Spooktober Read (2): The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Tags

bahasa indonesia, british, classics, ghost story, Gramedia, horror, spooktober, terjemahan

Title: The Turn of The Screw (Misteri Bly Manor)

Writer: Henry James

Translator: Lulu Wijaya

Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama (2020)

Pages: 170p

Bought at: Gramedia.com (IDR 27k, bargain!)

Genre: classics, horror, gothic, ghost story

The second book that I’ve read for Spooktober is The Turn of the Screw, a classics horror novel that has inspired many movies and TV shows, including the recent one in Netflix, that loosely based on this book. The story revolved around a new governess who had accepted a job in Bly Manor, taking care of two children, Miles and Flora. The kids were orphans, and their bachelor uncle didn’t want to have anything to do with them, so governess was the answer.

Bly Manor was a beautiful house, a bit remote but still had some of its glory from the past. But, there’s darkness there too, lurking in the unused rooms, empty windows and ghost from the past. But the ghosts are not the metaphor – they were there, befriending the children.

When the governess found out about this, of course she was shock. Especially when she knew that the ghosts were her predecessors, former governess and employee of the house and had passed away for some time. She’s very suspicious of them and what they wanted from the children. Surely they were not some friendly ghosts who just wanted to entertain the kids?

With the very gothic atmosphere and scary premises, this book had potential to be a really solid horror book. But turned out, I didn’t feel the horror at all (and I’m a scaredy cat!!). I think because this book was written in a very old fashioned way, a perfect stereotype of classics, the scary/horror/ghostly vibes were lost to me. The sentences were long, with very flowery language, and the translation was not helpful – a bit stiff and quite all over the place. So instead of getting scared by the ghosts, I felt a bit tired reading the same sentence over and over again, just to make sense of everything. There were too many moral contemplations and the governess kept on thinking about the implications of the ghosts, instead of the ghosts themselves.

I think one thing that I like about this book is the description of Bly Manor. I can imagine clearly the gloominess of the place, and how it became a poor place for the children to live, especially because their lives already been gloomy.

However, this book is not my favorite Spooktober. In a way, I was a bit relieved because it’s not as scary as I thought it would be, but on the other hand, I was a bit bored, and expected to be scared anyway XD

I recommend The Turn of the Screw if you like:

• classics
• gothic houses
• eerie children
• ghost story, but not too scary
• long moral contemplation 😀

This looks scary, ya?

Bly Manor

Spooktober Read (1): Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Tags

british, classics, english, fiction, lovely heroine, movie tie in, romance, spooktober, suspense/thriller, twist ending

I dedicated October to read spooky books, even though I am a scaredy cat and usually prefer not to read stories that will make me hard to sleep at night XD

Because I’m not a fan of ghost and gory stories, I focused more on the gothic genre. Spooky houses, vague thrills, suspense and -sometimes- murders – those are my stuff!! I will try to review some of the best ones, and this is my first entry, and one of the best books I’ve read in October: Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier.

Title: Rebecca

Writer: Daphne du Maurier

Publisher: Avon (2002, mass market paperback)

Pages: 380p

Bought at: BookDepository (IDR 135k)

Genre: Gothic, Suspense, Romance, Mystery

I’ve heard a lot about this book, it’s all over the best of classics lists. But I was never really interested in reading it, not until Netflix decided to make a movie based on the book. As a firm believer that the book will always be better, I’ve decided to read it before watching the movie.

One of my favorite things from gothic books is the atmospheric setting – especially the magnificent old houses that usually become a separate character by its own. And Rebecca didn’t disappoint me, because Manderley is wonderful, and probably one of the strongest and most memorable settings I’ve ever read in a book.

The story began with an anonymous girl from a poor family who worked as a companion of a rich lady and accompanied her to Monte Carlo for a vacation. The girl (whose name was not revealed at all in the book) met with a mysterious handsome gentleman, Mr. Maxim de Winter, and quickly fell for him. Because this was in 1920s, things were moving rather fast, and the girl (without any hints or preparations), suddenly became the next Mrs. de Winter.

But what happened with the previous Mrs. de Winter? Rebecca was her name, and she was all over the book without really being there in person. She was dead about a year ago, drown in the sea near Manderley. But her personality was too strong to just diminish with her body. And that’s where the story became more and more interesting.

The young Mrs. de Winter, inexperienced that she was, came to Manderley, Maxim’s family heirloom, a grand house near the sea, with so many rooms and the garden like paradise. But of course, she wasn’t prepared at all. Especially when she met with Mrs. Danvers – a Rebecca loyalist, full of hatred and jealousy that her former lady was replaced by this so called urchin girl, with no proper background and education and especially lack of ladylike attitude.

And this is where things were getting juicy – with the devilish Mrs. Danvers who always had suspicious tricks for Mrs. de Winter, and Manderley itself, with Rebecca’s footprints everywhere (from her writing in the desk to her immaculate bedroom) – felt very threatening for the young mistress. Moreover, she was inexperienced and very insecure too, and I think one of the best parts about the book was the way Daphne du Maurier portrayed the insecurities perfectly, therefore making us voluntarily became her allies. You can’t help but sympathize with her.

The ending itself was quite dramatic, but somehow fit excellently with the vibe of the story.

Netflix movie

So do I think Netflix did justice to Rebecca? Hmm.. I honestly can’t 100% agree with it. For me, the experience of being inside the head of Mrs. de Winter, her helpless love of Maxim, and her neverending fear of Rebecca, was what made the book feel superior. Nothing can compare to that feeling, and the movie certainly can’t make me feel that way.

Moreover, the movie changed Mrs. de Winter’s character into someone who was becoming braver and more independent, something that was not in the book at all and inadvertently changed the whole tone of the movie. But – the castings are great, I love Lily James and Armie Hammer, and the setting is wonderful, especially Manderley.

If you haven’t read the book though, I would suggest you to read it first before watching the movie, because the sensation is different 🙂

I recommend Rebecca if you like:

• suspenseful romance
• 1920 gothic vibes
• atmospheric setting (especially old houses!)
• strong, detailed characterizations
• British snobs
• dark, gloomy man (and mysterious ex!)
• twisted ending