I bought this, knowing you were going to review it. I have read quite a lot of classic literature, so I'm used to the flowery, old-fashioned writing style. But this...THIS...I struggled so hard with! The writing style was so long-winded and comma-filled, oh my goodness. The story kept bobbing up and down between the waves of his prose. The interesting bits pulled me through it and I'm glad I had the experience, but boy... I drowning there for a bit, hahah!
I know! I found it far more demanding in that regard than I imagined. RLS’s Jekyll and Hyde was nothing like that, and I think that was what I imagined I was getting into. What ended up working for me was the the oblique and opaque way of keeping the story half-hidden. I found that fascinating the minute I stopped being aggravated by it :)
James’s language is challenging. If he can find a roundabout and complicated way to write a sentence, you can be sure he’ll do it. All that aside, the story carried me, increasingly so toward the end, which I had to re-read twice and then ponder.
Do you think this would be a good first Henry James piece? Or would you recommend a different book. I have a bunch of his on my to read shelf and always go back and forth on where to start!
I’m really not the right person to ask that one. The only James story I’ve read is this one. I found it fascinating and very frustrating—but worth the read.
I remember reading Turn Of The Screw many years ago and being thoroughly confused to the point of frustration. I'm not sure I ever completed it. I wanted to be scared but i wasn't. I guess if you approach it expecting the ambiguity and seeing how he pulls it off, it's a much better experience.
I bought this, knowing you were going to review it. I have read quite a lot of classic literature, so I'm used to the flowery, old-fashioned writing style. But this...THIS...I struggled so hard with! The writing style was so long-winded and comma-filled, oh my goodness. The story kept bobbing up and down between the waves of his prose. The interesting bits pulled me through it and I'm glad I had the experience, but boy... I drowning there for a bit, hahah!
I know! I found it far more demanding in that regard than I imagined. RLS’s Jekyll and Hyde was nothing like that, and I think that was what I imagined I was getting into. What ended up working for me was the the oblique and opaque way of keeping the story half-hidden. I found that fascinating the minute I stopped being aggravated by it :)
James’s language is challenging. If he can find a roundabout and complicated way to write a sentence, you can be sure he’ll do it. All that aside, the story carried me, increasingly so toward the end, which I had to re-read twice and then ponder.
Yes. I had to re-read the end a couple of times as well. I don’t want to give away what I think happened, but oh my!
Do you think this would be a good first Henry James piece? Or would you recommend a different book. I have a bunch of his on my to read shelf and always go back and forth on where to start!
I’m really not the right person to ask that one. The only James story I’ve read is this one. I found it fascinating and very frustrating—but worth the read.
I read Turn a few months ago and frankly was happy to return it to the library. A fascinating and a frustrating read.
I really appreciate your take on the intentionality of the obscurity and of the off-angle vantage point.
“Fascinating and frustrating” is a pretty fair summary!
I remember reading Turn Of The Screw many years ago and being thoroughly confused to the point of frustration. I'm not sure I ever completed it. I wanted to be scared but i wasn't. I guess if you approach it expecting the ambiguity and seeing how he pulls it off, it's a much better experience.
I think that feeling of bewilderment was something he was intentionally cultivating. I wonder how you might experience that now, many years later.
The last paragraph made me laugh. Was that an intentional Turn Of The Screw, so to speak?