I loved this book and would label it as one of my all-time favorites. It is the childhood memoires of Jeanette Walls. Her parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls are the epitome of dysfuntion. Rex teaches his children wonderful things but also disappears for days after stealing the grocery money for alcohol. Rose Mary is an educated woman who can't seem to even fix a simple meal for her childrem and leaves them to fend for themselves. She spends money on artist supplies rather than essentials for her family. She is an emotional cripple. The family never stays in one place for very long. Jeanette has two sisters and a brother and they basically raise themselves. Jeanette has the courage to finally leave home and make a life for herself. The amazing thing about this story is not that she survived this neglect and abuse but that she describes her parents with affection and unconditional love.
3 comments:
There were a couple of features to this book that I thought were fascinating - one was the writing. Somehow when Jeannette was writing about when she was very young, her view of the family seemed to be like a very young person would think - their life was a lark. As the story progressed and she became older, the point of view shifted subtly, and was now the point of view of an older person - life was not so great now. They were very smooth transitions, and almost unnoticeable.
Also - can you believe she grew up to be such a great person??
One of my favorite parts was the terrifying time when they were moving and the kids were in the back of the U-Haul, and the doors were swinging open. Those parents should have been jailed!
Amen to that....about being jailed. The part that made me "spitting mad" was when her Mom hid the chocolate bar and wasn't there a diamond ring too. Did that woman have any maternal instincts??
I think not.
I read that book a while ago and thought it was an incredible story. What those children had to go through, especially Jeannette, was unbelievable. And yet how strong she was, how she cared for her siblings, and how she made it to grow up to be a successful person with no or few apparent emotional hang-ups!
Gloria
Post a Comment