Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

34 reviews

macliffe's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.75

I have been wanting to read this book for so long and it did not disappoint! Fully lived up to the hype. 
I was hesitant because I’m not a horror reader, but this book did a good job of being gothic without having unnecessary gore or uncomfortable scenes. 
The characters were so well done, especially Dorian.
I love how the message of the book is stated subtly at the beginning with Lord Henry saying the world needed a “new hedonism”. Then the plot gives Dorian that new hedonism, but he comes to realize that it doesn’t satisfy and only leaves him miserable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Murder, Mental illness, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicide, Blood, Gore, and Misogyny

Minor: Violence

queeniecraft's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use

starryknightace's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

1.5

Such an interesting concept but didn't age well into the 21st century. With controversial anti-Semitism and misogyny dotted throughout the story it made it easy to dislike the characters and made for an interesting read. I personally struggle with the classic English writing style and found at times struggling to understand what I was reading, Wilde uses a lot of flowery descriptive paragraphs, which were quite honestly, boring. I found myself 70 pages in and gritting my teeth to get through the rest. Admittedly the action did somewhat pick up and I found myself enthralled to see the confliction in Dorian Gray's moral come to blows. A bit of a lackluster climax but definitely can see the appeal and why the novel is still considered a classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Drug use

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Antisemitism

sagelikesscats's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I will definitely return to this book. Great writing, great characters, and an amazing ending. I did find that all of the rich people problems get annoying towards the end, but still a fantastic book about beauty, morality, and heathenism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Mental illness, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual content, Classism, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Suicide

The classism is less of a thing that happens and more of a general presence throughout the book.

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

thewritetofight's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was pretty good. I was surprised I was able to read it because old books like from Jane Austen give me an aneurysm trying to decipher. It took me forever to finish this book since I was already hurtling towards a read slump but when I picked it back up, I finished it fairly quickly. The only thing I didn’t like was

how quickly Dorian descended into madness, like I felt like it was very abrupt; one moment he was innocent and the next he was frothing at the mouth and driving his lover to suicide.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Death, Dysphoria, Murder, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Mental illness

Minor: Stalking

lokes's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Mental illness

linalina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Suicide

pershie13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. This. Was. Phenomenal. The writing and pacing were good, the story was gripping, and I was wondering how this book was going to end literally until the last sentence. This is my favorite classic I've read so far and easily deserves five stars!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Animal death

gentleprocrastination's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Classism, Death, Murder, Body horror, and Homophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Antisemitism, and Suicide

Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking