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dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was expecting this book to mainly be a character study, so I somehow hadn't expected there to be as much plot as there was. Very engaging!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Stalking, Toxic friendship
Minor: Body shaming, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Antisemitism
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this in 3 days. It was amazing, absolutely insightful. The context of Oscar Wilde being imprisoned for homosexuality after writing this book adds a somber layer to the experience.
It was very profound, and raw with discussions of human nature, and how it’s pushed and pulled within the lense of a Christianity based good vs. evil society. Wilde did something powerful here, presenting a fascinating argument for beauty and ugliness, power and weakness, and the shades of morality. I will think about this for the rest of my life.
The older English was challenging for me at times, particularly as I started reading the book and as well asin chapter 9, which I felt dragged on for too long. The intention I think was to articulate how much Dorian had abandoned all things but knowledge and sensation.
I definitely recommend people read the uncensored version. Seeing the book as it was originally written is magical. The textual introduction was interesting, but quite long and I primarily focused on the actual body of the novel.
It was very profound, and raw with discussions of human nature, and how it’s pushed and pulled within the lense of a Christianity based good vs. evil society. Wilde did something powerful here, presenting a fascinating argument for beauty and ugliness, power and weakness, and the shades of morality. I will think about this for the rest of my life.
The older English was challenging for me at times, particularly as I started reading the book and as well as
I definitely recommend people read the uncensored version. Seeing the book as it was originally written is magical. The textual introduction was interesting, but quite long and I primarily focused on the actual body of the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Minor: Death, Suicide, Antisemitism
Antisemitism: There is a Jewish character that is depicted as a corrupt man. He runs the theatre Dorian attends, and the language is very antisemetic.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Murder
Minor: Drug use, Racism, Antisemitism
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of those books where I understand why it's a classic, but it just doesn't resonate with me. Mainly, the story would have been engaging if there was more focus on the plot rather than meandering and focusing on Wilde's philosophies. Honestly, this would have worked better as a stage play, something akin to Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder
Minor: Death, Suicide, Antisemitism
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Antisemitism, Murder
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh, how to begin talking about this book? I adored it, despite it being clearly problematic at times (misogyny, antisemitism, romanticizing adults attracted to children and the likes, though some of it isn't clear whether it is coming from the characters or the author) but it is also so wonderful. Wilde's prose is incredibly poetic but by all means, my favourite thing about this classic is all the references and themes of beauty and greek ideals, as well as tragedy, terror and fatality, because it parallels my favourite book of all time: The Secret History. I wonder if Donna Tartt drew some of her inspiration from Wilde, and more specifically Dorian Gray.
"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic" "Beauty is terror, whatever we call beautiful we quiver before it"
"There is something fatal about a portrait" "Does such a thing as the fatal flaw, that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs"
Dorian, which at times does remind me a little of Henry, is constantly being referred to as greek figures like Appollo or Narcissus. The way Sybil, his first love, is described reminds me a lot of Camilla.
There's also this romanticising of suicide/death where Sybil's, and later Basil's, ends are seen as a beautiful thing, through the lens of Shakespearean references like Romeo and Juliet or Ophelia, and it is simply used as a device to further Dorian's transformation.
As an artist myself, this novel, just like the works it draws parallels with, really touched me. I found the end of both the book and of Dorian's, incredibly fitting. How he, or rather his youth, it's memory, ended up absorbed in his portrait, as it was always meant to. How his soul, and its true nature, was released as Dorian enacts the final act, which reflects what he himself admired in his love interests, which is to kill himself, though quite inadvertently.
As a queer person, I can’t end this review without mentioning that I appreciated reading a classic written by another queer person, despite Wilde being problematic. And I appreciated all the queer subtext, if you can call it that (as to me, it was the clearest thing). I believe this book to be about the tragic love story of Dorian and Basil, or at least, of Basil's love for Dorian, and Dorian's love for himself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism