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riverofhorton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
So to start, this book was not what modern media had lead me to believe it would be, but that is definitely not a bad thing. In the modern media, the characters are straight or at the straight end of bi/pan, whereas here they're straight, gay, or at the gay end of bi/pan. Had I not gone into this knowing Wilde was gay, I would have been wondering after a couple pages. One of the male characters is madly in love with Dorian and at throughout his character arc, I found myself crying tears of both joy and heartbreak at various points.
One of the few things I didn't find enjoyable about this book, was Chapter 11. I understand the intention behind that particular chapter completely, but for me it seemed to drag on too much and added relatively little to the story that couldn't have been contained in a couple of paragraphs.
Here is a bullet pointed review I posted elsewhere online:
One of the few things I didn't find enjoyable about this book, was Chapter 11. I understand the intention behind that particular chapter completely, but for me it seemed to drag on too much and added relatively little to the story that couldn't have been contained in a couple of paragraphs.
Here is a bullet pointed review I posted elsewhere online:
- Dear God, the gay. I don't even want to count how many gay bits I tabbed.
Basil is an absolute sweetheart and deserved way better. Dorian could have been an amazing person, if he hadn't been corrupted. Harry can suck a d*ck. To paraphrase the Frankenstein Vs. monster thing: Knowledge is knowing Harry isn't the villain, wisdom is knowing Harry is the villain. Alan reminded me of Dr Jekyll in a lot of ways, which I liked but I don't know if this was intentional or just my brain. - Chapter 11 dragged so much, and only really added
"Dorian spent 18 years collecting hobbies, some of which will be briefly mentioned later." Probably going to skip it next read. - And yes, I will be re-reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Classism, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Suicide, Infidelity, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
frozenheartv's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
3.25 stars
Surprisingly i didn't enjoy this book as expected. I get the metaphors and deep meanings of this book but it lost me somewhere in the middle part. Too much filler and the characters are horrible people. It's about a bunch of white, filthy-rich, toxic, misogynic, hypocritic, psychopathic men. Can't care less
Surprisingly i didn't enjoy this book as expected. I get the metaphors and deep meanings of this book but it lost me somewhere in the middle part. Too much filler and the characters are horrible people. It's about a bunch of white, filthy-rich, toxic, misogynic, hypocritic, psychopathic men. Can't care less
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Misogyny
zia_c's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved everything about this but I don't know where the lgbtq section was in the whole story. Maybe it was in thr one I skimmed through.
Don't care about others opinion of Henry (Harry) but he's my favourite character.
Don't care about others opinion of Henry (Harry) but he's my favourite character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Misogyny, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexism, and Transphobia
remuslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
one of the best. books. ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Murder, Classism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Infidelity, Blood, and Drug abuse
inoshiiro's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The Picture of Dorian Gray has always been on my TBR, and has been collecting dust since I purchased the Penguin Classics version sometime around 2020. This year, for an English course concerning literature in the fin de siècle, I was given the excuse to finally read the novel when it appeared in the course readings.
I think my reading was likely a bit coloured by the literary/societal concepts we were learning about alongside the texts. The mentions of degeneration, aesthetes, and cultural biases were jumping out at me when I read the text, highly influencing the way I approached its themes. I feel like if I read this novel earlier in my life, I would likely have had a very different viewpoint on it.
I think the themes of homosociality and queer sexualities are prominent, but I felt more drawn to the way the characters and its story embodied the prevailing ideas about degeneration, social-Darwinism, and the role of the arts.
As a femme reader as well, the attitudes towards women were of course, unappealing. I wasn't put off the story or anything--and I very well know that the attitudes are definitely a product of their time--but that didn't stop me from feeling baffled at Lord Henry's remarks about female intelligence, and sympathetic to the the OTT cruelty towards Sybil Vane .
Despite this, I did enjoy the book. The storyline was something I vaguely already knew about due to the plots prevalence in pop culture, and the fact that the book was recommended to me by an ex-highschool friend. However, the way the novel unfolded, as well as the more intimate details were unknown to me until I was actually sitting there and reading. I finished the thing in two sittings, well before we had to discuss it in class.
My rating of 3.75 stars can be concluded like this: The book was entertaining and I found myself looking forward to the plots progression. That being said, it is still a book about men and their morals, which isn't exactly my cup of tea. And the fact that I had to write a 2500 word comparative essay about it for class probably didn't boost my enjoyment either.
I think my reading was likely a bit coloured by the literary/societal concepts we were learning about alongside the texts. The mentions of degeneration, aesthetes, and cultural biases were jumping out at me when I read the text, highly influencing the way I approached its themes. I feel like if I read this novel earlier in my life, I would likely have had a very different viewpoint on it.
I think the themes of homosociality and queer sexualities are prominent, but I felt more drawn to the way the characters and its story embodied the prevailing ideas about degeneration, social-Darwinism, and the role of the arts.
As a femme reader as well, the attitudes towards women were of course, unappealing. I wasn't put off the story or anything--and I very well know that the attitudes are definitely a product of their time--but that didn't stop me from feeling baffled at
Despite this, I did enjoy the book. The storyline was something I vaguely already knew about due to the plots prevalence in pop culture, and the fact that the book was recommended to me by an ex-highschool friend. However, the way the novel unfolded, as well as the more intimate details were unknown to me until I was actually sitting there and reading. I finished the thing in two sittings, well before we had to discuss it in class.
My rating of 3.75 stars can be concluded like this: The book was entertaining and I found myself looking forward to the plots progression. That being said, it is still a book about men and their morals, which isn't exactly my cup of tea. And the fact that I had to write a 2500 word comparative essay about it for class probably didn't boost my enjoyment either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use and Stalking
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A classic in so many ways with poignant reflections on youth, beauty and what makes a good person. There are also so many layers of queerness in each of the characters and their relationships.
It is certainly a product of its time, with several sexist comments and some antisemitic portrayals. Readers should be aware of this before beginning to read
It is certainly a product of its time, with several sexist comments and some antisemitic portrayals. Readers should be aware of this before beginning to read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death, Murder, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Antisemitism
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
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
bblanka's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Drug use, and Death
superstar_y2k's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, and Murder
valreadsallnight's review against another edition
dark
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
5.0
This book was, is, amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, and Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism
The instance of antisemitism happened only early in the novel, but it is really, really viscerally pungent. So prepare yourself,