Kind of glad that I didn't read this in college. Don't think I would have enjoyed it.

Many thanks to Benjamin McEvoy's YouTube video about how to read Turn of the Screw properly--in installments, as it was originally published in Collier's Magazine. For one thing, Mr. McEvoy's enthusiasm is terrific, made me eager to jump in. I did not wait a week between installments, only a day, but even that did set up some anticipation that binge reading would not have accomplished.
I highly recommend reading in the proper segments. I was forced to read James' The Ambassadors in college and could not get into it at all. So I've put off T of the Screw all this time assuming that the writing would be equally tedious. No, no. Not tedious, but perplexing from time to time. Yes, wordy. A few times, I wanted to say out loud, "What the heck are you saying here?"
The governess comes across as more high strung and imaginative than I've seen portrayed in film and theater. She jumps to assumptions and has lengthy weird analyses that made my head swim. Some of the dialog with Miles was so cryptic that I couldn't get the basics let alone the nuances, and I'd like to think I'm of at least average intelligence. It's wordy and obtuse in spots, shall we say.

Genuinely creepy! I wouldn't sleep a wink with those children in my care. Yikes!
Overall, it's a rush with a punch ending.

The final sentence is a masterpiece. The roller coaster ride comes to an abrupt halt and jolts you in your seat. Four out of five just because of the lack of clarity -- I'd like to understand more without referring to explanatory commentary. Very glad I read it.

Recommend THIS edition as it does have very helpful extra material. An essay contemplating how one might end up a governess, for example, helps a modern reader grasp how tenuous and arduous the position would be. ( )

The Turn of the Screw is the story of a young governess who believes she sees ghosts while she is caring for the master's young children.

I had always avoided gothic novels in the past, but I now understand the draw. The Turn of the Screw had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I couldn't put it down! ( )

I enjoyed the commentary about Henry James much more than the actual novel. ( )

What a strange strange story. I seem to be reading a lot of them lately. Another shorter tale of a governess coming to a house that has a spooky history and trying to save the lives of herself and the children. Easy to read in one sitting/day despite its obscurity. After getting a couple chapters in the story started to become more clear and interesting. Although, at the end, I was still curious and felt I could have used more information.

Great book if you want to learn something about criticism. The ending can be read many different ways, and it leaves you guessing.

I thought this book was going in a different direction than it did. I really thought that the children were evil, but everyone else in my class thought the nanny was (just goes to show you my favorite genre...). ( )