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challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I find it difficult to review classics without the rigorous exploration a high school English class provides... I admit that for much of this book I felt like I was only skimming its surface. The themes were fairly clear, but I felt like I was missing context to truly understand the meaning of this book. I got quite lost in the middle, and the depth of information on Sybil Vane and her family felt a bit unnecessary (I kept getting family relationships mixed up and I found it hard to care about them), but the last third piqued my interest again. There were many beautiful lines, especially from the delightfully awful Lord Henry, that made me understand the prowess of Wilde as a writer. This is definitely a book I want to dive deeper into!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny
Minor: Antisemitism
challenging
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Like wading through rich velvet which is so typical of Wilde! I simultaneously love the language and find it hard to get through. Dark, gay story that sums up Wilde at his best. I could have done without the antisemitism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Vomit, Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicide, Antisemitism, Stalking
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed how Wilde writes. Even if it is a rather dark read, it was fun to spend some time with the work of someone who has so obviously influenced some of my favourite contemporary writers. I’m a little mad I didn’t unpack this in a more formal setting or even in a book club but there’s a lot to unpack. I could have dealt without the causal racism and antisemitism but I am, ultimately, glad I stuck with it. Shout out to the literary pub crawl guides in Dublin who inspired me to finally pick up this book. Well done, sirs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed the symbolism and the message the story conveyed. Some parts felt a little slow, but overall it was definitely worth the read. I also thought the ending was satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Classism
Minor: Antisemitism
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We stan Lord Henry
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Antisemitism
Lowkey, too much antisemitism/antisemitic descriptions of a character. I may return later, who knows.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wildely misogynistic and antisemetic. Interesting to read though as a queer classic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Antisemitism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Blood
Minor: Drug use, Suicide
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, Classism
challenging
dark
tense
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
A grotesque characterization that highlights the corruption of a man’s character and vanity, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a story of how a beautiful young man falls from grace after sitting for his painter friend.
This book is more of a collection of philosophical musings (mostly coming from the character of Lord Harry) with a backdrop of a plot. All the charm (and there is lots of it) comes from the witty lines and anecdotes brought up by the various characters. The long dialogues and back-and-forth exchanges were just as compelling as the action, thanks to the characters’ strong voices. This is not to say that the plot itself was not interesting; it had much higher stakes than I expected, and it kept developing in ways that subverted expectations. The progression of Dorian Gray, the character, is deviously subtle and incredible to see escalate.
A product of its time, there are some shocking sentiments about women and other minorities found within the book. The description of the Jewish characters in the story is incredibly outdated, and the inclusion of female characters often felt caricatured and overly exaggerated.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is picturesque, gritty, and twisted, yet still remarkably light-hearted at times. It was the perfect amount of reflective and entertaining, and one of the best classics I’ve read to date.
This book is more of a collection of philosophical musings (mostly coming from the character of Lord Harry) with a backdrop of a plot. All the charm (and there is lots of it) comes from the witty lines and anecdotes brought up by the various characters. The long dialogues and back-and-forth exchanges were just as compelling as the action, thanks to the characters’ strong voices. This is not to say that the plot itself was not interesting; it had much higher stakes than I expected, and it kept developing in ways that subverted expectations. The progression of Dorian Gray, the character, is deviously subtle and incredible to see escalate.
A product of its time, there are some shocking sentiments about women and other minorities found within the book. The description of the Jewish characters in the story is incredibly outdated, and the inclusion of female characters often felt caricatured and overly exaggerated.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is picturesque, gritty, and twisted, yet still remarkably light-hearted at times. It was the perfect amount of reflective and entertaining, and one of the best classics I’ve read to date.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Antisemitism