Henry James – Cannonball Read 17

A ghost story from the olden days

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

January 20, 2024 by genericwhitegirl Leave a Comment

This period thriller is from 1898 and is about a governess who is hired by a man to care for his niece and nephew. The governess begins the job with excitement, but soon experiences disturbing events and believes ghosts of deceased employees are coming for the kids. This novella was adapted from serial installments in the magazine Collier’s Weekly. It was interesting to read a ghost story from over 100 years ago and see how similar it is to modern-day ghost stories, but in a […]

“I call it relief, though it was only the relief that a snap brings to a strain or the burst of a thunderstorm to a day of suffocation. It was at least change, and it came with a rush.”

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

November 28, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

Even though after reading Henry James in school several times and then declaring him my nemesis, for he is the master triumphant of the never-ending sentence, and saying I would never read from him again, I could not then resist the pull of an audiobook narrated by Emma Thompson, and indeed I am glad I did not do so. Phewf, done with that nonsense. That is what it is like to read Henry James. The first paragraph in The Wings of the Dove nearly killed […]

A loose screw, or screwing ghosts, who’s to say?

The Turn of The Screw by Henry James

January 15, 2021 by LaneyFace 8 Comments

Full disclosure: I was supposed to have read Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw for my AP Language class about 15 years ago, but like many books assigned to me, I forewent the reading and instead drew my knowledge heavily from my studious best friend and Spark Notes. That being said, I am currently quarantined in my parents’ house where a stack of my high school “faux reads” gather dust in the basement. I decided to tackle my abandoned scholastic literary foes — which […]

The Aspern Papers – Henry James (1888)

The Aspern Papers by Henry James

January 1, 2021 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

Other than rereadings of “Daisy Miller” and “Beast in the Jungle” for teaching purposes, this is the first Henry James I’ve read since a college class I took my senior year. It takes it out of you to read several of his novels, and many many of his short fiction in a single semester. It’s very rewarding as well, but it’s tasking. This novella didn’t feel as tasking and I don’t know if that’s just because I am older and a better reader, if it […]

Read Harder Challenge 2018 Complete! Final Cannonball 10 Review!

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

December 30, 2018 by faintingviolet 1 Comment

Sneaking in with a bit to spare, on a borrowed computer, and one book behind last year’s pace I’m finally posting my last review of Cannonball Read 10. This was the Read Harder 2018 task I was looking least forward to, and I managed to push it off until the last possible moment, but at least I am completing the challenge this year. Task 24 was to “read an assigned book you hated (or never finished)”. In reality I have very few books that I […]

I don’t think it’s aged all that well (Plus, half Cannonball!)

September 29, 2018 by Aquillia 2 Comments

I’ve heard James’ The Turn of the Screw as being a classic Gothic novel, the one that basically begat a genre and inspired authors like Shirley Jackson (whose books I’ve loved so far in my readings). I chose this one for the ‘This Old Thing’ bingo square (it was published in 1898), and I was really excited to finally sit down and read it Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The plot is about a young governess who takes a posting that’s too good to be true in an […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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