The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James
Blurb:Novella by Henry James, published serially in Collier's Weekly in 1898 and published in book form later that year. One of the world's most famous ghost stories, the tale is told mostly through the journal of a governess and depicts her struggle to save her two young charges from the demonic influence of the eerie apparitions of two former servants in the household. The story inspired critical debate over the question of the "reality" of the ghosts and of James's intentions. James himself, in his preface to volume XII of The Novels and Tales of Henry James, called the tale a "fable" and said that he did not specify details of the ghosts' evil deeds because he wanted readers to supply their own vision of terror.For 'one of the worlds most famous ghost stories' this was unimpressive. It wasn't scary at all. I liked the premise of the story, but it was very long winded - he took half a dozen pages to say something that which could have been condensed down to two, the effect of this was that the pace was very slow and it was hard to get into. I didn't feel any attachment to the characters and, therefore, the ending, which I'm guessing was supposed to be shocking, had little effect.All in all, I'm just glad I finished this book so that I can tick it off my list.
Blurb:Novella by Henry James, published serially in Collier's Weekly in 1898 and published in book form later that year. One of the world's most famous ghost stories, the tale is told mostly through the journal of a governess and depicts her struggle to save her two young charges from the demonic influence of the eerie apparitions of two former servants in the household. The story inspired critical debate over the question of the "reality" of the ghosts and of James's intentions. James himself, in his preface to volume XII of The Novels and Tales of Henry James, called the tale a "fable" and said that he did not specify details of the ghosts' evil deeds because he wanted readers to supply their own vision of terror.For 'one of the worlds most famous ghost stories' this was unimpressive. It wasn't scary at all. I liked the premise of the story, but it was very long winded - he took half a dozen pages to say something that which could have been condensed down to two, the effect of this was that the pace was very slow and it was hard to get into. I didn't feel any attachment to the characters and, therefore, the ending, which I'm guessing was supposed to be shocking, had little effect.All in all, I'm just glad I finished this book so that I can tick it off my list.
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