The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (Audiobook Review)

Audiobook Reviews from Audiobook-Heaven

Title: The Turn of the Screw
Author: Henry James
Narrator: Simon Vance and Vanessa Benjamin
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Duration: 4 hours, 45 minutes
Copyright: 2008
Genres: horror, psychological, paranormal
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by Blackstone Audio.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: One of the world's most famous intellectual ghost stories, The Turn of the Screw is a haunting tale of suspected supernatural possession. A governess at a country house claims that Miles and Flora, two orphaned children in her care, are being controlled by spirits for some evil purpose. No one else can see the ghosts, and the children themselves are silent. Are they being dominated by spectral forces, or are they hiding something? Is the governess simply paranoid, or is something else going on?
With its possibly ambiguous content and powerful narrative technique, the story challenges the listener to determine if the unnamed governess is correctly reporting events or is instead an unreliable neurotic with an overheated imagination.
©2006 Henry James; (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

MY TAKE ON IT: Now, Henry James knows how to write a ghost story. But is it a ghost story, really? You just can’t tell for sure. Maybe the governess is seeing ghosts, and maybe she’s just a little loose upstairs. That’s what makes “The Turn of the Screw” such a great audiobook. You know you’ve achieved greatness when people are still talking about your book 112 years after you wrote it.
In the opening scene of the audiobook, we have several English gentlemen sitting around talking, when one of them begins to recount the tale of the governess and her two young charges. I like this method of storytelling, kind of a story within a story. It’s very similar to the method H G Wells used in “The Time Machine”, and Stephen King adopted the style in some of his short stories as well.
Whether Henry James’ ghosts are real, or only perceived, they still serve to build tension and suspense in the story. Each time they appear, the tension grows and you know something terrible is bound to happen. James does not disappoint, the ending will shock you.

NARRATOR: This was my first experience with Simon Vance, although I’ve come across his name often enough to know he’s a popular audiobook narrator. He only reads the parts with the gentlemen in the sitting room, however. The story of the governess is read by Vanessa Benjamin. She did a fair enough job, although I’m not sure that I would actively seek out more audiobooks that feature her. Benjamin does read with some feeling, but at times her high-pitched British accent can get screechy.

FINAL WORD: Henry James wrote “The Turn of the Screw” in 1898, and it has remained a literary classic. This is one of those audiobooks that everyone needs to read at least once.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
“Dead Lines” by Greg Bear
“The Things They Left Behind” by Stephen King
“Heart-Shaped Box” by Joe Hill

----------o----------

If you like this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James (Unabridged Audiobook) from Blackstone Audio.

This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
Come back soon for more audiobook reviews from AudioBook-Heaven