Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Picture of Dorian Gray

I didn't read the tags on this book going into it, so I didn't know it was a horror book! The main horror event was quite unexpected but I had a really great time reading it. Wilde's writing is quite flowery at some points, both in a good way and a bad way, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, and it makes me want to read more classics.

Content Warnings

tayaingrid's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

teabrewer's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

3.75

Everything in this book is golden, red and olive green. If you know what each of these colors meant for the victorians, you already have a great synopsis for it. This is a story about an unrequited love, the corruption of a soul, the obsession for aesthetical beauty and all lives ruined in the way.

Content Warnings

oscarpastryy's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

jackiepreston's review against another edition

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dark 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

Content Warnings

auldesola's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Character development that corrupts and makes one deplorable is also character development of a kind so this is why I have selected yes for strong character development. I knew there would be antisemitism because it's Wilde, but good lord. I feel like that also made Dorian hideous in the painting as well and in the end. It was slow-ish and there's a lot of descriptions of things and the furniture and possessions which I think was the point—he had a love for being envious and I think as he became hideous in the painting, Dorian felt that it truly reflected his true self on a unconscious level. It was kind of interesting watching the man destroy himself and become terrified and haunted by himself.

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