genre: horror. classics.
The Review
This book had been on my list for years. I finally went out to buy it after watching the opening scene of the Haunting of Bly Manor. I was a huge fan of the Haunting of Hill House and I appreciated the adaptation they did of Shirley Jackson’s book. Since I’d wanted to read the Turn of the Screw already, I figured now was as good a time as any! I certainly wasn’t expecting what this book had to offer.
Characters:
The characters in this story are dated, but not to the detriment of the story. In fact, I think because of when this book was written, the characters are all the more impressive. The main character is a woman. Her confidante is a woman. I love that this story was centered around intelligent women who are still aware their feelings. The governess, the main character, is a force to be reckoned with. She is absolutely sure of her conviction. Very rarely, she doubts herself and continually tries to barrel through her situation with logic. Throughout this, she’s dealing with the strong feelings she has for her charges and the insane events that are occurring around her.
The Governess’s relationship with Mrs. Grose is excellent. I think strong relationships between two female characters are so important in literature and media. These two characters fully support one another through the entire ordeal and this is probably what I liked most. They never turn on one another, even when there is evidence contrary to what the other is saying. There is no drama between them. No false fronts. Just support. To me, this was the best part of the book.
Set-Up:
Despite the phenomenal characters, I can understand why a lot of people rate this book low; it is hard to read. This was published in 1898 so the writing is complicated and convoluted. The English is difficult to decipher and very old-fashioned. In fact, the entire situation is old-fashioned and a little weird. A lot of things that happen in this book — or short story, more aptly — would be completely different in present day. The way the Governess behaves with the children; how the “help,” while still older than the children, aren’t really in charge. This is off-putting, but eventually I got used to it. This book was written in a different time and you have to bear that in mind while reading.
As to the most important part of any horror story: this book really did put me on edge. If you can take the time to really decipher what James is saying and what the words are showing you, there are some absolutely terrifying scenes. The writing was more like an unsettling mood for me than a jump-scare worthy fright, but it definitely did the trick. I have a lot of feelings about the ending. I’ll leave it in the spoiler block below if anyone is interested!
Spoilers below: highlight text block to view
The end of this story is a whole discussion. I was so caught off guard. This ending is so ambiguous and left such a sour taste in my mouth (in a good way. I’m sure that was entirely the point). The fact that James cuts the book off where he does, just makes the story that much better. Because really, you have no idea what happened. Did you just read a book about an insane governess who sees things and finally loses it? Killing one of her charges? Or was she right all along and poor Miles died of fright? Absolutely crazy.
approx read time: this story is only around 86 pages, but don’t let that fool you. It took me 5 days to wade through this.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™
Ownership: I did purchase a copy of this book and it will be going in my bookshelf!