Reviews

A clever look at vanity, pleasure, sin, and how it shapes a human being. There are fascinating parallels between Dorian and Lord Henry's fates, ideaology, and our time with our dual identity via profiles on social media and how some of us tries to keep the surface forever young with the help of plastics and surgery.

"The elder man lay back and looked at him with half-closed eyes. “By the way, Dorian,” he said, after a pause, “‘what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose’— how does the quotation run? —‘his own soul’?”"

gooberjk's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

amazing book with a haunting ending. dorian is one of the most interesting protagonists that i have ever seen.

taylasversion's review against another edition

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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

3.0

Oscar Wilde is a certified YAPPER.

This is a hard book to rate because I can appreciate it. It’s wonderfully written and a classic, but I found it so hard to read and decipher. To me there was just a lot of unnecessary babbling about stuff that (to me at least) added nothing to the story.

ellennewall's review against another edition

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5.0

truly a beautiful book and a masterpiece in every single way. if you are interested in gothicism, aestheticism or romanticism, this is a must

louureadsbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

I gave The Picture of Dorian Gray ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 stars! This book was quite an interesting read. My interpretation of it was this: A young man who, once subjected to another man’s influence, is obsessed with the thought of beauty, sin, and the innermost corners of the soul. Who becomes frantic in his efforts of keeping others from seeing the darkest, sensual, and cruel parts of his soul and mind. Upon reading a book, he soon becomes engrossed with the characters and fantasises about them night and day (me too Dorian, me too

evemlacey's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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

NOTE: I am very rare to give a book 5 stars, but I wasn't sure about this one. I think one of the reasons I did not give it five stars was the pacing and some of the misogyny displayed in the book.

The Picture of Dorian Gray was a wonderful read- and luckily, I went into it free of spoilers. I was rather satisfied with the ending. I felt as if it could've been slightly more dramatic but otherwise, I found it a logical yet poetic finish to the book.

If I could describe this book in three words, I would say eerie, meaningful, and poetic. Reading this made me realise once again what an incredible writer Oscar Wilde was. I've seen a few negative reviews from the book, but I genuinely enjoyed it.

I think a lot of people assume that Dorian Gray sells his soul to Lucifer, which is not true. I was a little confused at first but essentially, he just makes a wish to stay youthful and the portrait to instead reflect his age. It is unexplained how that works- but I like when the reader has to analyse and come to a conclusion by themself.

Overall, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's a must-read.

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