Review: Not Never-ending-cheesecake-Tasty.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 20, 2014
I was both surprisingly pleased and underwhelmed by this novel. Underwhelmed, because I've been told over and over again how, if you only ever read one ghost story in your life, The Turn of the Screw has to be it. I wasn't completely bowled over by the story, as I was expecting to be, and I'm actively feeling cheated that the dénouement came so abruptly, and then ended so quickly. It was a little bit like sitting through a dry and stuffy dinner because you'd been promised never-ending cheesecake for dessert, only to be served a single banana in flaming syrup. Tasty, yes... but not never-ending-cheesecake-tasty.That said, I was surprised over and over again in my reading by passages that were undeniably some of the creepiest things I've ever read. There would be chapters of stilted dialogue, overly-explained motive, and the world's dreariest weather... but they'd end with a single sentence that left me terrified to look away from the page. And, while the ending action began suddenly and ended just as suddenly, it was really, really exciting to read.I can definitely see why so many people call this the ghost story to end all ghost stories, but I think I'd still have to drop it a little bit further down my own personal list. Four stars, though, because the creepy-lines... were absolutely blood-curdling-creepy.