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headachesince03's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
bookishevy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I'm sure many of you have seen The Haunting of Bly Manor. I always wanted to read the Gothic novella it was based on, so I wasted no time when I saw it included in my Audible membership.
A young woman takes a job as the governess to 10-year-old Miles and 8-year-old Flora at the country estate of Bly and starts seeing ghosts. But this isn't your typical ghost story because she seems to be the only one seeing the spirits of the children's previous governess, Miss Jessel, and a valet she was involved with, Peter Quint.
The governess is convinced that the children can also see the specters and are pretending because the ghosts of Miss Jessel and Quint are corrupting Flora and Miles' innocence.
Miles' expulsion from boarding school for allegedly doing something sinister makes the reader think maybe there is some truth to what the governess is saying. Emma Thompson's portrayal of Miles is convincing of this. Miles is sly and sometimes creepy with the way he addresses the governess, like he's a little man. Maybe he is corrupted. Or maybe he's just precocious.
And when the usually well-behaved Flora becomes standoffish toward the governess, she believes Miss Jessel is responsible, but it could be that the governess is struggling to adhere to Flora's boundaries.
There's this battle between innocence and what the governess perceives as evil, but there's also a battle between social classes. Quint was seen as below Miss Jessel's standing and is believed to have corrupted her, and now they're both supposedly corrupting the children from beyond the grave.
I wanted to believe what the governess believes, but she's an unreliable narrator who isn't even sure that it's not just her imagination and emotions getting the better of her. At times, she's downright hysterical and scaring the shit out of Ms. Grose, the supportive servant, with her theatrics 🤣
A lot is open to interpretation in this story, especially that ending. I was left wondering if Miles really sees Quint or if he is a victim of the governess' paranoia. While I was expecting more horror (I have Mike Flanagan to thank for that), Thompson's performance more than makes up for it.
A young woman takes a job as the governess to 10-year-old Miles and 8-year-old Flora at the country estate of Bly and starts seeing ghosts. But this isn't your typical ghost story because she seems to be the only one seeing the spirits of the children's previous governess, Miss Jessel, and a valet she was involved with, Peter Quint.
The governess is convinced that the children can also see the specters and are pretending because the ghosts of Miss Jessel and Quint are corrupting Flora and Miles' innocence.
Miles' expulsion from boarding school for allegedly doing something sinister makes the reader think maybe there is some truth to what the governess is saying. Emma Thompson's portrayal of Miles is convincing of this. Miles is sly and sometimes creepy with the way he addresses the governess, like he's a little man. Maybe he is corrupted. Or maybe he's just precocious.
And when the usually well-behaved Flora becomes standoffish toward the governess, she believes Miss Jessel is responsible, but it could be that the governess is struggling to adhere to Flora's boundaries.
There's this battle between innocence and what the governess perceives as evil, but there's also a battle between social classes. Quint was seen as below Miss Jessel's standing and is believed to have corrupted her, and now they're both supposedly corrupting the children from beyond the grave.
I wanted to believe what the governess believes, but she's an unreliable narrator who isn't even sure that it's not just her imagination and emotions getting the better of her. At times, she's downright hysterical and scaring the shit out of Ms. Grose, the supportive servant, with her theatrics 🤣
A lot is open to interpretation in this story, especially that ending. I was left wondering if Miles really sees Quint or if he is a victim of the governess' paranoia. While I was expecting more horror (I have Mike Flanagan to thank for that), Thompson's performance more than makes up for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
jmkendall0218's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
chaisquarelatte's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was inspired to read this book after watching The Haunting of Bly Manor. It is inspired by several of Henry James’ works- but clearly this book is the key inspiration.
I can’t quite put my finger on why I got through this book so quickly, maybe because I wanted to see what the parallels were between this book and the tv show.
However, the governess irritated me. She seemed to glean an awful lot of information from small encounters. It would have been so much more satisfying if she took longer to pull the pieces together. But I do feel her need to be right was the undoing in the end as it led to the tragic ending.
I can’t quite put my finger on why I got through this book so quickly, maybe because I wanted to see what the parallels were between this book and the tv show.
However, the governess irritated me. She seemed to glean an awful lot of information from small encounters. It would have been so much more satisfying if she took longer to pull the pieces together. But I do feel her need to be right was the undoing in the end as it led to the tragic ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent
hjb_128's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Classism
thatchickengirl23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Death of parent
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I can see why this novella has stood the test of time in terms of its atmospheric dread, the creepiness of it's supernatural themes, and the compelling narrative of innocent children being lured by evil, not to mention the brilliance of the unreliable narration. I, for one, am completely on Team The Governess is Clearly Going Insane.
That being said, the prose in this novel is SO dense. The run on sentences are so exhausting that just trying to keep up with the plot is a challenge at times, which really takes away from the atmospheric horror of it all.
That being said, the prose in this novel is SO dense. The run on sentences are so exhausting that just trying to keep up with the plot is a challenge at times, which really takes away from the atmospheric horror of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
xkrille's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this for university. I cannot deny that it is good. Definitely. But I do not think I understood it fully. I had to read some analyses and interpretations before I got it. As I said, I did enjoy it. I wish I had understood it while I read it because I definitely would have found it more spooky. All in all, it is my own fault that I did not enjoy it as much. The language was difficult for me, sorry!!! Maybe I did not concentrate hard enough. Whatever, it was a nice story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent
elliebasta's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
ccroquetas's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Para ser un libro tan corto, me ha costado terminarlo. Las oraciones y los párrafos eran demasiado largos, lo que me complicaba la lectura.
Dejando eso de lado, la historia está bien. Me resultaba muy confusa, pero es parte del encanto.
Dejando eso de lado, la historia está bien. Me resultaba muy confusa, pero es parte del encanto.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Minor: Death