Jamie - Okay so I have read two books from the list since reading this book so I don't have much to say about it. I honestly did not enjoy reading it. I had a really hard time grasping Henry James' writing style. His sentences were so long and complicated that I found myself having to go back and reread sentences just to get a grasp on them. The story itself was pretty annoying too. It was hard not to get caught up in the main characters frenzy and I found myself continuously trying to figure out what was going on. I had read somewhere that the movie "The Others" was partly based on this book and so I was expecting some huge twist. The ending was probably the BIGGEST disappointment of the whole book. Seriously I don't think I have ever encountered such an unsatisfying ending!
Erin- One: I don't like being scared. Two: I especially don't like scary ghost stories. Three: I HATE ambiguous endings of books. I like nice, solid, tidy endings. No loose strings. And Turn of the Screw is all of those things! It took me about 3 weeks to finally finish a 130 page story. It was pathetic. I just couldn't get into it and really enjoy it! I like classic novels in general; they are rich and detailed, full of meaning and depth. You can just dig in and get your hands dirty--it's great! But TotS was a slimy, writhing mess that was hard to handle and when you are finally starting to get it, it's over! Just like that! Who ends a book AT the climax? It leaves one floundering for air wondering if somehow someone left the rest of the book out, perhaps there was a printing error or something! And it is nice that these old storied have been pondered and dissected throughout the past two centuries so there is plenty of reading to enlighten us amateur readers but, quite honestly, I was ready to be done with this one. So, to keep it short: crazy nanny, creepy beautiful children, two ghosts and a dead kid in the end. Poor Henry James. I'm afraid to say my opinion isn't too high of his story.
ps. a HUGE lack of motivation occurred hence why this post and the actual readings are months overdue. Perhaps we can keep some sort of flow going here on out... No guarantees though! :P
Erin- One: I don't like being scared. Two: I especially don't like scary ghost stories. Three: I HATE ambiguous endings of books. I like nice, solid, tidy endings. No loose strings. And Turn of the Screw is all of those things! It took me about 3 weeks to finally finish a 130 page story. It was pathetic. I just couldn't get into it and really enjoy it! I like classic novels in general; they are rich and detailed, full of meaning and depth. You can just dig in and get your hands dirty--it's great! But TotS was a slimy, writhing mess that was hard to handle and when you are finally starting to get it, it's over! Just like that! Who ends a book AT the climax? It leaves one floundering for air wondering if somehow someone left the rest of the book out, perhaps there was a printing error or something! And it is nice that these old storied have been pondered and dissected throughout the past two centuries so there is plenty of reading to enlighten us amateur readers but, quite honestly, I was ready to be done with this one. So, to keep it short: crazy nanny, creepy beautiful children, two ghosts and a dead kid in the end. Poor Henry James. I'm afraid to say my opinion isn't too high of his story.
ps. a HUGE lack of motivation occurred hence why this post and the actual readings are months overdue. Perhaps we can keep some sort of flow going here on out... No guarantees though! :P
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