Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

46 reviews

bella613's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

This is a very well written story, by and about someone who overcame an intensely horrible foundation in life to become stable and successful. 
I won't say I liked it, though. 
The last third or so was the best out of the book- tbh I would have rated the first half 2 stars. This might be because the beginning events take place before she could possibly remember them. 

I know it's a memoir, and it's her perspective on her own life, but something I can't quite put into words to felt off about it. It reads very casually, in parts that are clearly not lighthearted. Some people described it as straightforward writing style but it felt more detached to me. I obviously dont know the facts of her life but I felt the distinct impression of someone exaggerating, not necessarily to gain sympathy or praise, but more because they actually see themselves as the main character of the world. The whole family is clearly very intelligent (even though both parents are extremely closed minded, selfish, and arguably psychotic) and the kids took a lot of initiative despite never being taught or shown any responsibility. 
I think the biggest thing that made it difficult for me to relate and/or take something from this book is that the people in it don't feel real. Walls describes everyone in her life as very clear good vs bad characters- there are the evil ones and the victims, and no in between. And despite this, she shows almost no resentment and describes no clear forgiveness. Everything that was done to the children is swept away and they sort of just act like nothing happened once they are on their own. There's no boundaries set but there's also no reconciliation. 

I listened to the audiobook, which the author reads herself. I would have preferred a different reader but I would say I'm glad I listened rather than reading it in physical copy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

katmystery's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Utterly engrossing. The compelling true story of the author’s difficult and atypical childhood and her complicated relationship with her erratic parents. Walls’ no-nonsense storytelling is riveting, and she narrated the audiobook herself. As an unsupervised child who raised herself from a young age, the author encountered many situations which may be triggering for some readers, so be sure to check the trigger warnings if you’re interested in reading this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Pedophilia

kaelizaco's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

elledanie's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Shares such an interesting family’s life story and horrible abuse in such a matter-of-fact even “lighthearted” way. Well-written—expresses the love and loyalty the family had despite their blatant lack of basic care/needs.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

crystalsparkles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

It reads like a season of Shameless, it’s so sad. Over and over adults failed those kids. And yet they continued to have relationships with their parents. Families can be so complicated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Trafficking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

lngoldstein's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

Absolutely devastating. The amount of times my mouth hung open from shock or I gestured choking someone out because of frustration was too high to count. I read this at an interesting time since I’m currently taking juvenile law and have learned a lot about the rights of children. I wouldn’t suggest this book to everyone, but I will be keeping it in my collection for those who think they can handle the subject matter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

toxicpick's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

cheerstochels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

hmmm i enjoyed this. really picked up speed when i got into it and really enjoyed it by the end. amazing writing too, i would read other works by jeannette, her voice is very good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Pedophilia, Racism, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

bealittlebrave's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment