Reviews

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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m7uom1o's review against another edition

4.0

(Intro)

Some time has passed since I eventually managed to reach the final page of the novel titled 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. Even though my impressions of the artwork may be not as fresh as they used to be, hopefully, I am still capable of providing a decent overview of the emotions and reaction you’d get while exploring ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’.

(Quick overview)

‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is a philosophical type of handwriting. Therefore, one should be prepared for the enormous paragraphs of ineffable criticism and invincible questioning of the theme of beauty and its role in society. Basically, throughout the novel, men commit nothing but persuading each other in their tastes in lives, discoveries in terms of the importance of senses and dissimilar pleasure. Certainly, the plot is not entirely absent. The main character - Dorian, and his fellow interlocutors accompany the reader inside these spirited mazes of thoughts and absurdities. London during the days of the 19th century and drama of the affluent public - such a simple conspiracy. And please, don’t get me wrong! The story has enough twists and wonders to offer, some of which made me even gasp.

(Book’s point)

It is a book to think about while staring into the void of ceiling. In every paragraph the author encourages the reader to reconsider the complexities of human nature, the consequences of our choices and the vital balance between pursuing one’s desires and maintaining moral ideals. The novel consists of the many visions and mysteries that have never appeared in one’s mind. New perception of beauty, senses and society itself - that’s what you’d be granted with if you suddenly decided to let ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ in your repository of knowledge. I must admit that some characters’ assertions were utterly hideous and contradictory to my view of humanity. In other words, the novel strikes your brain and discerns various questions about the nature of art and the power of corrupting influence. You’ll have a chance to establish your own picture of society’s morality and pursuits by examining each of these topics throughout the book.

(Vibe)

Every book enchants the reader by its unique atmosphere and possesses its own associations, right? So ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ must be defined as a rather dark core and aristocratic novel since it’s set in London of the 19th century. Even though the vibe seems to be pretty monotonous and constant, you can catch yourself during the moments when some sunlights are peeking out of the nebulous sky. However, it’s not always the sunlights that can guide you on the path of reading. You can’t skip some bloody rainfalls on the peaks of the paragraphs as well. In other words, I would suggest that the book consists of well-known gentlemen manners and quite intimidating aura of London rainy streets without the lack of hospitality and grandiosity of house parties.

(Language)

Quite frankly, this book has been really driving me crazy. One thing that couldn’t leave me alone while peacefully reading it was the language used by the author. Can we really talk about it? For real, maybe it happened due to my earlier ignorance towards the classical genre of literature but that was the exact reason why “The Picture of Dorian Gray” took me so long to finish. Let me clarify, the language as itself is absolutely marvelous and genius (I would never write anything like that in comparison). The way the author fluently describes every kind of rock on the street with a massive shower of charming paragraphs is breathtaking and mind-exploding. Excuse me sir, but half of the book’s amount of the words was entirely unfamiliar to me (I’m not exaggerating (maybe I am but whatever)). Therefore, reading such a masterpiece for the high minds was a disaster for such a loser like myself (I decided to take a really long break from the classics for now on).

(Character development)

The other moment which I want to point out is character development. The development of the main character. Unquestionably delightful. The reader can speculate the reality of influence from the society and surroundings. Dorian in the beginning of the book compared to Mr. Gray that was forged by the end - are two different people who would never get along with each other.

(Conclusion and recommendation)

In summary, would I read this novel once again in my life? No, probably not. Too much nerves are wasted for it, and the aftereffect is too harmful. However, would I recommend it to anyone? It depends. If you’re the one who admires philosophical theories and is versed in classical literature, then yes, undoubtedly yes. Otherwise, the book won’t provide so much of a pleasure to read for you.

(P.S.)

Thank you for reading, and you’re looking at one of my first “complete” reviews right now, so I apologize in advance.

penny_doubtful's review against another edition

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5.0

one4ale's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5/5, closer to a 5 than a 4.

I loved this book, it was so interesting and well-written. The VA for this particular audiobook really added to it as well. I think what I liked best were the dialogues between Lord Henry and Dorian, even if what the former was saying was wrong. The ending was good too; I expected it but was not disappointed by it.

Spoiler

I especially like that he had so many chances to reform/escape death and remained a hypocrite through and through until the end, which is why I think he got that end and not Lord Henry. He, at least, was not a hypocrite - just a bad person.

If there was one thing I would've liked to see it would be

Spoiler

more of a focus into his specific sins. There were many allusions to them, the lives he'd ruined and addictions/vices he accrued, but it would have been nice to see them in real time besides the opium and Sybil, etc. etc.

It's not a dealbreaker though, obviously.