Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

50 reviews

lunar_witch's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Now this is a classic. Dorian Gray goes through quite the transformation and endangers and disappoints many around him. The ending was very satisfying.

If only he had stayed closer to Basil, but of course Lord Henry had to pollute his mind with that yellow book.

Chapter eleven is really long and kind of boring and almost bumped this book down a star.

Content Warnings

reyla__'s review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

One of the easiest beginner classics tbh. Basil deserved better. Rating would be higher if Dorian didn't go on about the things he loved for 20 pages.

Content Warnings

emeralddoha's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-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

kreglow's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I will be honest: I did not care for the published version of Dorian Gray that most people are familiar with. It felt unfocused and seemed like a wild (or, perhaps Wilde) pursuit of tangents that felt like diversions rather than conducive to the story. As it turns out, this instinct was somewhat correct, as this original, uncensored version of Wilde's novel is much more focused, while allowing for Wilde to be creative and philosophical while still telling an engaging story. Gone are subplots and a cumbersome second half that seemed to have been added to fill pages, and in their stead are excerpts removed from the original draft that deepen the character relationships and make for a more engaging and tragic story. This is the version people should look for.

There is also a rather long introduction at the beginning of the book. Whether you choose to read it first or skip it and come back to it later, I highly recommend reading it, as it provides a lot more historical context and shows how Wilde's time shaped the work in all its forms.

Content Warnings

okragarden's review against another edition

4.75

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It's a classic for a reason. Despite a few flaws, it's a page turner that sticks with you.

My main criticism is that the dialogue is frequently rambling and repetitive. A character doesn't have to make the same point 15 times. Another is that some supporting characters are not well-written and their interactions with others and reactions to events come off as uncomfortably odd and unnatural.

Given that this book was written in the 1800s by a man who was not interested in women and contains characters meant to be "wicked", it's not surprising there is a lot of negativity towards women. It does start to get annoying after a point.

Lastly, it's a much too easy to figure out where each plot point will go. The story is engaging enough that it doesn't take away from the enjoyment, though.

At just 250 pages it's well worth the time it takes to read.

Content Warnings

amre23's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A very interesting story. Many sentences were beautifully written and others a tad redundant. Overall enjoyed the story. A few parts dragged on with the descriptions of w.e. was happening. Good points to learn from the greediness some have with youth and the obsession to be considered "interesting".

Vanity is rampant in almost every character.

Henry can kick rocks. He's an asshat.

Content Warnings