The Turn of The Screw

 

Book Title: The Turn of the Screw

Author:  Henry James

Published By: Tom Doherty Associates

Date Published:  October 15, 1993 (First published 1898)

Genre: Classics,  Psychological Thriller

Pages:  146

Recommended Age: Young Adults

Read and Reviewed By:  Me

Rating: F/1

I got the book from the library.

Summary:

 A young woman agrees to take the position of governess over two children. The uncle of the two children tells the governess never to bring any concerns to him.  The Governess is left with the two children at a country manor with only servants as adult companions. The house seems to be plagued with ghosts.

My Thoughts:

Henry James writes a wordy psychological thriller. Well, it’s supposed to be a psychological thriller but it falls short.  James’ descriptions are wordy and tedious; it was like swimming through a muddy swamp. With no one but the governess seeing the supposed spirits of the late Governess and her lover, it makes the reader wonder if the governess is crazy, or are the children so fully possessed by the spirits that they will lie for them? 

The language used is so ambiguous that reader wonders if the late governess and her lover were mistreating the children in some way that may be sexual, but then again the reader could never really tell what  James’ was trying to install in the reader’s imagination.  This book was not a “page turner” as one would think a psychological thriller should be. The only good thing I can say is that it is a quick “death”.   For these reasons, I give The Turn of the Screw one star and a grade of an F.  Unless, you have to do a book report, I do not recommend reading The Turn of The Screw by Henry James.

Language: None

Adult Content: None

Violence: None