Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wildely misogynistic and antisemetic. Interesting to read though as a queer classic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Antisemitism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Blood
Minor: Drug use, Suicide
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing style is beautiful, extremely evocative. Unfortunately, so much of the depth and complexity and intention of the text was lost on me as it's written for a different audience, and conceals itself in a way that means a lot of the 'friend of Dorothy' type encodings are lost on me as a general, modern reader. I bet if I had the chance to study this text deeply for uni I'd adore it but at present it didn't really impact me deeply as I was too thrown by the extremely derogatory treatment of minorities across the story to pay enough heed to the artistic/sexuality deconstruction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide
Minor: Addiction, Drug use
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found this a very interesting book. It's honestly a bit surprising I am 24 and haven't read it before, especially given I grew up in a family heavily focused on academics and then got an English degree. I enjoyed it, and I do think I shoud have read it earlier, but I'm glad I have gotten to it now.
I found it an interesting book to use as a touchstone when thinking about the rise of anti-intellectualism in today's modern culture. Lord Henry is someone who is not an intellectual, constantly and openly refusing to engage with anything around him on a true level, but is harrolded by many as a great philosopher, even being a main linchpin in the corruption of Dorian at the beginning. Throughout the narrative, Dorian parrots things Lord Henry has espoused, and continues to encourage a culture of beauty over intelligence or careful thought. Lord Henry is able to avoid consequence by simply not acting on any of the things he says, but Dorian, who says those things as if he does not care, seems incapable of not acting. He is actively seeking the pleasure that Lord Henry insists is there, not noticing when Henry is not doing the same.
The murder of Basil is simply the culmination of this idea that to care about something in a truthful way is wrong. Basil is insulted by both Lord Henry and Dorian in the latter half of the book for being principled. When he acts on his principles, he is acting in a way that Dorian finds tedious and even difficult to endure! Dorian acts as if he is being tortured by having to listen to Basil say that committing transgressions is immoral, and even as he regrets murdering him, he still continues to assert to himself that Basil should not have "put him through" what he was saying.
This idea that beauty is something that is earned by being good and that death is the deserved ending of those who act immorally is something that I will probably take longer to think about. I would probably identify it as the key theme of the novel, which brings up lots of questions. Why is Oscar Wilde so interested in beauty as a concept? Why does he feel inclined to write about it in this way? The idea that death is the natural end of those who are improper is not a new one, especially in the writing of Wilde's cohorts, but this fascination with beauty as emblematic of character, while a common conception at the time, is something that seems unusual.
I found it an interesting book to use as a touchstone when thinking about the rise of anti-intellectualism in today's modern culture. Lord Henry is someone who is not an intellectual, constantly and openly refusing to engage with anything around him on a true level, but is harrolded by many as a great philosopher, even being a main linchpin in the corruption of Dorian at the beginning. Throughout the narrative, Dorian parrots things Lord Henry has espoused, and continues to encourage a culture of beauty over intelligence or careful thought. Lord Henry is able to avoid consequence by simply not acting on any of the things he says, but Dorian, who says those things as if he does not care, seems incapable of not acting. He is actively seeking the pleasure that Lord Henry insists is there, not noticing when Henry is not doing the same.
This idea that beauty is something that is earned by being good and that death is the deserved ending of those who act immorally is something that I will probably take longer to think about. I would probably identify it as the key theme of the novel, which brings up lots of questions. Why is Oscar Wilde so interested in beauty as a concept? Why does he feel inclined to write about it in this way? The idea that death is the natural end of those who are improper is not a new one, especially in the writing of Wilde's cohorts, but this fascination with beauty as emblematic of character, while a common conception at the time, is something that seems unusual.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror, Sexism, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism
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
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
The part where Dorian stabs his portrait (himself?) might be suicide? Soul death, if you will
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Génial et détestable
Absolument détestable. Très bien mis en image. Les deux points sont pour le motif récurrent du portrait en dernière case sur toutes les pages impaires, du génie. Une excellente BD pour qui veut découvrir cette œuvre sans lire le roman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While dotted with funny moments and pithy witticisms, the book is really haunted by the author. It's difficult to ignore his transparent interest in underaged boys, and assuredness in his own intellect. But it's still a very interesting read, especially as a somewhat unconventional gothic novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Xenophobia
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh, how to begin talking about this book? I adored it, despite it being clearly problematic at times (misogyny, antisemitism, romanticizing adults attracted to children and the likes, though some of it isn't clear whether it is coming from the characters or the author) but it is also so wonderful. Wilde's prose is incredibly poetic but by all means, my favourite thing about this classic is all the references and themes of beauty and greek ideals, as well as tragedy, terror and fatality, because it parallels my favourite book of all time: The Secret History. I wonder if Donna Tartt drew some of her inspiration from Wilde, and more specifically Dorian Gray.
"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic" "Beauty is terror, whatever we call beautiful we quiver before it"
"There is something fatal about a portrait" "Does such a thing as the fatal flaw, that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs"
Dorian, which at times does remind me a little of Henry, is constantly being referred to as greek figures like Appollo or Narcissus. The way Sybil, his first love, is described reminds me a lot of Camilla.
There's also this romanticising of suicide/death where Sybil's, and later Basil's, ends are seen as a beautiful thing, through the lens of Shakespearean references like Romeo and Juliet or Ophelia, and it is simply used as a device to further Dorian's transformation.
As an artist myself, this novel, just like the works it draws parallels with, really touched me. I found the end of both the book and of Dorian's, incredibly fitting. How he, or rather his youth, it's memory, ended up absorbed in his portrait, as it was always meant to. How his soul, and its true nature, was released as Dorian enacts the final act, which reflects what he himself admired in his love interests, which is to kill himself, though quite inadvertently.
As a queer person, I can’t end this review without mentioning that I appreciated reading a classic written by another queer person, despite Wilde being problematic. And I appreciated all the queer subtext, if you can call it that (as to me, it was the clearest thing). I believe this book to be about the tragic love story of Dorian and Basil, or at least, of Basil's love for Dorian, and Dorian's love for himself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism
Ce que je n’ai pas aimé dans les Liaisons dangereuses, je l’ai retrouvé dans le Portrait de Dorian Gray. Des relations d’emprise, de la manipulation, un personnage très jeune qui se fait pervertir par un autre. C’est très bien écrit, mais pas du tout ma came.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship