Scan barcode
crisi_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
4.0
4/5 ⭐️
Oscar Wilde is wild and blatantly gay for writing this. The homoerotic undertones were severe and despite its vagueness, it’s honestly a wonder how this ever got published in 1890 with how obviously gay it is.
Is it bad to say I almost hated every character in this book, and yet still really enjoyed it? No? Okay.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fascinating examination of vanity, greed, and all those things that just make you hate people. The prose is mystical and keeps that feel about it that most gothic novels have, which I’ve learned is difficult to read more than a paragraph of when you’re running on four hours of sleep and the sheer force of will.
I could hardly put this book down despite finding it a difficult to read, which says a lot on how gripping and compelling it is. If I put it down for a second it was all I could think about and so I had to pick it back up. Oscar Wilde has wormed his way into my brain and will probably stay there for a solid while.
A lot of the discussions about aestheticism and philosophy do come off as a little preachy (especially bc Henry Wotton can’t help but spew a paragraph about how lovely youth is and other shit every two pages), and there is sexist and misogynistic commentary, but overall it is thought provoking and intriguing.
Oh, Dorian. Poor Dorian. You dumb, dumb boy.
Oscar Wilde is wild and blatantly gay for writing this. The homoerotic undertones were severe and despite its vagueness, it’s honestly a wonder how this ever got published in 1890 with how obviously gay it is.
Is it bad to say I almost hated every character in this book, and yet still really enjoyed it? No? Okay.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fascinating examination of vanity, greed, and all those things that just make you hate people. The prose is mystical and keeps that feel about it that most gothic novels have, which I’ve learned is difficult to read more than a paragraph of when you’re running on four hours of sleep and the sheer force of will.
I could hardly put this book down despite finding it a difficult to read, which says a lot on how gripping and compelling it is. If I put it down for a second it was all I could think about and so I had to pick it back up. Oscar Wilde has wormed his way into my brain and will probably stay there for a solid while.
A lot of the discussions about aestheticism and philosophy do come off as a little preachy (especially bc Henry Wotton can’t help but spew a paragraph about how lovely youth is and other shit every two pages), and there is sexist and misogynistic commentary, but overall it is thought provoking and intriguing.
Oh, Dorian. Poor Dorian. You dumb, dumb boy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Suicide, and Stalking
xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition
dark
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
4.25
4.25! I really enjoyed the concept of this book. Morality and ethics are interesting to explore. The first half of the book is so subtle and slow, so I wasn't expecting what happened in the second half. I hated all the characters but the development of events kept me hooked to see it through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicide
ggcd1981's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
O Retrato de Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray) por muito tempo foi um arrependimento meu da época da Universidade. Durante uma disciplina da graduação um dos livros indicados para leitura foi O Retrato de Dorian Gray, só que não o li e não sei realmente o porquê disso. Então no ano de 2021 decidi que iria corrigir essa falha e assim o fiz. Não deveria me surpreender, mas aconteceu mesmo assim, com a qualidade da escrita de Oscar Wilde. No primeiro capítulo já me encontrei embasbacada pelos diálogos, pela beleza e inteligência das frases escritas por Wilde. É uma pena que não tenho uma cópia física do livro (ouvi a versão em audiobook narrada por Russell Tovey) para poder citar algumas dessas frases elaboradas de forma brilhante. Escrevo este review em Janeiro de 2022 então posso dizer com propriedade que este foi o livro mais bem escrito que li em 2021. Os personagens foram fascinantes, o cenário bastante atmosférico e durante toda obra se tem o sentimento de tragédia iminente. Destaco todos os diálogos em que Lord Henry esteve envolvido. Henry era o agente de corrupção da narrativa e era tão hábil com as palavras que ele deturpava ideias e princípios de forma “melodiosa”. O Retrato de Dorian Gray é tão bem escrito que é mais fácil apontar os poucos pontos negativos que citar tudo que foi brilhante na obra. Esses pontos negativos foram poucos, o primeiro deles foi a Misoginia presente no texto, mas isso é esperado de uma obra escrita em 1890 sobre personagens de moral questionável; o segundo e último ponto negativo é o capítulo em que a coleção de belos itens que Dorian colecionou é detalhada, acredito que é o capítulo 11 (mas não tenho certeza). Se fala nesse capítulo sobre as paixões e interesses de Dorian ao longo dos anos e os itens que por esses interesses coletou. A descrição da coleção foi longa e detalhada, e sim passa a ideia do materialismo e paixão pelo “Belo” e pelas “Sensações” que vieram a caracterizar Dorian, mas a leitura demorada das descrições de objetos que quase durou o capítulo inteiro foi bem maçante.
A obra teve diálogos fantásticos sobre beleza, paixões, arte e morais. O livro faz você pensar e, apesar de discordar de Lord Henry e Dorian em quase todas suas opiniões sobre os tópicos citados, consegui entender a lógica que guiava seus argumentos. O Retrato de Dorian Gray ainda me deixou com a questão de que a corrupção de Dorian, e este mesmo como agente de corrupção de outros jovens, esteve em foco durante todo o livro, mas o que dizer sobre Lord Henry que foi o gatilho e principal influência na corrupção do personagem principal? O personagem Lord Henry era em si mais corrupto que o próprio Dorian, porem parecia ser um voyeur que apreciava mais assistir ao processo de corrupção do que realizar ele mesmo atos condenados pelo seu meio. Teria sido fantástico ter lido este livro junto com outra pessoa pois existe muito material para discussão. Isso não foi possível, mas mesmo assim o livro me entreteve bastante e me fez pensar. Assim só posso dar 5 estrelas para esse livro que é merecidamente um clássico consagrado.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Stalking, and Drug abuse
greatu's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Death, Misogyny, Stalking, and Suicide
fujo_cat's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Aaah, que livro bom!! Faz tempo que um clássico me satisfaz tanto, mas foi uma leitura extremamente interessante. Claro que houve certos capítulos mais aborrecidos e em certos momentos a leitura parecia mais difícil de avançar (leia-se: o ritmo era mais lento) mas, no geral, eu gostei muito c:
O final não me surpreendeu mas não deixou de ser satisfatório! 👀
O final não me surpreendeu mas não deixou de ser satisfatório! 👀
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Gore, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
halliesanto's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Stalking
Minor: Infidelity and Drug use
thmei's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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 beautiful and terrible and indulgent and pretentious and every character was self serving and self important and turned beautiful phrase as easily as I breathe and I loved every second of reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Blood
Moderate: Stalking and Suicide
Minor: Sexism
The sexism isn’t graphic at all and even gets argued with by another character at one point so, for me personally, it wasn’t an uncomfortable or upsetting read, but know that it’s there. From what I can remember, it was all in the many conversations about philosophy and primarily came from one character, so the author seems to have made him view women this way intentionally (and i don’t think you’re supposed to particularly like this character). Dorian picks up some of this sexism as another nod to this character’s negative influence on him. I think its inclusion was purposeful and done well.ryleehmln's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide and Stalking
kathleenivy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
s_zoe_k05's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, Gore, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, and Addiction
Minor: Child abuse and Stalking