Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

562 reviews

ko_rax's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.25

It was great to witness Dorian's descent into madness. Boy, he went from innocent, pure and youthful to batshit evil and horrendous.


Now, did I enjoy reading it? Absolutely not - I cannot bear witnessing characters make foolish decisions, or worse, entice others to be foolish (I am looking at you,

Henry, you vile ENTP and misogynist

) - but that also was not the point of this novel at all. In fact,

Dorian

was meant to be a fool. We as readers, I dare say, were meant to witness the consequences, and/or lack thereof, of ignorance, abuse of power (or beauty, or "pretty privilege") and the absence of utterly needed reflection.

"There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful."

Dorian became hideous, and was unwilling to

atone for his crimes and sins, even until his end

. Unfortunately, Dorian chose to turn a blind eye towards

his actions and his overall behaviour

. Instead, he attempted to

escape and indulge in pleasantries and addiction, even hyper-fixation

simply to forget, until he was forced to remember all of it again.


I find this classic to be very marvellous, written with great attention to detail and prose. Maybe a little long-winding and challenging for some. Still, Oscar Wilde, what an astounding piece of art you have written! With that being said, what better way is there than to close it off with a quote of his on art itself?

"We can forgice a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.

All art is quite useless."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Drug use and Blood

marianasreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Suicide

Minor: Blood and Drug use

luseaj's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

First book of the year </3 reread but a total banger,hopefully the essag that i turned in for it gets a good grade 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Drug use, and Murder

olive_lol's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Violence, Classism, Sexism, and Antisemitism

Minor: Blood, Animal death, and Gun violence

catherinedsharp's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

DISCLAIMER -  I read this text as a set text for university meaning I did not pick this up for myself. It does not necessarily fit my usual reading selection so my review may be rather biased.

Really poetic and interesting reflection. Got a little slow towards the middle but picked up again and was a dark but good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Murder, and Suicide

bookishmagpie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Drug use

cognitivebelligerence's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Murder, and Drug abuse

heisiiri's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

5.0

A classic that fully deserves its status as such. This is the sort of book I could write fifteen essays on, but I struggle to put my thoughts into one simple review. So let's go with this: I would recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray to almost anyone. It isn't the sort of book that will have you entertained every single moment - some of the long conversations and narrations get quite tedious, in fact - but the richness of its themes and symbolism easily earn it the full five stars. The downfall and corruption of the protagonist is fascinating to follow. You could analyze this book through a hundred different lenses and still find new, fascinating things about it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Suicide

Quite heavy on religious themes and discussions of sin and purity.

tadah's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, and Death

saintmare's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Misogyny and Antisemitism