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What a lot to talk about!
The ESPC Book Club met for the second time on September 4, and discussed the riveting memoir by Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle.
The story follows the Walls family as they “skedaddle” from one bargain accommodation to the next. Jeannette fights with the neighbours who make fun of the family’s garbage heap; rummages through school garbage cans to find lunch; and helps her father make their beds out of rope and cardboard.
So what is this book really saying to us? Jeannette eventually “prevails”. That is to say that she becomes – after years of poverty, hunger, and some might say, neglect and abuse – an independent New York woman with a glam apartment and accessories to boot. She also becomes a best-selling author – so she’s probably rich, too. And she does it all on her own.
What messages are communicated by The Glass Castle about social justice? In this story, poverty is a choice. From these characters, we learn that independence and gritty determination are enough to get a person around any obstacles, no matter their starting point. Here, it seems that one is not bound or constrained by social class; rather, poverty, wealth, and everything in between is a direct result of one’s individual choices. Who’s to blame for the kids who had to eat out of school garbage cans? Certainly not the community, or the state, for their lack of hot lunch or breakfast programs. No, it is Jeannette’s depressed mother, who’s spent the last of the grocery money on a chocolate bar, who is at fault. Devastations and triumphs have less to do with community, more to do with individual choice.
The circumstances in this book ought to make us think about the role of individuals, families, communities, and our government in creating supports and services that are appropriate to allow people to live healthily, free from poverty, and in dignity. Unfortunately, the author is such a magnificent storyteller that some of these deeper questions are likely missed as we follow the Walls family from one incredible adventure to the next.
What do you think?
In addition to discussing the theme of poverty as a choice, the Book Club talked about resilience, family bonding, paths out of poverty, the role of the parents, consumerism and freedom from consumerism at our last meeting.
Our next book club pick takes a different approach. We’ll read The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, which looks at the relationship between hardship and solidarity with community. Join us!
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Sunday, 05 February 2012 
