The Turning Audiobook By Francine Prose cover art

The Turning

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Turning

By: Francine Prose
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, Grover Gardner, Amy Rubinate
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.09

Buy for $17.09

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

A dark house.

An isolated island.

Strange dreams...

And even stranger visions...

Jack is spending the summer on a private island far from modern conveniences. No Wi-Fi, no cell service, no one else on the island but a housekeeper and the two very peculiar children in his care. The first time Jack sees the huge black mansion atop a windswept hill, he senses something cold, something more sinister than even the dark house itself.

Soon, he feels terribly isolated and alone. Yet he is not alone. The house has visitors - peering in the windows, staring from across the shore. But why doesn't anyone else see them...? And what do they want? As secrets are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn't crazy.... Or is he?

From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes a mind-bending story that will leave you realizing how subtle the lines that separate reality, imagination, and insanity really are.

©2012 Francine Prose (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Scary Stories Social & Life Skills Scary
All stars
Most relevant  
I knew this book had mixed reviews, but I enjoyed The Turn of the Screw so I gave it a try. I was going along, not really understanding why people had a problem with it and then, well, it took a turn. There are two ways to read The Turn of the Screw - it's about ghosts or it's about a girl going crazy. The same holds true for this story, but the author shoves the story quite forcibly and without much build-up into one direction. I don't necessarily have a problem with it, but I think the whole thing would have come off better if she'd fleshed it out a bit.

Well, that took a turn

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Where does The Turning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I enjoyed the plot of the story-an isolated island, a scary house- the narrator did a wonderful job.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were rather life like and the suspense was just enough.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I dont think I have had the pleasure of listening to anything narrated by him /them before.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

An Isolated island; Scary house...

enjoyable listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
At first I disliked the flat narration of the main character. Later on I saw what the narrator was attempting to do. So, if you like the story but find the narration lackluster, just keep with it. It took me a bit to realize that this book seems to be an attempt at homage to The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Not great, not horrible. A middle of the road suspense/ghost story.

It gets better as you go along.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Ok, so I listen to A LOT of books. Probably 2-3 a week (I am currently doing DIY projects at our little house on the bayou in Louisiana). I listen to several genres and often have to try out new stuff because of how often I listen. I never write reviews although I am not sure why as I find the reviews very helpful when choosing a book. I figured tonight I would write one since when I purchased this book last night it had no reviews. I am far from being a teen (aaagggghhh) and I am not really sure this should be classified as a teen book. This was a great mystery/wtf is going on book. I found myself telling my cats all my theories as I listened to this (my husband is away!) and truthfully after finishing I'm still not sure what actually happened. Usually that frustrates me but I find these are the kind of books that stay with me for a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed this listen, and Kirby Heyborne did a great job as always of narrating this book.

I'm not a "teen” but I really enjoyed this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.