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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.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm
- Obviously beautifully written. Result: Lot of quotes!
- Interesting characters, non of them exeptionally "loveable" but that was not how they should be. Their flaws and different beliefs made this so interesting and without those the book couldn't thrive.
- Additional to the point I just mentioned, it was very manipulative. Looking at the time it was written the characters (men) wanted to be right and brush their beliefs onto everyone else. Even though those beliefs included misogynistic and racist views - the concept of that was really interesting and really important to the character development.
- The pacing was.. weird. Sometimes it was way too descriptive about e.g. a perfume. At other points it felt rushed especially at major plot lines. That was confusing but maybe intended? Edit from future me: After some debates with my dad I realize - the pacing was totally fine and fit the purpose perfectly. As a contemporary reader this is quite odd to read. Being used to a stable outline reading Wilde's work is weird but sheds light on an important tool in literature: pacing.
- The philosophy was on point about society, youth, art and more that you will discover in the book. Especially the person who told his philosophical views was entertaining.
- I loved the athmosphere! Dark, dramatic leaning into gothic.
Overall: 5 stars. I think I will reread this in 2 or 3 years to get a new view on it. But I can recommend to start as early as you can to pick this book up! If you are lucky (like I was) you can get a perspective on this book quite early, maybe even in your "youth". That will hit harder since there are many dialogs about that ;)
Graphic: Misogyny, Medical content, Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
and if one more person says that Ben Barnes was perfect for the role of Dorian i will commit a felony
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship
Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Abandonment
Graphic: Medical content, Murder
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent