Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

160 reviews

rjkadlick's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

4.25

okay i've been sitting for two days straight trying to figure out how to properly review this book, so here goes:

1. the premise is super interesting and is carried out in an exciting way. i wish wilde had focused on the plot more, but i know i have a personal preference for plot-based books.

2. idk if i haven't read any classics in a while or if it's just this one, but it felt very Platonic (in the Plato way) with a lot of talk (especially by

Sir Henry

) about Beauty and its relationship to Art, Genius, etc. i like this kinda stuff so i enjoyed it but if you don't you're not into a lot of abstract philosophical talk you're probably not gonna like it.

3. as with many classics, there's some... offensive portrayals of certain characters... in this case antisemitism and misogyny so i would recommend looking at content tags before reading!

overall though i thought it was super interesting and one of the easier classics to read and understand

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny and Antisemitism

murder

death

suicide

wormgirl's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Suicide, Antisemitism, Sexism, Drug abuse, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Toxic friendship and Blood

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

tinnuben's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Antisemitism

_saphyr_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Abandonment

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

sinaprst's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.75

I never thought that I would like this this much, but I am literally as obsessed as Dorian is with his own portrait. 
I would literally sell my soul to be able to read this for the first time again. 
Though at times it was a bit difficult to get through, it was overall just an incredible read and I now want to read everything else Oscar Wilde has ever written. 
Lastly all I have to say is:
- Basil deserved better
- Harry is a piece of shit 
- and I wish it could've been gayer 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Classism, Death, Suicide, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Racism, and Sexism

michelavitali's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

berufsgrantler's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

ENGLISH:
Oh, this book... Another entry in the category "Very good, but don't read it!". Shocking how someone so young and naive can be led to throw his whole code of ethics over board, while having no hope of pulling his neck out of the hangmans noose; allthe more when one is in fear of endling like that and being forced to betray ones own principles, by eliminating all choice to do better. For all the people suffering from mid- or quarterlife crisis, this should be an especially hard read. 

And alas Lord Henry, he's just such a charming bastard, one could say he's the quintessence of the cur ;) 


DEUTSCH:
Hach, dieses Buch... Wiedermal ein Fall für die Kategorie "Sehr gut, aber lies es nicht!". Schockierend wie jemand so junges und naives so moralisch verfallen kann und sich nicht aus der Schlinge zu winden mag, die sich langsam zuzieht; umso mehr wenn man selbst Angst hat schließlich so zu Enden und man doch irgendwann seine moralischen Prinzipien verraten muss, weil einem die Wahl genommen wurde. Besonders harte Lektüre für die Mid- und Quarterlife-Crisis.

Ach und Lord Henry, dieser schmierig, gewitzte Bastard, man könnte fast meinen er sei des Pudels Kern ;)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Blood

Minor: Addiction and Sexism

marciafelis's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.5

I went into reading this book expecting to like it far less than I did, but from the beginning, the characters and especially the dynamics of their relationships pulled me in. Though the story is ostensibly about Dorian Gray, in my opinion, it's Lord Henry who plays the largest part in causing it to happen (Basil Hallward mostly contributes through the picture). In the novel's second half, I wasn't as happy with the pacing; I felt like some parts dragged on while others could have been drawn out longer.

The irony is perhaps that although Dorian Gray has a painting showing him his "true" self, as a person he is (or becomes) utterly unable to reflect on himself and his actions, always finding something or someone else to blame.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicide and Sexism

Minor: Antisemitism and Drug use