Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

144 reviews

cinthiaurora's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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

4.75

The real tragedy of The Picture of Dorian Gray is actually that the most boring character (Lord Henry) speaks throughout most of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Murder

Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Infidelity, Suicide, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Stalking

himbomeena's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Suicide, and Death

merle_bookdragon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

Absolutely amazed at the wild time I have had while reading this book. I am absolutely obsessed with Lord Henry and also with Dorian (not as obsessed with Basil but he still deserved better!!). I love how the beginning of the book is really just lots of banter and then it goes downhill VERY quickly. 

It's also so interesting because Dorian blames Basil's picture and Henry's book for his downfall but it's really all about HIS own actions. I think it is especially noticeable in contrast to Lord Henry because he also talks a lot about horrible things and philosophizes about every topic but he is not taken seriously and also does not act upon them. Dorian on the other hand takes everything Henry says very seriously and whatever thought he has during his life he simply acts upon, which is what leads him down all these bad roads.

There were of course quite a few moments where it was easily noticeable in what time this book was written and published as quite a few antisemitic and sexist comments are made and not challenged. Additionally, one should be aware that this is in parts a quite heavy book, especially in the passages that contain murder, suicide, death and drug abuse.

All in all, I really want to reread it and also look at the beginning with a different eye but that will have to wait for a later time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Sexism, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Violence, Drug use, and Homophobia

chloevienna's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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

this was so good - it may be my favorite classic i’ve read. very funny and accessible, and really easy to get into. as someone who has always hated audiobooks, i decided to try this on audible read by ben barnes, and let me just say…there’s no other way to read this. his performance is SUPERB. it made me feel like i was there, or at the very least watching TV. my only gripe with the book is that it gets a little slow in the last hour and a half. i normally take around 4 days to read books, but i listened to this before bed and it immediately relaxed me and made me sleepy, so it took me about two weeks to complete it…so maybe don’t do that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence, Classism, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i absolutely adore the way that oscar wilde writes. one of the best novels i’ve read 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, and Body horror

amyayeme's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual content and Rape

hannahws's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I feel very conflicted about this book! On the one hand, it's a fantastic study of Reconstruction Era Britain. Wilde's social commentary is fantastically biting and shrewd, even more so if you read it with his trial in mind. On the other, I expected Dorian's character arc to develop a bit more - I found the characters to be quite flat and stagnant, and the pace dragged

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Misogyny, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Violence

madinhoa's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, and Stalking

perleerose's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.25

A true masterclass in the plot twist in my opinion with thinly veiled gay undertones for good measure

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Drug use, Death, and Violence

Minor: Sexism, Suicide, and Gaslighting

rory_john14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Addiction, Antisemitism, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Confinement, Alcoholism, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Grief