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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
4.5 estrellas
Reseña en mi blog ---> http://ow.ly/UFsJd
Henry James creó una historia donde la insinuación es la principal característica, debes estar muy atento a lo que te cuenta porque siempre hay detalles que no puedes pasar por alto, ya que si lo haces puede ser que no disfrutes la historia y te sea difícil entenderla. Por lo mismo es que no se la recomendaría a todos los lectores.
Reseña en mi blog ---> http://ow.ly/UFsJd
Henry James creó una historia donde la insinuación es la principal característica, debes estar muy atento a lo que te cuenta porque siempre hay detalles que no puedes pasar por alto, ya que si lo haces puede ser que no disfrutes la historia y te sea difícil entenderla. Por lo mismo es que no se la recomendaría a todos los lectores.
It is not, usually, to my own personal liking, to read or to write, be as it may, a most humbly inspired opinion, even if in all of it's glorious clarity it reveals finally the full purpose of the author's statement, which is obviously, most deeply - and I do understand the temptation of it, quite fully so - inspired by the style an author of whatever written work there may exist has chosen to express their story, clearly, in the brightest daylight, on paper - but, and it is in hindsight possibly most obvious that it should have come to this very moment of my admittance of humbleness for I could not (and how could I ever have, in the face of such beauty) resist the temptation of giving in to the writing of this very missive on which you now lay your eyes; I struggle for words, but alas I think I am forced to admit, it was a most difficult read.
I read this because it is the main inspiration for "The Haunting of Bly Manor" which I really enjoyed - but sadly, I did not really enjoy reading this. I think the "story" is really interesting. I am putting it in quotation marks because it is ambiguous as to whether there is actually something happening or whether the narrator is just going mad over nothing. And the ambiguity is really held up until the very last line.
However, given the fact that this is so ambiguously written means that basically nothing actually happens - it needs to still be plausibly all in the narrator's head after all. This really brings the writing to the absolute forefront in this novel and the writing is something else - it is just too convoluted and exaggerated for me. It took me maybe a hundred pages to get really into it / used to it. Sadly, by this point, the story is almost over.
I am also a bit disappointed by the ending. It's super abrupt and I would have loved to see some more.
I read this because it is the main inspiration for "The Haunting of Bly Manor" which I really enjoyed - but sadly, I did not really enjoy reading this. I think the "story" is really interesting. I am putting it in quotation marks because it is ambiguous as to whether there is actually something happening or whether the narrator is just going mad over nothing. And the ambiguity is really held up until the very last line.
However, given the fact that this is so ambiguously written means that basically nothing actually happens - it needs to still be plausibly all in the narrator's head after all. This really brings the writing to the absolute forefront in this novel and the writing is something else - it is just too convoluted and exaggerated for me. It took me maybe a hundred pages to get really into it / used to it. Sadly, by this point, the story is almost over.
I am also a bit disappointed by the ending. It's super abrupt and I would have loved to see some more.
I had fun analyzing this story for class. The amount of ambiguity, narrator credibility, and sexual repression made for some very interesting arguments...
*2.5 stars*
This one is hard to grapple in my mind. From an objective viewpoint, I love this. I love all the idea's it's toying with, I love the fractured main character, I love how you don't know what's real and what's not, and I love the ending. However, I just had a really hard time getting through it when I was actually reading it. James's sentences can be a little rough, and I just wasn't engaged throughout. A really, really fun novel to study after the fact though, and an incredibly influential horror story, just maybe on its own, James isn't for me. So, keeping in mind that I hold with a 2 star not being a bad rating, just being an "okay" rating, that's what I'll go with, and I'll tack on an extra half star for my appreciation of it overall.
This one is hard to grapple in my mind. From an objective viewpoint, I love this. I love all the idea's it's toying with, I love the fractured main character, I love how you don't know what's real and what's not, and I love the ending. However, I just had a really hard time getting through it when I was actually reading it. James's sentences can be a little rough, and I just wasn't engaged throughout. A really, really fun novel to study after the fact though, and an incredibly influential horror story, just maybe on its own, James isn't for me. So, keeping in mind that I hold with a 2 star not being a bad rating, just being an "okay" rating, that's what I'll go with, and I'll tack on an extra half star for my appreciation of it overall.
I'm just going to say I finished this because I have suffered enough. Tuppence Middleton is a great reader but this is just an incoherent mess that exacerbated my anxiety with its unnecessary complexity and melodrama. I though I was just being persnickety in my youth but it's not even that long and Henry James needs editing.
Mike Flanagan, you are my only hope.
Mike Flanagan, you are my only hope.
Initially, I was too scared to read this, despite owning the book for several years. I loved Henry James' Portrait of a Lady, and when I found this book at a used bookstore, I snagged it right away! But then I found out it was a ghost story. I HATE ghost stories. I HATE being scared. But when it was chosen for a book group, and I saw it was on a list of horror stories for wimps, I thought about it. "It's Victorian, and if I liked Frankenstein and Dracula, I think I can handle this." It's not truly scary. It's more psychological, with a lot of dramatic tension. Spooky, gothic, creepy, atmospheric, but it won't make you jump, give you nightmares or insomnia, or scare you to death. It's a masterful study of the relationship between a governess and her charges.
An unamed governess is hired to care for two siblings, and whose uncle, their guardian, really wants nothing to do with them, so he leaves the children in the care of the servants of Bly Manor. Their new governess is inexperienced and naive. She believes she sees the ghosts of two former servants of the manor, and is convinced the ghosts are somehow after the children, plotting with little Miles and his sister, and imbuing them with a vague evil. Is the governess seeing things? Are the ghosts real? Or are the servants of Bly Manor, especially head maid Mrs. Grose, masterful gaslighters, preying on a vulnerable woman's fragile psyche?
James' prose is very dense. His characters don't simply say they're happy or sad - they describe the experience of being happy or sad. The descriptions are wonderfully detailed and rich, although the sentences sometimes require re-reading until you get used to his rhythm. Not the lightest of reads, but a very rewarding one. Henry James was a master of the psychological story, before psychology was a common part of our world.
An unamed governess is hired to care for two siblings, and whose uncle, their guardian, really wants nothing to do with them, so he leaves the children in the care of the servants of Bly Manor. Their new governess is inexperienced and naive. She believes she sees the ghosts of two former servants of the manor, and is convinced the ghosts are somehow after the children, plotting with little Miles and his sister, and imbuing them with a vague evil. Is the governess seeing things? Are the ghosts real? Or are the servants of Bly Manor, especially head maid Mrs. Grose, masterful gaslighters, preying on a vulnerable woman's fragile psyche?
James' prose is very dense. His characters don't simply say they're happy or sad - they describe the experience of being happy or sad. The descriptions are wonderfully detailed and rich, although the sentences sometimes require re-reading until you get used to his rhythm. Not the lightest of reads, but a very rewarding one. Henry James was a master of the psychological story, before psychology was a common part of our world.
first of all, Henry James, I am begging you to use shorter sentences, second of all, what the FUCK?
The idea last year (2020) was that I would watch all the related movies before posting the review, but I completely forgot the whole thing. I want to make sure I talk about this during October, so here you go.
There's something about James's writing that makes my head spin, but not in a good way. It's frustrating that a book this short requires so much effort, and when you're drowning in commas you don't really care if the dizzying style is purposeful or not.
Another frustrating thing is that I actually like the story when you peel it to its bare bones and wade through all the padding. There are genuinely creepy moments, a pretty unsettling aspect about a certain relationship (that you wish isn't what seems to be implied), and a fantastic ambiguity about the ghosts haunting the house and the governess.
If you want atmosphere, I suggest watching The Innocents (1961). I get goosebumps just thinking about it. It's everything James wished he could have achieved and has an incredible ending. Turn off all the lights, maybe light a candle, and enjoy!
There's something about James's writing that makes my head spin, but not in a good way. It's frustrating that a book this short requires so much effort, and when you're drowning in commas you don't really care if the dizzying style is purposeful or not.
Another frustrating thing is that I actually like the story when you peel it to its bare bones and wade through all the padding. There are genuinely creepy moments, a pretty unsettling aspect about a certain relationship (that you wish isn't what seems to be implied), and a fantastic ambiguity about the ghosts haunting the house and the governess.
If you want atmosphere, I suggest watching The Innocents (1961). I get goosebumps just thinking about it. It's everything James wished he could have achieved and has an incredible ending. Turn off all the lights, maybe light a candle, and enjoy!
(1.5 stars bc at least we got 'The Haunting of Bly Manor' from this).
This book made me question whether I can even read or understand English. Nearly cried I was so confused. Foundations for a good plot but the god-awful writing prevented this from being remotely good. The characters were so confusion and annoying I just wanted it to be over quickly. Read this was like a slow, painful death.
I get that the whole point is that we question whether the governess is a reliable narrator, but James made her so hysterical and ridiculous that it just overshadowed any deeper level of meaning. Tuely a woman written by a man. The governess' frantic state was insufferable - I am not entirely sure James had ever really spoken to a woman in his life tbh. Also, wtf happened to Miles at the end? He just died for no reason? Literally so lost from start to finish. Call me stupid, I don't care.
This book made me question whether I can even read or understand English. Nearly cried I was so confused. Foundations for a good plot but the god-awful writing prevented this from being remotely good. The characters were so confusion and annoying I just wanted it to be over quickly. Read this was like a slow, painful death.
I get that the whole point is that we question whether the governess is a reliable narrator, but James made her so hysterical and ridiculous that it just overshadowed any deeper level of meaning. Tuely a woman written by a man. The governess' frantic state was insufferable - I am not entirely sure James had ever really spoken to a woman in his life tbh. Also, wtf happened to Miles at the end? He just died for no reason? Literally so lost from start to finish. Call me stupid, I don't care.
