Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Obraz Doriana Graye

Oscar Wildes »The Picture of Dorian Gray« caused quite a stir in its uncensored edition in the 1890s: Britain was on a mission of “morale” to expose gay men. Wildes case, some argue, didn’t exactly help, largely because he didn’t back down in time and put others in danger. Wilde had already made a name for himself, so they made an example out of his case. He was sentenced to two years of hard labour. The prosecutors used quotes from this uncensored text, since they were alluding to s*xual inversion (another term of that time).

If you've read the censored novel, you'll notice that this edition is missing some storylines and entire chapters. More importantly, Basils adoration for Dorian is way more tangible:

»I quite admit that I adored you madly, extravagantly, absurdly. […] There was love in every line, and in every touch there was passion.«

Dorian Gray was one of the firsts English classics I’ve read and it still is a favorite. Reading it a second time, albeit in a different edition, I enjoyed it even more. It’s been sitting on my shelf for quite a while. The newly published historical fiction »The New Life« finally made me pick it up - my review will follow soon.

Also, Nicholas Frankel wrote a thorough and interesting introduction. I wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone who enjoyed the better known version or is interested in lgbtq+ history of Britain.

Content Warnings

hannahs_library_'s review against another edition

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reflective 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

3.5

Content Warnings

bookiemadi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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hayleyvem's review against another edition

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dark 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

2.0

Content Warnings

maess's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

Content Warnings

morgabby's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

From the start I really loved this book. Wilde’s way of describing things with his poetical flow was beautiful. It was intriguing ever since Basil described his infatuation with a gorgeous man named Dorian Gray. Lord Henry was quite an interesting character, despite his evil and hedonistic dialogues.

There were few flaws that I disliked in this book: some of the conversations during tea parties or lunches were boringly long, and the whole chapter of Dorian developing multiple hobbies over a time lapse of a few years was hard for me to get through—I just found it uninteresting and wanted to get back to the main plot. I also wanted more insight of the beginning of Dorian’s corruption.

But overall the story was so mysterious and quite a few chapters kept me on the edge of my chair with my eyes widening of interest and tension.

I SO wanted the end of the book to be James murdering Dorian a dramatic and vengeful death, and got so excited when he finally found Dorian and almost killed him. But I found it even more unfortunately fascinating that James was fooled by his youth, and that Dorian got away with it all. I was upset when James died the way he did, though.

BASIL DESERVED BETTER!! AND SO DID SYBIL VANE!!!

I like to believe that Dorian was more than just a muse to Basil. After Basil’s confession of complete adoration of the man, page 113 ends with “There seemed to be something tragic in a friendship so colored by romance.” If that isn’t hinting enough, I don’t know what is.

The ending of the book was a little anticlimactic, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Will definitely reread again 👍🏻👍🏻

Movie review: I just watched the 2009 movie and omg??? Certainly worth a watch if you enjoyed the book. Some things happen differently, but does not stray from the original story too much. Some of the scenes were very um graphic lol so that added much flavor to the story as well, just dont be in the room with your family. I love the added details that gave more backstory to Dorian’s father.

Content Warnings

jo_d's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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

Content Warnings

braipointon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The messages and themes in this piece are so interesting and still relevant today, especially beauty and youth. I didnt expect to love the study of how we influence others as much as I did. Very philosophical which was sometimes hard to get through, but the later half of the book flew by. Also, highly suggest looking into the book’s historical context before reading.

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