The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls

Scribner, NY 2005 

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. (p. 3)

In this memoir, Walls tells of her turbulent childhood (which included sustaining 3^rd degree burns as she prepared a dinner of hot dogs for herself at the age of 3) with a matter-of-fact style that carries the reader safely through her dangerous childhood. Scenes from this book replay in my mind, like Walls' ejection from the family car, and her haunting description of the family home on Battle Mountain. Though there was no question of who was to blame for her crazy upbringing, I enjoyed the author's ability to share her family's troubled past without pointing fingers. Walls' simply tells it like it was, allowing readers to absorb the craziness that was her childhood.

Bottom Line:

An inspiring story of willpower.  If Jeannette Walls can achieve success and leave a past this troubled behind, I can surely get through my daily to do list without complaining.

Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers

Zeitoun

by Dave Eggers

Vintage Books, NY 2009

Zeitoun sent his family out of New Orleans in preparation for the hurricane named Katrina. All he really expected were some downed trees and a bit of aggravation, so he stayed behind to watch after the house and check on his family's rental properties.  In the days following the infamous storm, he ends up paddling through the city in a canoe helping his neighbors and feeding the neighborhood dogs. Then things take a turn for the worse that you both do and don’t expect and we’re given a first hand account of the madness and chaos that followed hurricane Katrina.

At the end of Zeitoun's stranger than fiction account, I was left with one question: How could this happen here?

Bottom Line:
The author weaves Zeitoun's family history into the tale, personalizing the Katrina tragedy and making it more than the hard to fathom images on the television screen.

The Lost City of Z, by David Grann

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
by David Grann
Vintage Books, NY, 2009

"Then he woke up to find what looked like worms in his knee and arm. He peered closer. They were maggots growing inside him. He counted fifty around his elbow alone... Some worms died from the poison and started to rot inside him. Others grew as long as an inch and occasionally poked their heads from his body, like a periscope on a submarine." (p. 134-135)

Before maps, GPS, and street signs, groups of men ventured into the most unwelcoming of climates to explore and chart the wilderness. Some returned with tales of amazing sites, and gained fame and fortune. Others never made it back home. The Story of Z is the tale of the latter. British explorer Percy Fawcett dedicated his life to searching for a fabled civilization believed to reside deep in the Amazonian Jungle. This is the fantastic true account of Fawcett's many journeys, including the one from which he never returned. Readers learn that few are immune from the dream of Z as the author sets out on his own mission discover what happened to Percy Fawcett. But the jungle the author encounters is very different from the one Fawcett attempted to conquer. As the author travels through part of the jungle where Fawcett was once separated from his group in dense foliage, he sees perpetual plains. He notes that in just five months in 2007 over 2700 square miles of jungle were cleared - an area the size of Delaware. Like Fawcett, this jungle might one day disappear. This story keeps you guessing until the end and wondering, what if?

Bottom Line:
Excellent read; page turner; super gross out scenes; I think I might want to be an explorer.