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rodrovich's review against another edition
3.0
I admire this novel on conceptual and thematic levels more than my actual process of reading it, I couldn’t give less of a crap about most of the "reviews" of old dead artists Des Esseintes was pretentiously flogging or praising.
Good taste alone doesn’t make you a cooler or “better” person. Des Esseintes is insufferable and his narration of his possessions was a slog to read through. I was falling asleep reading his elaborate hikkikomori perfume setups, and the pedantic musings on wine (the worst form of alcohol). The only truly amusing portions of the novel were when he was getting off to a painting with a floating head, which was Moreau’s “The Apparition” and his sleep paralysis account.
To wrap up this “review” of a novel about materialism - Picador knocked it out of the park with this edition. The pink tone fill and the sketch are so eye-catching, and the physical book itself is a delight to hold, it’s light and the cover material and pages have a good grip.
Still, I'm feeling a 5.5/10 on this, though.
Good taste alone doesn’t make you a cooler or “better” person. Des Esseintes is insufferable and his narration of his possessions was a slog to read through. I was falling asleep reading his elaborate hikkikomori perfume setups, and the pedantic musings on wine (the worst form of alcohol). The only truly amusing portions of the novel were when he was getting off to a painting with a floating head, which was Moreau’s “The Apparition” and his sleep paralysis account.
To wrap up this “review” of a novel about materialism - Picador knocked it out of the park with this edition. The pink tone fill and the sketch are so eye-catching, and the physical book itself is a delight to hold, it’s light and the cover material and pages have a good grip.
Still, I'm feeling a 5.5/10 on this, though.
lovecase's review against another edition
4.0
hes so me and i will not be explaining like let me rant about the paint on my walls and my rearranged bookshelf!
saulle's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
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
4.0
truly such a struggle to read since i am not well versed in 19th century french literary scene but i enjoyed myself. it is interesting how some of his ideas could still be well represented in contemporary media and i myself could relate. truly evoked some deep thinking on my part and it is funny to think that it is this book that dorian gray was obsessed with
clayjs's review against another edition
3.0
[a:Oscar Wilde|3565|Oscar Wilde|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1316521008p2/3565.jpg]'s [b:The Picture of Dorian Gray|5297|The Picture of Dorian Gray|Oscar Wilde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320467562s/5297.jpg|1858012], taking it's cue from [a:Mary Shelley|11139|Mary Shelley|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205347203p2/11139.jpg]'s [b:Frankenstein|18490|Frankenstein (Penguin Classics)|Mary Shelley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311647465s/18490.jpg|4836639], gives its hero three books to read in order to shape and to define his personality. The most fascinatingly bleak of Dorian's reads is this strange little book about a jaded perfumer with too much money, trying to fill up his boring, pleasure-sated days. It's a sensualist romp through, well, very little, actually, and it adequately depicts the life of a man who has everything in life and nothing to live for. Bleak, pointless, at times very charming, [b:Against Nature|210255|Against Nature (A Rebours)|Joris-Karl Huysmans|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312506330s/210255.jpg|306152] isn't for everyone, but it's a useful tool to get further into Dorian Gray's character. If you are an enthusiast of Wilde's novella, it's a must read, along with [b:Marius the Epicurean|626363|Marius the Epicurean|Walter Pater|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334835995s/626363.jpg|1443058] and [b:Confessions of An Opium-Eater|87602|Confessions of an English Opium-eater & Other Writings (World's Classics)|Thomas de Quincey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171104391s/87602.jpg|18609464].
galatee's review against another edition
5.0
hermite-gay-core, le grand frère anémique de Dorian Gray
je dois dire que je m'attendais quand même à plus flamboyant vu la renommée géante du livre, il manque un aspect psychologique vraiment développé, un détail de caractère, quelque chose qui dirait précisément la violence de ce faux "retour", du mouvement "à rebours" qui en réalité ne nie une forme de dépravation obsessionnelle que pour en chercher une autre... après Zola, après [b: Bouvard et Pécuchet|958738|Gustave Flaubert, Bouvard et Pécuchet|Schvalberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1179808272l/958738._SY75_.jpg|943648], après les grands romans russes et surtout Dostoïevski, c'est un peu... anémié... comme livre... mais c'est génial quand même
je dois dire que je m'attendais quand même à plus flamboyant vu la renommée géante du livre, il manque un aspect psychologique vraiment développé, un détail de caractère, quelque chose qui dirait précisément la violence de ce faux "retour", du mouvement "à rebours" qui en réalité ne nie une forme de dépravation obsessionnelle que pour en chercher une autre... après Zola, après [b: Bouvard et Pécuchet|958738|Gustave Flaubert, Bouvard et Pécuchet|Schvalberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1179808272l/958738._SY75_.jpg|943648], après les grands romans russes et surtout Dostoïevski, c'est un peu... anémié... comme livre... mais c'est génial quand même
lottes_library's review against another edition
reflective
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
cauchemarlena's review against another edition
2.0
Lugesin seda bakatöö jaoks. Nii hea, et ei pea sellega enam tegelema. On võimalik, et minu suur vastumeelsus Huysmansi suhtes tekkis just selle paganama bakatöö tõttu. Igal juhul ei nautinud ma seda teost üldse.
Samas annab see teos hea ülevaate sellest, mida dekadents endast kujutab. See on läbi ja lõhki dekadentlik. Väga palju on materjalismi, suures osas on teos kirjeldav. Mingit erilist süžeed ei ole, mis on ka paraku teose mõte. Peategelane des Esseintes on haiglane, jälestab maailma ning on ühtlasi esteetikaarmastaja.
Samas annab see teos hea ülevaate sellest, mida dekadents endast kujutab. See on läbi ja lõhki dekadentlik. Väga palju on materjalismi, suures osas on teos kirjeldav. Mingit erilist süžeed ei ole, mis on ka paraku teose mõte. Peategelane des Esseintes on haiglane, jälestab maailma ning on ühtlasi esteetikaarmastaja.