Writing style
Conversational · Descriptive · Direct
Apple BooksThe Glass Castle
Biography and memoir
- First published
- 2005
- Print length
- 288 pagesScribner, 2005
Description
In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recounts a vivid, nomadic childhood shaped by a deeply dysfunctional family. Her early years unfold through frequent moves across Arizona, Nevada, and California. As she grows older, her father’s alcoholism and abuse increasingly define family life, alongside hunger, bullying, and sexual danger. Jeannette and her sister eventually plan to leave Welch and build safer, more independent lives in New York City. Throughout the memoir, Walls examines the ways her parents both formed and limited her development. Family love and resilience remain in tension with her father’s repeated but unrealized promise to build a dream home made of glass.
Reading profile
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Pace
Brisk
Tone
Dark · Hopeful · Intimate · Reflective
Structure
Chronological nonfiction
Focus
Character · Relationships · Voice
Emotional intensity
5 / 5
Reading complexity
1–5 · higher means more demanding- Writing
- 2 / 5
- Ideas
- 2 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
Themes
Book details
For the print edition listed above.
- Publisher
- Scribner
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780743247535
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