A review by suchsweetsorrow89
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

going into it, i honestly was not sure what to expect. i think the comments are right in the sense that it is hard to really rely on reviews for the book since so much of the plot spoils itself as you go along. i found this to be a lovely classical book that didn't read so much as a ghost story as it did an exploration of questions of authority, possession/the possessed, human will, and whether the reality that we perceive around us is really true or if it's just a mere expression of what someone else believes must be true. because of that, the writing style and diction can be really confusing (one tip i give is to actually view it as an intentional method of obscuring what's actually going on!). in the end, i really came to enjoy it and i think it poses a question on the genre of horror that i have yet to encounter thus far in how we think of what describes the "monstrous" and "evil".
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