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deavanille's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
Mis expectativas estaban demasiado altas y no las llenó , espero que haya sido porque lo escuché en inglés
lucyreadsss's review against another edition
4.0
✰✰✰✰/5
●“Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.”
● “Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.”
This book was unlike any I have ever read before. I enjoyed reading a different genre than I am used to, a gothic novel. With the Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde crafted a novel that is one of a kind and has for over a century received many contrasting opinions and caused much controversy. Wilde was very ahead of his time with his views and concepts, causing disapproval from many around him.
Dorian Gray is such an interesting character to me. A young, innocent, almost-child that is manipulated by his 'friend' Lord Henry and by society. Throughout the book he is constantly told how beautiful he is and is pressured into believing his beauty and youth is more important than anything. This leads Dorian to make a huge decision that influences the trajectory of his life.
Lord Henry Wotton is also a very intriguing character. Adored by many of the characters, Wotton has a malevolent side that leads him to manipulate Dorian into believing his poisonous beliefs. Lord Henry represents the snake and Dorian the Adam who takes Henry's bait. His careful, gradual manipulation leads Dorian into a downward spiral of corruption and violence. Wotton's nature and actions reminded me of that of Iago's in Othello, perhaps Wilde took inspiration from Shakespeare as he references him at various moments throughout this novel.
The only real criticism I had of this book was that it was a little slow at times and the main intriguing plot points seemed to be focused in about the last 50 pages of the book. It is also not an easy read. If you want a quick simple read this is not that kind of book. Although this book is quite short, it is a highly intellectual and thought-provoking read.
Wilde does an effective job of describing the Aesthetic Movement of the Victorian era in England. However he also does an effective job in highlighting the effect of morality on the characters. In doing so, he critiques the giving in to one's impulses thoughtlessly as a result of the pressures of the Aesthetic Movement and how it harms not just yourself but those around you. The characters and settings paint a detailed picture of the privileged, elite, upper-class dominating London in the late nineteenth century.
Overall, the evolution of Dorian was well thought out and executed. When we first meet Dorian, he is very innocent and vulnerable. Once he begins his journey from innocence and vulnerability to self-corruption, he grows in confidence and self-assurance, knowing his mind well enough to be outspoken in disagreement. And, I thought the use of the transforming painting made an interesting literary device and plot developer. As someone who does not often enjoy classics/old novels and sometimes finds them difficult to follow, this book was understandable and often kept me captivated. Wilde truly was a writer ahead of his time and still to this day his work is appreciated and analysed by many around the world.
●“Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.”
● “Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.”
This book was unlike any I have ever read before. I enjoyed reading a different genre than I am used to, a gothic novel. With the Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde crafted a novel that is one of a kind and has for over a century received many contrasting opinions and caused much controversy. Wilde was very ahead of his time with his views and concepts, causing disapproval from many around him.
Dorian Gray is such an interesting character to me. A young, innocent, almost-child that is manipulated by his 'friend' Lord Henry and by society. Throughout the book he is constantly told how beautiful he is and is pressured into believing his beauty and youth is more important than anything. This leads Dorian to make a huge decision that influences the trajectory of his life.
Lord Henry Wotton is also a very intriguing character. Adored by many of the characters, Wotton has a malevolent side that leads him to manipulate Dorian into believing his poisonous beliefs. Lord Henry represents the snake and Dorian the Adam who takes Henry's bait. His careful, gradual manipulation leads Dorian into a downward spiral of corruption and violence. Wotton's nature and actions reminded me of that of Iago's in Othello, perhaps Wilde took inspiration from Shakespeare as he references him at various moments throughout this novel.
The only real criticism I had of this book was that it was a little slow at times and the main intriguing plot points seemed to be focused in about the last 50 pages of the book. It is also not an easy read. If you want a quick simple read this is not that kind of book. Although this book is quite short, it is a highly intellectual and thought-provoking read.
Wilde does an effective job of describing the Aesthetic Movement of the Victorian era in England. However he also does an effective job in highlighting the effect of morality on the characters. In doing so, he critiques the giving in to one's impulses thoughtlessly as a result of the pressures of the Aesthetic Movement and how it harms not just yourself but those around you. The characters and settings paint a detailed picture of the privileged, elite, upper-class dominating London in the late nineteenth century.
Overall, the evolution of Dorian was well thought out and executed. When we first meet Dorian, he is very innocent and vulnerable. Once he begins his journey from innocence and vulnerability to self-corruption, he grows in confidence and self-assurance, knowing his mind well enough to be outspoken in disagreement. And, I thought the use of the transforming painting made an interesting literary device and plot developer. As someone who does not often enjoy classics/old novels and sometimes finds them difficult to follow, this book was understandable and often kept me captivated. Wilde truly was a writer ahead of his time and still to this day his work is appreciated and analysed by many around the world.
rishma92's review against another edition
5.0
There are so many lines in this book that I absolutely loved. Good read if you are looking for a classic.
sara_cornelia's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
4.5
Y pues el libro nos cuenta la historia de Dorian Gray, y de cómo su amigo pintor le hace su retrato, y esto hace que Dorian vea por primera vez la gloria que es su belleza y juventud, y se obsesione con no perderlas. Esto provoca que pida un deseo, de mantenerse tal como está y que el envejecimiento y fealdad le pase a su retrato y no a él. Y por alguna razón se le cumple. Y pues de eso se trata el libro.
La verdad es que si tenía altas expectativas para este libro, y estoy contenta de decir que sí las cumplió. Me encantó leer la historia, creo que Oscar Wilde fue un escritor talentosísimo y me duele el corazón de pensar en cómo fue el recibimiento de este libro y cómo es que Oscar Wilde pasó sus últimos años, cuando en lo personal me parece una obra de arte, con momentos icónicos como el siguiente:
She shook her head. 'I believe in the race,' she cried.
'It represents the survival of the pushing.'
'It has development.'
'Decay fascinates me more.'
'What of Art?' she asked.
'It is a malady.'
'Love?'
'An illusion.'
'Religion?'
'The fashionable substitute for Belief.
'You are a sceptic.'
'Never! Scepticism is the beginning of Faith.'
'What are you?'
'To define is to limit.'
'Give me a clue.'
'Threads snap. You would lose your way in the labyrinth.'
La historia de Dorian Gray es una historia con la cual es fácil identificarte, sobre todo ahorita que soy joven y estoy creciendo y que cada vez me resultan más obvias las consecuencias del paso del tiempo. La idea de lucir para siempre joven y bello, es increíble, pero en este caso, el libro también lidia con la idea de la corrupción del alma, y cómo esto deja una marca física en las personas que hace que puedan ver el pecado y la inmoralidad en ti. Tal como decía en la introducción del libro, la historia de Dorian Gray habla de tener que enfrentar las consecuencias de las acciones que uno mismo comete y enfrentarse frente a frente con la realidad del "alma"
But the picture? What was he to say of that? It held the secret of his life, and told his story. It had taught him to love his own beauty. Would it teach him to loathe his own soul? Would he ever look at it again?
Además me encantó todo el subtexto homoerótico que tiene la novela, la devoción y admiración que siente Basil por Dorian, además, todos los comentarios que se realizan sobre el arte o la literatura o las costumbres sociales por medio de diferentes personajes, todas las críticas y observaciones me parecieron increíbles.
Mr Erskine of Treadley, an old gentleman of considerable charm and culture, who had fallen, however, into bad habits of silence, having, as he explained once to Lady Agatha, said everything that he had to say before he was thirty.
And Beauty is a form of Genius - is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation.
Youth is the only thing worth having. When I find that I am growing old, I shall kill myself.'
Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.
Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, History would have been different.'
'How can you say that? I admit that I think that it is better to be beautiful than to be good. But on the other hand no one is more ready than I am to acknowledge that it is better to be good than to be ugly.
'I have never searched for happiness. Who wants happiness? I have searched for pleasure.
To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.
As for the aged, I always contradict the aged. I do it on principle.
Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and cruel! One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle magic there was in them! They seemed to be able to give a plastic form to formless things, and to have a music of their own as sweet as that of viol or of lute. Mere words! Was there anything so real as words?
I turned half-way round, and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.
'He is all my art to me now,'
'Dorian Gray is to me simply a motive in art. You might see nothing in him. I see everything in him. He is never more present in my work than when no image of him is there. He is a suggestion, as I have said, of a new manner. I find him in the curves of certain lines, in the loveliness and subtleties of certain colours. That is all.'
luna_granger's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
birbpunk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
hannahb2603's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0