When I describe The Glass Castle the
first thing I say is that it is tragically funny. This is how the author comes across -
though probably not intentionally. The thing about this story is that it is a tale of
the author's childhood as she remembers it. The crazy things her parents said, did, and
got away with were so common place to Jeanette and her siblings that as children they
never considered an alternative.
She writes about them with
the knowledge as an adult that much of what she dealt with as a child could very likely
be classified as either abuse or neglect - but ironically, she never
felt abused nor neglected as a child (in fact, she seemed content
growing up in this environment of tough love). She knew her life was different from
other kids' lives - but she also found her parents' differences to be as endearing and
unique as they were strange and somewhat scary.
In this
way, I might describe the intended tone to be straightforward and as honest as
possible. She doesn't paint her parents in a light of particular respect or
disrespect. Instead - she shows things the way they were, and allows her readers to
come up with their own opinions. It was a bold approach to this memoir - one that the
author feared would alienate her from a fan base. Instead, it probably made her more
successful.
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