The Turn of the Screw in Classics Without All the Class

May 30, 2008 Cecily rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, usa-and-canada, ghosts-and-mysteries

TotS is the main story - a traditional country house chiller/ghost story, though the (uncertain) children's role is a more original touch. Too many commas in odd places, make it long and convoluted and yet simultaneously abrupt; rearranging the clauses would be simpler, clearer and more flowing. However, this fault is not noticeable in the other two, shorter, stories in the collection.

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Jul 07, 2015 Ebster Davis rated it liked it

This story is about this lady who's hired as a governess for these two kids, and uncovering this mystery about what happened to them before she was hired. It's stylized as like a ghost story-the type you would tell around the campfire, especially at the very beginning and the very end.

I listened to this book on librivox; the text of the story has lots of run-on sentences and interrupted dialogue. Characters also finish each other's sentences and respond to questions with other questions. I love ...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Shea rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics-challenge, mystery-suspense

I needed a short read to finish my classics challenge for 2011 and this book came up on a list of shorter classics. I really liked this suspenseful story by James. It was creepy and enthralling. The story pulled me right in and I finished it in a day. I did feel like the end left me hanging.

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Nov 20, 2008 Dscarpella rated it liked it

henry james is cool. i like his style here. this is supposed to be a ghost story but its really a story about homosexuality and paranoia in a time where anyone who wasn't a straight male and white is a lunatic or scary. i had to read the intro and 1st chapter 4 times before i figured out what the hell was going on. don't give up if you pick er up. ...more

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Jun 25, 2013 Nanci Svensson rated it liked it

I was not too impressed - that is, until the final sentence, which gave me goose bumps! What a twist...

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Jun 09, 2009 Karen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, should-ve-read-for-english-class, read-in-2013

Perhaps older literature is a little beyond my taste...but I just did not find this book compelling. This is probably obvious given the fact that it's taken me almost a year to finish. There were times I found the book chilling, and the idea of ghosts and children always scares me just a touch, but I was never compelled to keep reading and see what happens. And then, when I did finally reach the end, I felt like it ended too quickly, too haphazardly. Overall, it wasn't for me. ...more

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