligence and resilience of the Walls kids." [13]
A review in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution compared Jeannette Walls to renowned 19th-century writer Charles Dickens, saying that "Dickens's scenes of poverty and hardship are no more audacious and no more provocative than those in the pages of this stunning memoir." [14]
The Glass Castle spent more than seven years on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into 31 languages. [15] [16] In 2006, the memoir peaked on the list at No. 10; however following the release of the film adaptation in 2017, the book became a No. 1 New York Times paperback nonfiction best seller and held that position for 15 weeks. [17] [18] As of 2017, the book had sold more than 5 million copies. [19]
The Glass Castle has received the following accolades:
The Glass Castle has also been the subject of public criticism, most notably in high school English classes. [23] [24] [25]
According to the American Library Association, The Glass Castle was the seventeenth most banned and challenged book in the United States 2010 and 2019 [26] and the ninth most challenged book in 2012. [27] The book has been challenged due to offensive language and being sexually explicit. [27]
In 2012, in Traverse City, Michigan, West Senior High School's 9th grade honors English class removed the book due to its "explicit language and references to child molestation, adolescent sexual exploits, and violence." [12] [28] It has since been returned to the curricula after the school board reconsideration committee voted to maintain the book. [29] [30]
In 2017, the book was again challenged in Marshfield, Wisconsin, resulting in the National Coalition Against Censorship defending it, stating that discussing its themes including "poverty, hunger, bullying, assault, and alcoholism" will benefit the students. [31] On March 1, 2017, the committee reviewing the case voted unanimously to recommend keeping the book in the sophomore English curriculum. [32] [33] [34]
Paramount bought the film rights to The Glass Castle, [35] and in October 2015 announced that actress Brie Larson would play Jeannette Walls in the movie adaptation. [36] In August 2014, it was announced that Destin Daniel Cretton was set to direct. [37] Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson were cast as Rose Mary and Rex Walls, respectively, with Gil Netter producing. Filming began May 20, 2016, in Welch, West Virginia. The film was released August 11, 2017, to mixed reviews praising the performances while noting the film's overall uneven tone. It holds a 51% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. [38]
Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers, known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American actress. Known for her supporting roles in comedies as a teenager, she has since expanded to leading roles in independent films and blockbusters. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
Roya Hakakian is an Iranian American Jewish journalist, lecturer, and writer. Born in Iran, she came to the United States as a refugee and is now a naturalized citizen. She is the author of several books, including an acclaimed memoir in English called Journey from the Land of No (Crown), Assassins of the Turquoise Palace (Grove/Atlantic), and A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious (Knopf).
And Tango Makes Three is a children's book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole which was published in 2005. The book tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together. With the help of the zookeeper, Mr. Gramsay, Roy and Silo are given an egg which they help hatch. The female chick, that completes their family, is consequently named "Tango" by the zookeepers. The book was based on the true story of Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins who formed a pair bond in New York's Central Park Zoo.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a 2006 graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, United States, focusing on her complex relationship with her father. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family life, and the role of literature in understanding oneself and one's family.
Lori Jakiela is an American author of memoirs and poetry. She won Stanford University's William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for non-fiction for her third memoir, Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth Maybe, in 2016.
Jeannette Walls is an American author and journalist widely known as former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com and author of The Glass Castle, a memoir of the nomadic family life of her childhood. Published in 2005, it had been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 421 weeks as of June 3, 2018. She is a 2006 recipient of the Alex Award and Christopher Award.
Book censorship is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material – of images, ideas, and information – on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor. Censorship is "the regulation of speech and other forms of expression by an entrenched authority". The overall intent of censorship, in any form, is to act as "a kind of safeguard for society, typically to protect norms and values [...] censorship suppresses what is considered objectionable from a political, moral, or religious standpoint."
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is the 2012 memoir by the American writer, author, and podcaster Cheryl Strayed. The memoir describes Strayed's 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995 as a journey of self-discovery. The book reached No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was the first selection for Oprah's Book Club 2.0.
Short Term 12 is a 2013 American independent drama film written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. It is adapted from Cretton's short film of the same name, produced in 2009. The film stars Brie Larson as Grace Howard, a young supervisor of a group home for troubled teenagers. The film was the first leading performance of Larson's career.
Destin Yori Daniel Cretton is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his films Short Term 12 (2013), The Glass Castle (2017), Just Mercy (2019) and the Marvel Studios film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).
The Glass Castle is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Cretton, Andrew Lanham, and Marti Noxon. It is based on Jeannette Walls' 2005 best-selling memoir of the same name. Depicting Walls' childhood, where her family lived in poverty and sometimes as squatters, the film stars Brie Larson as Walls, with Naomi Watts, Woody Harrelson, Max Greenfield, and Sarah Snook in supporting roles.
Marvelous Maureen is a comic book character created by Lori Walls who appeared in comics published by Archie Comics. She first appeared in Pep Comics #383. Her adventures were all scripted and penciled by Walls, with most stories being inked by Jon D'Agostino. Marvelous Maureen's adventures are in the vein of a humorous science fiction soap opera, with an ongoing storyline that ultimately stretched over twenty episodes. Trina Robbins & Catherine Yronwode described the Marvelous Maureen stories as "light-hearted and fanciful," but ultimately felt that the feature bore "little resemblance to the Archie school humor-style." After appearing in almost every issue of Pep from Apr. 1982 to Sept. 1985, the character never appeared again.
Brigette Lundy-Paine is an American actor. They first came to prominence for portraying Casey Gardner on all four seasons of the Netflix comedy-drama Atypical (2017–2021). In 2020, Lundy-Paine achieved further recognition for playing Billie Logan, the daughter of Ted Logan, in the science fiction comedy film Bill & Ted Face the Music.
Lori Schiller, now Lori Jo Baach, is the author of the memoir The Quiet Room-- A Journey out of the Torment of Madness. When she was 17, she began to hear voices, and was later diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder. The Quiet Room--A Journey out of the Torment and Madness follows her story as well as her family and friends as they navigate her mental disorder.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed is a book by Lori Gottlieb, published in 2019. It is a memoir where Gottlieb portrays a difficult time in her professional and personal life. The dual nature of the book enables Gottlieb to show her world as both a therapist and someone receiving therapy. Gottlieb explores five patients, including herself, and their different scenarios and viewpoints on life.
A Promised Land is a memoir by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Published on November 17, 2020, it is the first of a planned two-volume series. Remaining focused on his political career, the presidential memoir documents Obama's life from his early years through to the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The book is 768 pages long and available in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats and has been translated into two dozen languages. There is also a 29-hour audiobook edition that is read by Obama himself.
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir is a 2021 memoir by Michelle Zauner, singer and guitarist of the musical project Japanese Breakfast. It is her debut book, published on April 20, 2021, by Alfred A. Knopf. It is an expansion of Zauner's essay of the same name which was published in The New Yorker on August 20, 2018. The title mentions H Mart, a North-American supermarket chain that specializes in Korean and Asian products.
Susan Kuklin is an American photographer and award-winning writer.