I just finished The Glass Castle and was thoroughly impressed. Throughout the book though, I couldn't help but wonder how much of the truth was stretched to make for good writing. One of Oprah's final episodes featured a second interview with author James Frey years after controversy over his book, "A Million Little Pieces." Not sure how much you heard about this- but he came out with a book that was marketed as a memoir about his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. After Oprah added it to her book club list, it got a lot of attention- not all positive. People brought into question how much of the details were exaggerated. More specifically, former addicts argued that he would not be able to remember the details and the recovery process he depicted was far from accurate. He eventually admitted that there were fabricated elements in the piece and dealt with lots of negative press and countless lawsuits as a result. Do authors have an obligation to tell the absolute truth when writing memoirs/autobiographies? Personally, I think that every book in this category has some elements of fiction. I mean- I imagine that even the most exciting life has its dull moments.
One of my favorite parts of her writing style was that she wrote the various stories of her childhood with the naivete that she would have had at the time. But she gives us enough information that we can draw conclusions about what the problems actually are. Very carefully crafted.
I found all of the characters with the exception of the mother to be endearing. I absolutely despised her and found her to be completely self-centered. I can accept that some people want to focus on themselves. And those are exactly the people that should not have children. Every little detail about this woman irked me....one thing that comes to mind is the tidbit that she was divulging on Hershey chocolate bars while her children were rummaging through the garbage at school for anything to eat.
Overall though, whether or not it is 100% truth, found it to be a very humbling and inspirational read. Would definitely recommend (although I betting we have a few madwomen who have already finished this one).
Yes! So glad you enjoyed it. It has been a good three years since I finished Glass Castle and I'm foggy on the details; I can say with certainty that I loved it when I read it though.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting point about the validity of autobiographies. I can't imagine that an author is able to remember word-for-word conversations, or exact sequencing of events. It would be impossible. I like to give autobiographies some literary freedom in this respect, and trust that the generalities are all true, and the details and dialogue are there to make things a little more interesting!
What's next on your book list?
Miss. H.