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Title: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James ISBN: 0-486-26684-2 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 January, 1991 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.68 (68 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: New Hampton School Review
Comment: When I began to read "The Turn Of The Screw" by Henry James, I made the assumption this book would be different from all other books which I have read. I thought it would be different because it is considered an American literature classic. Although Henry James is among many great authors, he is without a doubt, a one of a kind.
In this book his unique writing style has me wondering why such thoughts went through his mind. His wordy and elaborate writing style presented his strange subject matter in a style that could be accepted in his time. While it is sometimes difficult to follow the story it allowed James to express what would have been a controversial topic.
At times in this story you become anxious and excited, while at other times you are left picking and choosing what you think is going on, and when you least expect something to happen you become surprised, and become more interested in the book.
The ending surprised me. What I thought was going to be a happy ending turned into a perverse finale and a total tragedy. From beginning to end, Henry James wrote a book that is different from all other books.
Rating: 4
Summary: It keeps turning & turning
Comment: Having been a student of literature in college, this is a title that surfaced ever so often when discussions turned to "pivotal" literary works. After finally reading it, it appears that reason for its considerable attention lies in the fact that it's likely the first ghost story NOT to be taken @ face value.
Instead of a straightforward story, the reader is introduced to a plot-line as seen thru the eyes of an ostensibly unstable persona. Whether the ghosts are real or just figments of her mis-guided imagination are topics left open to interpretation. Unexpectedly, the story casually alludes to elements of eroticism, paranoia and severe anxiety.
The story itself is beautifully written. That James was a master of elegant prose is without question. The style of his prose may seem a bit odd (and perhaps "thick") to the modern reader, but one has to admire his manipulation of the language.
For those who enjoy a good ghost story where everything may not be as it seems, this book is highly recommended.
Rating: 3
Summary: A Teenage Perspective
Comment: Well-- I read this small story over Christmas Break for a Research and Comprehension class, and all I can say is... INNATE! Innate and extremely deep!
After all, the book's main focus is undoubtedly aimed at sex and class status. Although this book was written in the Victorian Era where discussion of sexual connotations, especially children's, are strictly forbidden, this book strangely relates to the modern world of sex and status. There are so many interpretations you can conceive from the odd chaos happening at the Bly Estate; and I think that's exactly what Henry James was trying to infer. Everything is so confusing and you don't know who is to blame, what they are to blame for, and WHAT exactly is going wrong anyway... and isn't that EXACTLY what is happening today? SEX IS NOTHING BUT CONFUSION! No matter your age, your class rank or status, OR sexual orientation.
I'm not saying that Henry James was a head of his time or anything, he was just in a position and time where he couldn't express his thoughts or beliefs regarding the issue without draping a vail over it. Which, in my opinion, he did a pretty good job of doing. He also did a good job of demonstrating the Victorian Era's household of rank: the mother (governess'), father (Peter Quint or insufficient headmaster), the children (Miles and Flora), and the housekeeper (Mrs. Grose). He also demonstrates the consequences of either not having, or having a corrupt working member of the household. I believe this goes as far as the modern-day household does. The children desperately need acceptable parents, and the parent figures need each other (children:mother, children:father, mother:father, father: mother, BOTH PARENTS:housekeeper, children:housekeeper) And so on...
So, in conclusion- this was a sick, corrupt, dishonest, sinister, grave story with unclear, bizarre motives... but it obviously got me thinking!
I hope you don't enjoy it, for morality's sake!
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Title: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson ISBN: 0140071083 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: June, 1984 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Awakening by Kate Chopin ISBN: 0380002450 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 10 February, 1982 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad ISBN: 0486264645 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 July, 1990 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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Title: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Dover Thrift Editions) by Mark Twain ISBN: 0486280616 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 26 May, 1994 List Price(USD): $2.00 |
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Title: Daisy Miller (Penguin Classics) by Henry James, Geoffrey Moore ISBN: 0140432620 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1988 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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