Reviews

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

shadybanana's review against another edition

5.0

This, definitely, is either my best read of 2016 or at least one of them! The picture of Dorian Grey, is about quite simply the picture of a young juvenile man, pure from the complications and sins of the world until he is influenced. Now of course there is an interesting definition of influence in the story but thats just a small sneak peek of what the rest of the book bad in store. I wont comment about the story. I cant. I wont be able to do justice or explain the implications and ideas that have been so beautifully discussed while remaining on the track of the plot. The book touches so many points and so many unorthodox thoughts that at times I just couldnt fathom any more. Half of the time, I would try to re-read all such thoughts/ideas/philosophies presented in the novel in a vain attempt to soak up all the radiance emitted by the book (got a bit too metaphorical here, probably an after effect of the book). Part of the reason why the book was so inspiring and epic was the way of writing. I had recently read Umberto Eco and whereas there was class in his writings and the figure of speeches he used were awesome but Oscar Wilde is outta this world. The way many simple things were presented left me awestruck. The choice of words and phrases was so fine and elegant. The flow of words was so smooth that you couldnt read a page of the book without remarking about the finesse of the author. It is a pity that Oscar Wilde wrote only few (or maybe only one) novel. It would be a great crime if I spare the appreciation all the major characters deserve. Basil Hallward! Poor Basil thats all I've got to say. He was the exact alter ego of Lord Henry about whom I have much to say. Lord Henry's character perplexed me immensely. It had a charisma, an intellect and I am assuming okayish looks. He was the main man if you ask me. His thoughts are so radical that for a moment even I feared he might corrupt my morality. On the other hands those very thoughts tend to make a lot of sense and logic proves that they might be rather lucrative for everyone! And Dorian Grey! The transformation in his character was marvellous. I cannot..cannot say anything more, I dont know, I might explode due to excitement or whatever this is! Lastly, one regret or rather a request. In fact two requests! I wish Oscar Wilde had written an epilogue based on

Spoiler

Lord Henry's thoughts on Dorians suicide and should have presented a conclusion by Henry on the life which he experimented on through Dorian

. Quoting J.D Salinger from Catcher in The Rye that after we finish the book we wish that the author was a splendid friend of ours but that is not the case. Anyway, I would literally give anything to be in company of Oscar Wilde and talk to him of all that he has written in this book. Well it is impossible now, isnt it? Unless Wilde had some crazy wish like Dorian which miraculously came true.



EDIT: In 2021 now, and I just reread it. The review pretty much still stands strong. I can comfortably say now that the character of Lord Henry is my favorite. And the opening sentences of the novel are so sensorially descriptive and pleasant that if the rest of the novel had not followed suit in a similar quality of prose, it wouldn’t have had quite the same mark.
Still love it
Also what the fuck? Apparently the last time I read this book was half a decade ago, around the same days of June.

meglogan's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ashdawn's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

yuyubuu's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

mintyreadsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars

qjbrown96's review against another edition

3.0

I would consider this the Wal-Mart version of Edgar Allan Poe. Pretty good story but I would be better if I was alive when he wrote this book because a lot of the references I don’t understand. Also the relationship between Dorian, Basil, and Henry had creepy homoeroctic undertones.

votesforwomen's review against another edition

3.0

Odd? Disturbing? Cautionary? Yes.

DELICIOUS in the creep factor? Also yes.

junyan's review against another edition

3.0

I have mixed feelings for this book. I hate how male authors portray female characters, and this one is no exception. But I love the concepts and gothic vibe. When we put on the young and beautiful social mask, we lost piece of ourselves and get farther away from nature day by day. We are so afraid of getting old naturally and that's quite pathetic. However, Wilde seems to connect wrinkles and being old and ugly to immorality according to the gradual change of the picture, to which I disagree.

whippycleric's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was my first foray into Oscar Wildes work and I was very surprised. Like with most of my reading I went into it knowing very little. I knew the publication date so expected something a bit Dickensian but somewhat modernised. For the first few chapters this was what I got, the writing was sublime and I had an idea of where the story would go. Half way through and during the second half I came to the realization I was completely wrong. The writing remained as good as before but the plot became so much more than I expected.

I really struggled to decide between 4.5 and 5 stars for this one, and I migt very well change my mind later, but for now I've gone for 4.5. The only reason for this is that due to the length of the book I never got fully engaged with an individual characters arc.  Whilst we see the entire life of Dorian Gray the central chapter covering his entire life in a series of beautifully written analogies does not, for me, build the life as well as it could if we just had a few vignettes for those years across several chapters. In addition I think a bit more about Basil and Lord Henry in those intermittent years could have gone a long way to fully rounding the story. 

It's an absolutely brilliant book and I'll read the rest of his work soon I'm sure. Next time I visit his grave I'll have a greater appreciation as well. 

lyrmcv's review against another edition

dark medium-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

5.0