...my imagination had, in a flash, turned real. He did stand there!

I was truly torn. Was I more captivated by the Gothic thriller aspect or the complex jalebi of the prose? It was a prose that was truly - truly - labyrinthine. James uses it with great effect for the purpose of dissimulation. (Later, people would call it 'unreliable narration.') You can trust James to phrase even the simplest ideas and situations in the most imaginative ways without making you feel foolish. But if you still demand clarity, then tell us: did the governess really see the ghost or was it all just a figment of her overexcited imagination? In any case, this is one of the finest examples of a story where the writing style itself suggests ideas to the reader without stating anything concretely.

I read it (or reread it) in one sitting. My heart was racing, my underarms were damp, and probably my blood pressure shot up too, if only metaphorically. No, it wasn't the horror. Horror films don't scare me, let alone the written word. I realized early on that it was the pressure of the prose bearing down on my soul. Its gravity was many times greater than that of the earth. I couldn't tear myself away until I had finished, panting. It was like being on a treadmill inclined upwards. You're making the effort but not going anywhere and can't rest your legs until the segment is over and your muscles are fully exercised.

This novella is like a literary treadmill.

June '16.

Some persons always have the habit of recording what has happened to them.

And the story here is about a manuscript of a governess. She was young, untried, and nervous.

There was a man who had hired her. And there were orphans that she was in charge of.

He had become the guardian of a small nephew and a small niece after their parents died in India. These children were of his younger, military brother whom he had lost two years before. By the strangest of chances for a man in his position - a lone man without the right sort of experience or a grain of patience - these children were very much on his hands.

The manuscript was written in a really fanciful style.

The governess remembered the whole beginning as a succession of flights and drops, like a little seesaw of the right throbs and the wrong. After rising in town to meet his appeal, she had a couple of very bad days. She found herself doubtful again and indeed felt sure she had made a mistake. In this state of mind, she spent the long hours in the bumping, swinging coach that carried her to the stopping place where she was to be met by a vehicle from the house.

She found the children charming at first and everything seemed to go on quite smoothly. But then one evening, she saw a man she didn't know at the top of the tower. Some days later, she saw this man once again. He was looking through the window inside the house and she got frightened. A series of mysterious occurrences ensued and she got the jitters.

Sometimes we see some really weird things from the other side. Or is it just our sick imagination?

If anyone believes that this is merely a ghost story, I think they are completely missing the essence of it.

It is the most blatant and unsettling form of manipulation that I have ever had the misfortune to experience at the hands of an author. I doubt I will ever look at simple words like 'him' or 'her' in the same innocent light again.

The ghosts themselves are actually the least of our concerns. The true horror lies in the nature of the relationship between these so-called 'ghosts' and the children. As we witness the story gradually unfold, we are left feeling an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

I could expound further on this, but I shall leave it at that for now. I am still deeply pondering the profound effect that such a small book has had on me. It has truly left an indelible mark on my psyche.

The text presents a vivid description of Douglas's reading. Douglas, unmindful of the speaker, starts to read with a remarkable clarity. It is as if the beauty of the author's writing is being brought to life through his voice. Each and every phrase of this novella is characterized by a most fine clearness. Despite the fact that the narrative continuously loops back on itself, with half-formed questions and elusive answers. As a result, the truth becomes forgotten and logic disappears from view. There is only the persistent and obsessive turn of the screw. This turn continues long after the final evasive circumlocution has been beautifully presented to our ears. It is a captivating and mysterious piece of literature that keeps the reader engaged and intrigued.

2.5 Stars. GEESH.......I'm so glad it's finally over! The initial set-up was really great as it managed to draw in the reader with the anticipation of an eerie old manuscript being narrated. But, whew! It turned out to be such a verbose read!

I typically have a deep love for old creepy gothic horror stories. However, this one, in my opinion, was neither scary nor eerie, and it didn't even have a very atmospheric feel. Now, there were a couple of "sightings" in a window. One in particular made me think, "oh boy, here we go." But alas, my hopes were quickly dashed.

Besides a couple of suspicious deaths and a strange ending, I was truly disappointed. Yep, it was a "queer business and a queer story" about a governess who was hired to take care of two beautiful children, aged 8 and 10, in a house that was supposedly poisoned and filled with evil.

I cannot recommend my very first Henry James novel. It just didn't live up to my expectations. I was hoping for a spine-tingling, atmospheric horror, but instead, I got a rather wordy and underwhelming read. Maybe I'll give another of his works a try in the future, but for now, I'm left with a sense of disappointment.

I had a great time reading Henry James during my university days.

However, I have to admit that I didn't fully appreciate his writing back then, with the exception of this particular novel.

This novel is truly brilliant! It captivated me from the very beginning and held my attention until the very end.

The way James constructs his characters and weaves their stories together is simply masterful.

Each character is so vivid and complex, with their own unique personalities, desires, and flaws.

The plot is also full of twists and turns, keeping me on the edge of my seat and constantly guessing what would happen next.

Overall, I am so glad that I discovered this novel and was able to experience the genius of Henry James.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves great literature.

The story of "The Turn of the Screw" begins with a germ of an idea planted in Henry James' mind by the Archbishop of Canterbury. For over two years, this flimsy premise percolated in his thoughts until he transformed it into a full-fledged narrative. The governess, sent to Bly to care for Miles and Flora, soon finds herself facing mysterious and perhaps malevolent forces.

“I seemed to float not into clearness, but into a darker obscure, and within a minute there had come to me out of my very pity the appalling alarm of his perhaps being innocent. It was for the instant confounding and bottomless, for if he were innocent, what then on earth was I?”

As the governess experiences a series of uncanny sightings, her fragile mind teeters on the brink of breaking. She suspects the children of being in league with the ghosts, and her desire to save them leads her down a dangerous path.

While some may be disappointed by the lack of traditional horror in the story, this is precisely what makes it so enduring. James forces the reader to work out the meaning for themselves, leaving much to the imagination.

The story can be interpreted in multiple ways, both as a supernatural tale and as a psychological exploration of a repressed mind. Whether the ghosts are real or a figment of the governess' imagination, the story remains a powerful and thought-provoking work of literature.

By inviting the reader to engage with the text and construct their own interpretations, James creates a literary masterpiece that continues to fascinate and challenge readers over a century after its publication.

I tip my hat to you, Sir James, for creating a work that is both perfect and imperfectable, a literary amuse-bouche that will be wrestled with ad infinitum.

Hi, hello, it’s me, the chick who rates trashy romcoms five stars.

To be honest, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I just rated a classic three stars.

The thing is, when I was reading it, I was not scared at all and the whole experience felt more like doing a homework assignment. But perhaps that's what it was in a way; I needed to read it to understand all the references in Fyneshade.

Our main character is a governess who comes to Bly to take care of two orphans, Miles (10) and Flora (8). The kids are beautiful and well-behaved, and she quickly grows to love them. She also befriends the housekeeper, and everything seems to be going well until she starts seeing dead people

I failed to hold onto this amazing story in which nothing was occurring.

The "tension" builds up quite nicely throughout the narrative, and the final sentence is quite impactful. However, I grew bored, simply waiting for something to take place.

Moreover, the descriptions of situations or emotions are at times rather convoluted, particularly in the beginning.

Consequently, it was a disappointment.

Perhaps if there had been more action or a clearer progression of events, I would have been more engaged.

As it stands, the story seemed to drag on without much substance.

Nonetheless, the build-up of tension and the striking end sentence do show some promise.

It makes me wonder what could have been if the story had been developed more fully.

Overall, it was a missed opportunity to create a truly captivating and engaging piece of literature.

According to the era in which it was written, the book is undoubtedly a story of horror, fantasy, and psychological intensity.

The truth is that from the beginning, the author balances between real or fantastic events and situations, leaving their explanation to the discerning discretion of the reader.

Therefore, within the entire hazy and indistinct development of the plot, this book either you love it or you hate it. There is no room for a middle ground.

My own conclusion has nothing to do with ghosts, dark presences, and similar misfortunes that cause deaths or demonic influences from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

I believe that everything is intertwined with human psychological and spiritual health, as well as with people's ignorance regarding the explanation of certain phenomena that they consider inexplicable mysteries and supernatural.

Evil exists and imposes its presence and its tragic consequences when we accept it as inexplicable, we fear it, we admit it, and ultimately it completely dominates us and transports us to madness.

Good - I mean that which is explained documentedly and logically - on the other hand, presupposes spiritual health, common sense, logic, and a cool-headed approach with focused thinking for whatever can be explained.

What is random is that which we have not yet learned the cause that led to it. For every result, there is something that caused it.

In this book, all the evils and inexplicable things were caused by the turmoil and the psychological compulsions of the charismatic children's nanny in combination with the isolation and indifference of the rest of the environment. Thus, we arrive with mathematical precision at the expected

TWIST OF THE TALE and what it may bring...

✡️⬛️✡️⬛️

Have a good read!

Many greetings!

I understand why this novel is a classic.

I truly do. And the theme and even some parts of the story I have liked.

However, Henry James and his pedantry continuously took me out of the story. At times, his periphrases and his eternal circumlocutions were effective (they serve to emphasize the narrator's own doubts), but most of the time, on the contrary, they only hindered my identification with what was being told to me. Never was the vision of ghosts so tedious and disappointing. There are parts in this book that are cryptic not because they have to be cryptic, but because Henry James writes in such an obtuse way that he makes it more complicated than it should be. Complicating a story through a complicated language is an easy way to mislead and create confusion.

And yet... Henry James himself is a good enough writer to know that his style can choke many. He is shrewd enough to put pills to feed the reader's expectation, mentions of future events that will turn everything upside down and traumatize the narrator. Then it turns out that it doesn't and the ending is the most anticlimactic, but I attribute that to the fact that the novel was written more than 100 years ago. The genres change and become more sophisticated. In the end, as readers, we know all the tricks.

Although one thing must be made clear: what this novel has, that for which it became a classic of Literature, still works.

No one can be sure of what really happens in the story. Even today it is debatable. Even today it is discussed. Just that makes it worthy of its place as a classic of the genre.

The theme itself is interesting: "innocence in children: what does it consist of, should we take extreme measures to protect it?" And at the same time that it develops this, it also touches on other aspects such as class differences or the idea that only parents or tutors can discipline upper-class children, a servant never could. I find those themes fascinating. What annoyed me was Henry James' style that prevented me from getting into the story and continuously gave me the feeling of turning the book into a mere exercise in style.

In summary, the novel is a great classic of world Literature, I don't dispute that, but it didn't completely convince me. Because of Henry James.

Instead of bananas or tacos, I firmly believe that Henry James would have been the kind of man who opted to have commas on his boxer shorts. I have always regarded Henry James as overly verbose and thus always shunned his books. Although I wasn't entirely incorrect, his books, at least not all of them, are not the unreadable monstrosities that I had always considered them to be. I suspect, however, that I can only tolerate him in short form.

As for the actual story, I was completely captivated. It reminded me of a recent movie starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, in which she, a kindergarten teacher, is convinced that one of her students is some sort of prodigy. Is he really, or is she just projecting? And so, without saying anything about the plot of this one, I have told you all you need to know, and in a much more concise manner than HJ could ever have imagined.