Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

85 reviews

elisabeth_with_an_ess's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-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

Oscar Wilde doesn't really need praise from me, but I bet he'd like it, anyway. 
Dorian Gray is a stunning masterpiece. Every aspect of it is perfection. 
There now, Oscar, I've told you how brilliant you are, now go away and be pleased with yourself.

And all the rest of you, read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Suicide

dilara2912w's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Abandonment

jeremie's review against another edition

dark funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction

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: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Blood, and Antisemitism

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

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, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction and Sexism

thevampiremars's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

I knew of Oscar Wilde, of course, but this was my first time actually reading his work. I found it difficult not to use the book as a means of analysing its writer. He was known for his wit but was he genuinely clever or just good at appearing clever? Maybe there’s no distinction. Maybe it’s foolish of me to try to judge the character of a man by the work he creates. Wilde himself rebuked the idea that art should be taken as autobiography, that works of fiction reveal something about the writer. Then again, he also wrote in a letter “[The Picture of Dorian Gray] contains much of me in it — Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry, what the world thinks of me; Dorian is what I would like to be — in other ages, perhaps.” It’s hard not to read the story as a reflection of its author to some extent.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is so much gayer than I expected. Like, it’s difficult to even describe it as subtext. It’s right there, unmistakable despite careful censorship, from chapter one onwards. I have to admit, this kind of pining, withholding, and hinting at queerness appeals to me far more than the uncomplicated “representation” we tend to see nowadays. I acknowledge literature like this comes from a society in which homosexuality was criminalised and deeply stigmatised – the ambiguity I adore wasn’t just a stylistic choice, it was a necessity – but it resonates with me in a way modern queer media just doesn’t.

The story is dominated by the theme of influence (and its inverse, impressionability). It’s handled well for the most part but I don’t really understand the significance of

the book Lord Henry recommends to Dorian. I know that some scholars identify it as an ode to either The Yellow Book or Huysmans’s Against Nature, and that the idea of a “poisonous book” was accentuated in later editions in response to the controversy surrounding this very novel upon its publication. In other words, I know that Wilde was playing with the idea of an immoral piece of literature corrupting (read: queering) young minds. That said, Dorian is already affected by the picture painted by Basil Hallward and the mirror given to him by Lord Henry, not to mention Lord Henry’s words; the addition of the corrupting book seemed to overcomplicate what was otherwise quite an elegant concept.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is good. I wasn’t blown away by it, but the premise is solid and I was pleasantly surprised by how audaciously queer it is. I can see why it’s considered a classic. Definitely worth a read. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide, Antisemitism, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

feelinwitchy's review against another edition

dark 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

obsessed obsessed obsessed obsessed

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Stalking, and Alcohol

liv_green85's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction