Halloween only a few days away, it's the perfect moment to discuss a ghosts story like Henry James'. Have you seen any ghosts lately? So what is your final impression? Fun enough? To difficult to read? Maybe too creepy for you? So treat or trick? No cookies for you if you don't tell us your thoughts!!! hahaha... (read as malignant laughter).
Fortunately, I have not seen any ghosts lately and certainly hope not to see one in my life!
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned before, I find the book complicated, but I like the challenge and the effort. Always reading easy-to-read books can be boring. I like to alternate.
I wonder if Mr. Jorge is reading the book... I hope he is scared to death! Because when I finish the book, if I am traumatized and I can never sleep alone again, I will send my 'ghost' to Brussels to say hello to him!!
I will make sure Rocio is not home when this happens :-)
Creepy Halloween!
I will let you know Arantxa! hahahaha
ReplyDeleteMr. Jorge speaking. Stop. Reading the book. Stop. Comments as soon as I finish. Stop. Everybody welcome in Brussels, even ghosts :)
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what was I expecting, but I did not feel scared while reading the first chapters of the book. However, by the end I realized I was quite frightened and anxious to turn the pages!
ReplyDeleteI found extraordinary the psychological suspense of the last conversation between the governess and little Miles. And the end… what happens at the end? She thinks she has won him… but she loses him. My first impression was that for the first time, Miles realizes that the ghosts are mean and evil. Does he die because he opens up to the governess and Quint kills him? Or does he open up because he knows he is going to die? What happens with Flora? At the beginning I found the governess feelings so strange that I thought all the paranormal illusions and melodrama was in her own head. As I continued reading I came to believe in the ghosts and the evil game of the kids. After finishing the book I read some brief analysis of the story, to see if I would feel less confused. There are many and very different interpretations of the story and the characters. I have read a few that raise interesting questions about the trustworthiness of the governess and about the meaning of the end. My conclusion, I want to read the book again. But now, with different eyes: what if the governess is the evil one?
Looking forward to reading any other thoughts...
Short but quite intense novel! I have found it very difficult to interpret, even though I’ve read it twice… Dialogues can be turned and as there are many things not said. It has not raised my hair but the ending is shocking. I also like how the story is introduced with the ghost storytelling evening.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a moment in the book that I also doubted about the governess lucidity but I think that the theory of her making everything up is too forced. I feel pity for the children as they were alone in that horrible house: dead parents, an uncle who does not want to be bothered, caretakers who seem to have abuse them, followed by possessions and ghosts … yes, quite creepy. I wouldn’t have liked to be in the skin of the governess.
Ah, I finally finished it too! Very intense indeed.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked by how the book ends. I didn't expect it at all. Actually, I looked for the next page and found nothing!
Although the story is not quite the same, at some points the book reminded me of the movie 'The Others', directed by Alejandro Amenabar. I guess that is why I was expecting a different end.
Reading your comments, I see the greatness of the story... it leaves all the doors open for the readers' interpretation! I love and hate that at the same time. I like the diversity of opinions, but on the other hand... I want answers! I want to know the writer's thoughts, that is, his own interpretation! What happened to Flora? Did they make it to London? I need one more chapter.
I had to concentrate so much in reading that I didn't have energy left to be scared. But I enjoyed the challenge of the style and the language.
I think the governess is mad, she sees things that are not there and she has a peculiar perception of reality. Actually, we only see reality through her biased eyes. I am pretty sure she is the evil one, she is too creepy.
As Monica, I feel also pity for the kids. The whole situation makes them vulnerable for both possible theories, the exposure to evil ghosts that want to take them, and the insanity of the governess.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with Arantxa, I want to know! It is because I was left uneasy due to the lack of answers that I went to the Internet to try to find out more. Of course, all I found was more interpretations. Since the author left it open, open it remains. One of the theories I read, which I personally think it is too much, is that little Miles did not actually die… but he is the narrator of the story… Just writing it down sends shivers down my spine! :-)
Ups. Yes, that's too much.
ReplyDeleteIf you are in the mood of reading some more gothic literature with the coming of stormy winter evenings, I've got some suggestions: " Wuthering heights", Shelly's "Frankenstein" and one of my favorite books "The French Lieutenants woman". Enjoy your readings!
Thanks for sharing, Monica. It is always great to have good recommendations in the to-read list.
ReplyDeleteMy dearest and loveliest friends. Late, as the last beam of sun that enters through the window in a winter evening, here I am. I have been carried, in a not very triumphantly manner, during too many weeks, through this interesting and radiant book, written in an incomprehensible and ambiguous way.
ReplyDeleteAs our main character, that had the fancy of our being almost as lost as a handful of passengers in a large drifting ship, I felt sometimes that I needed some guidance with my English or with the general storyline of the book. There was such a flow of good feelings when I read your comments!
On reflection, I should dare to say that I have brought all my previous "knowledge" from other ghost stories, and this have ardently contaminated my understanding of the story. The best way to picture it all is to say that I was off my guard.
I daresay I fancied myself thinking of the main character as another visitor, an apparition, like Quint or Jessel, and the tragic end rather supported this version of the story: they were them all to take Miles with them for a reason we can only guess.
But not, I should not have been able to asseverate to the club members, that I was certain. Therefore, after taking full consideration of your comments, my lovely cookies, I found absolutely a degree of help in seeing now so straight. I agree with the comment already posted that the protagonist of our beloved book was simply mad, crazy to the utterly extreme, and that is, I think, the reason why she saw what nobody else did, and why the end cannot be much worse.
What a lovely post, Mr. J., so worth waiting for :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to read about all the troubles your mind went through trying to understand the story, and finally learning about your conclusion.
In fact, it seems that we all had a great deal of work with the book. Thanks everybody for all the sharing. It has been really enriching and interesting seeing such ambiguous book from that many different perspectives.