Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

A very young woman's first job: governess for two weirdly beautiful, strangely distant, oddly silent children, Miles and Flora, at a forlorn estate...An estate haunted by a beckoning evil.

Half-seen figures who glare from dark towers and dusty windows- silent, foul phantoms who, day by day, night by night, come closer, ever closer. With growing horror, the helpless governess realizes the fiendish creatures want the children, seeking to corrupt their bodies, possess their minds, own their souls...

But worse-much worse- the governess discovers that Miles and Flora have no terror of the lurking evil.

For they want the walking dead as badly as the dead want them.

Enjoy!!

I'm in for this one!

Can't wait to start this one!

I found it on LibriVox, so I'm in as well (my eye-reading usually is crammed into next year, but for audio there is always a free space)

I have read this before and loved it. Excited to do a re-read and chat about it.

I found that one as well Gabi!

I'm excited to start as well Jacquie!!

Patrick you're giving away far too much of the story! good thing I read it already :)

I would have just said a young woman is employed as a governess for two children in a large manor house, but something isn't quite right.

I only took it from the description of the book on Goodreads! lol

yeah well goodreads is an arse most of the time! I really hate the way it's set up but we're stuck.

I agree Jazzy. But for me, the question is: what exactly is going on?

I’m in for this one too

Happy you joined us Georgina!

I actually listened to the LibriVox recording in advance of the latest movie adaptation. Apparently there was a debate from the time of publication about (view spoiler)[whether the supernatural elements are real or hallucinations. (hide spoiler)]. I am looking forward to seeing how others interpreted it.

I have this story in a novel with a collection of other Henry James stories. I intended to read it last year around Halloween, but this month will be great, too!

Bernard wrote: "I agree Jazzy. But for me, the question is: what exactly is going on?"

The whole universe was in a hot, dense state for nearly 14 million years and then expansion started - WAIT!
The earth began to cool the autotrophs began to drool, Neanderthals developed tools, we built the wall, we built the pyramids,
Maths, science, history, unravelling the mystery that all started with the big bang...

BANG!

:)

This has been a good read and reread over the years, so let's do it again.

I think I'm the only person on Earth who doesn't like this book. I've read it three times, each a decade apart and I still have never liked it.

Bernard wrote: "I agree Jazzy. But for me, the question is: what exactly is going on?"

this is why I don't really mind spoilers. It is not just about the what happens but how it happens and why.

Who, What, Where, When Why and How.

I agree, Felicia. Even going into LOTR, I knew the basic idea of the story but not many spoilers that mattered, and I had no idea how things happened, with who, or why.

I listened a bit into it yesterday night (well my night, CET here) and I was glad that librivox has two versions. The first one sounded quite phoned in (hope that's the correct expression for it, I couldn't find another in my dictionary) and I had problems concentrating on the text. But the second one is nice.
Perhaps I'll put it in between my current audio since it is short. Otherwise I would have to wait till I'm done with Les Misérables, which could take a while.

Felicia wrote: " I don't really mind spoilers. It is not just about the what happens but how it happens and why...."

Oh not me! I DETEST spoilers! Once they are posted, I no longer desire to read the book.

In fact I don't want to know anything about the book before I read it. I like to be utterly surprised and see where it goes. This is why books of short stories are grand. Hopefully no one has gone around and spoilt them before you can read them all. I will say I'm thoroughly enjoying my H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction full of stories I have read nothing about.

I aim to read this again with the group this month.

Bernard wrote: "I agree Jazzy. But for me, the question is: what exactly is going on?"

Ah, that's why you read the book!
I had no idea what you meant last night and I had been watching a DVD of The Big Bang Theory.

Jazzy wrote: "Bernard wrote: "I agree Jazzy. But for me, the question is: what exactly is going on?"

Ah, that's why you read the book!
I had no idea what you meant last night and I had been watching a DVD of Th..."

Dont worry Jazzy, a statement of the song lyrics is always welcome. But yes, I meant in the story. I think there are deep issues of human perception and world-building, without bringing in the birth of the universe!

Glad to have you with us Jamesboggie. Will be interesting to see your opinion!

Felicia, Bernard I totally agree.
I like to have something to tell me if Im going to be interested in the read. I than wonder the Where, What, How and Why's of the reading. If it doesnt capture me with the little snippet I am not wasting my time. Too many other books out there to read in my short lifetime! Of course that is just my opinion.

Gilbert happy your joining in!

Alicia wrote: "I think I'm the only person on Earth who doesn't like this book. I've read it three times, each a decade apart and I still have never liked it."

Nope Im in this with you Alicia! It only got a one shot with me though and I didnt make it past the first 50 pages. Just not for me.

We did read this as a group in 2017. If interested here is a link:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Up to chapter three, waiting for further character introductions.

I’ll probably start it today or tomorrow. I’ve heard good things about this book!

LOL! I'm in chapter 8 now and my is he wordy! I don't even know exactly what they are talking about with so many words.

I love Henry James. His writing style changed how authors of that time wrote their novels.
That said, yes, there is a great deal of wordiness in so much of his writings, sometimes making it difficult to follow along.

Lesle wrote: "Felicia, Bernard I totally agree.
I like to have something to tell me if Im going to be interested in the read. I than wonder the Where, What, How and Why's of the reading. If it doesnt capture me..."

Exactly, I would be totally upset if I read this intense, suspenseful story only to find out the author decided to make them aliens or giant spiders or something.

All you have to say is it smacks of the supernatural. End. No point in reading something when someone told you how it goes. When that happens it is called a Spoiler. That would be because it SPOILS the story! A lot of people really hate them. I am one of those. That's why there are spoiler tags.

Personally, I like to know the general premise of a book before opening the cover. A good, intriguing premise is what helps me decide if I’ll read the book.

I just wondered. Does everyone else read a book like I do? I am the person in the story, at least in my head. I look around taking it in fresh as the author unfolds it. I am introduced to other characters as they appear. I see it so clearly in my head, it's ME doing all these things, me walking up the drive to the house, me knocking on the door as it opens I see what the character sees. Well to some extent, and then my imagination fills in the gaps.

This is probably why i hate spoilers. If i know what's coming, then why should I go? Whoa, deja vu, but it isn't.

I know what you mean, Jazzy. I once read a blurb on a book cover that said, after the main character's mother dies,....And she was still alive at the beginning of the book.

On the other hand, with some books a reread doesn't spoil them, it sometimes enhances the reading experience.

We are different types of readers, which is what makes discussions lively and interesting. I really enjoy it when someone mentions a detail I didn't notice.

I read this book in 2017 and still don't know what to make of it, but I do know that James' style takes some getting used to.

Jazzy, when I read I am more of an observer, but I do get involved with the characters' emotions, especially when I see them making a bad decision. Or, as in A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, an action I approve heartily.

Well before reading a book, all i want to know is what genre it is, and if the writing is brilliant, with an eye for detail, or if it's something any grammar school student could throw together. Of course I have no interest in the latter.

I do like re-reading and am re-reading a lot now, including War and Peace where I'm meeting the characters I knew so well from the end of the book seven years earlier, and say ah, there is Petra, or Boris, and I know what happens but it was MY journey, It's like going on holiday to the same place twice.

Interesting Rosemarie. I wonder if it comes from all those years looking at people and imagining what it is like to be them, how do they see the world, what of this will they remember. And often people-watching and playing out stories with a friend of what they are doing, saying, thinking, etc.

PS Also when we were kids we would say, I'm Speed Racer, so you can be Trixie, Spritel, or Chimchim, etc. for every show we called which character was ourself!

That Goodreads summary is curious and it gives only a partial view of the book. I enjoyed re-reading this, although I agree that James’s style takes some getting used to.

I read his Daisy Miller story for a Brit lit class in college and enjoyed it but can see how the writing style would take some time to ease into.

Clare wrote: "That Goodreads summary is curious and it gives only a partial view of the book. I enjoyed re-reading this, although I agree that James’s style takes some getting used to."

I am glad you enjoyed this Clare.

Like some other people have said this book is very wordy! Are all of his books like this?

This is one of his shorter ones, but you get used to it, Patrick.

Very wordy? How do you like Proust, Patrick?

:)

Patrick wrote: "Like some other people have said this book is very wordy! Are all of his books like this?"
I have been fortunate to have read all his novels and short stories. That's a lot. As Rosemarie says, you get used to his style, but it could take a few of each to get into James.
I found, after a bit, yeah! You get used to him.

Jamesboggie wrote: "I actually listened to the LibriVox recording in advance of the latest movie adaptation. Apparently there was a debate from the time of publication about [spoilers removed]. I am looking forward to..."

This isn't one of my favorite books by any means, but (view spoiler)[the idea that the governess was imagining the whole thing made the book far more interesting to me. I tend to think that she did imagine the the spooky goings on, and that makes what happened to Miles that much sadder. (hide spoiler)]

Angie wrote: "Jamesboggie wrote: "I actually listened to the LibriVox recording in advance of the latest movie adaptation. Apparently there was a debate from the time of publication about [spoilers removed]. I a..."

I was thinking about that, too, but (view spoiler)[ how does she know how those two not known to her people look like? (hide spoiler)]

I hope this isn't a spoiler. This is from chapter 5,
James introduces a much studied Victorian concept of evil. This has to do with the stranger having very red hair. See the following:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair.
He also uses one of his personal phrases: "hung fire", which shows up repeatedly in his novels and stories; The phrase "to hang fire" has come to mean a delay in progressing, for example from one task to another: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_fire