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alivia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
read_n_wright's review against another edition
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Had no idea what it was about before beginning it so it took me on a journey, for sure. The ending is super poetic. I kept wondering how Dorian would get what was coming to him, how he always evaded his demise...the ending was perfect. Wilde's writing was super intelegent. So many nuggets of wisdom learned from the dialogue.
kartyna's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think Dorian Gray would love "Gossip Girl", and I mean it as a insult
johnkuyat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cam_lntt's review against another edition
3.0
C’est un classique que je tenais à lire, on me l’avait conseillé. Je pense que je le relierais, avec plus de maturité aujourd’hui que quand je l’ai lu la première fois. Mais je me rappelle avoir bien aimé.
nataliestorozhenko's review against another edition
3.0
The craft and greatness of this book for its time is immeasurable. The idea of a portrait taking all of your sins, your evil, your age, and your experience instead of you is very interesting indeed.
There are a lot of progressive ideas that seemed incredulous for the peers of that time. And being a book created on the brink of centuries, it carries that «old versus new» conflict. But some of the thoughts didn’t age well.
It was somehow a little painful to listen to all of Lord Henry’s thoughts and the «progressive» challenges he threw at people. Even though he tried to break free from all the rights and wrongs defined by society, he still could not leave behind misogyny, sexism, classism, and a lot of other issues. Yes, the book depicts him kind of a villain who plays with the concept of influence and morality using real people’s lives. But he wasn’t the genius he wanted to seem. Just an insufferable bastard with a god complex. Although, it was a nice exercise to read his statements and answer in my head why I disagree.
I loathe Dorian Grey. He’s not too strong of a villain and quite a flat character. He was a clean slate to fall like a fool to such a terrible influence. I like morally grey characters and I enjoy exploring multiple complicated qualities that make them as such. But this… I don’t have even a drop of sympathy for this spineless man, and I didn’t see much dimension to his portrayal. So the ending was a relief.
The only characters I feel a little sympathy for are James Vane and Basil. However, it is hard to believe how Basil was so strongly enamored with just a pretty shell of a man.
I love classics, but this one went very slow for me. Whenever I picked it up, I read two chapters and let them marinate. The pace is languid. Some descriptions took much more space than needed and made me suffer through them to get to the next important point of the plot. And honestly, I was bored. As for Chapter 11, I thought it was killing me.
There are a lot of progressive ideas that seemed incredulous for the peers of that time. And being a book created on the brink of centuries, it carries that «old versus new» conflict. But some of the thoughts didn’t age well.
It was somehow a little painful to listen to all of Lord Henry’s thoughts and the «progressive» challenges he threw at people. Even though he tried to break free from all the rights and wrongs defined by society, he still could not leave behind misogyny, sexism, classism, and a lot of other issues. Yes, the book depicts him kind of a villain who plays with the concept of influence and morality using real people’s lives. But he wasn’t the genius he wanted to seem. Just an insufferable bastard with a god complex. Although, it was a nice exercise to read his statements and answer in my head why I disagree.
I loathe Dorian Grey. He’s not too strong of a villain and quite a flat character. He was a clean slate to fall like a fool to such a terrible influence. I like morally grey characters and I enjoy exploring multiple complicated qualities that make them as such. But this… I don’t have even a drop of sympathy for this spineless man, and I didn’t see much dimension to his portrayal. So the ending was a relief.
The only characters I feel a little sympathy for are James Vane and Basil. However, it is hard to believe how Basil was so strongly enamored with just a pretty shell of a man.
I love classics, but this one went very slow for me. Whenever I picked it up, I read two chapters and let them marinate. The pace is languid. Some descriptions took much more space than needed and made me suffer through them to get to the next important point of the plot. And honestly, I was bored. As for Chapter 11, I thought it was killing me.
savduggan's review against another edition
dark
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
laurahint's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
otto_leonie's review against another edition
4.25
enjoyed it. found the ending rather clever, and the themes of vanity, conscience, etc were intriguing. a lot of the references definitely went over my head, but the footnotes in this edition helped a bit with that.