Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - Obraz Doriana Graye

Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Obraz Doriana Graye by Oscar Wilde

331 reviews

kananineko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved this! Great classic. Probably one of the most digestible bc of its relatively short length. My only complaint would be that some sections dragged in the middle to me (all the super long descriptions of what Dorian was learning)

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dellydoos's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Well, well, isn’t she well-read? Feeling awfully good about myself to add this one to the list. The one and only, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. What a treat it was.

In true gothic literature, this classic was a delight to read, with its rich and detailed prose and very homoerotic imagery. From the way the words rolled off the pages, to the way the characters spoke to each other in such adoring fashion. The book's satirical humour was also a refreshing surprise. It often danced on the edge of the absurd, poking fun at the hypocrisy and superficiality of the society it portrayed. Wilde’s wit shone through, bringing a lightness to the otherwise sombre themes that underpinned the narrative. A brilliant contrast.

I also couldn’t deny how darn smart I felt when reading this. I felt a certain sophistication, a kind of literary camaraderie with all those esteemed enough to have read this book. I came away wanting to speak how the characters spoke in the book, “Ah, my dear Basil. How Mr Gray got the better of you.”

Ah, the themes that flow through these pages! Life, death, morality, vanity, and the beguiling allure of beauty – all masterfully woven into a tapestry of thought-provoking contemplation. Dorian Gray's inner monologue was a journey of its own. It was wild, unpredictable, and often disturbingly captivating. Through his thoughts, we were given a glimpse into the complexities of human nature, the struggle between desires and morality.

However, there were patches where my enthusiasm waned. Some conversations seemed to stretch on unnecessarily, detracting from the narrative's momentum. The beginning, for all its lush prose, left me a bit bored as the story found its footing.

A glaring flaw lay in the treatment of women in the story. Their roles were limited and often relegated to the sidelines, a reflection of the societal norms of the time. It's also impossible to ignore the presence of antisemitism within the narrative, a dark reminder of the prejudices that marred the era. This inclusion was jarring and unsettling and marked my reading experience.

Even so, this classic is certainly a classic, and the sub-text of Mr Oscar Wilde’s own personal life really leant itself into the narrative of this book. Read up on his history if you haven’t, and things will begin to make even more sense for you. 3.5 / 5 stars.

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thequeercaseofmarius's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Dark, bewitching, and so very gay.

‘Why is your friendship so fateful to young men?’

In The Picture of Dorian Gray; Oscar Wilde crafts a narrative of Queer love, desire, vanity, and fear, embodied in a twink who wishes to remain young and beautiful forever. Wilde’s only novel is one that is both frighteningly fantastical, but also harrowingly personal. In Dorian we see the picture of the dark version of ourselves; the Hyde to our Jekyll, and it is his ability to transform with each reader that makes The Picture of Dorian Gray so enduring as a staple of Queer Literature, and one of the bestselling titles in Penguin’s Classics series.

Wilde’s writing and descriptions are breathtakingly beautiful, so much so that I would find myself rereading the same sentences over and over again. Wilde’s genius and intellect is also evident in the text, and his use of Queercoding through historical and art references is very clever.

Our main cast of characters are so very gay, and it’s crazy because it’s almost like Wilde met my gay friends and acquaintances and wrote a book about us (I like to think that I am Basil). But I also see each character as a different side to the Queer experience; Basil being the Queer artist who represents the beauty and tenderness of love between men, Lord Henry as the witty sass Queen that gay men are often viewed as from the outside, and Dorian represents Queer fears and anxieties that most of us have experienced some point in our life. The result is one of the most ingenious Queer horror stories ever written.

The Picture of Dorian Gray should be a (not-so) straight five-stars, however it does contain some racism and anti-semitism that I can’t ignore. It is a book of it’s time, but I’m also aware of writers and people from Wilde’s time who tried their best at not being racist. I think it’s important to appreciate this novel for everything good about it, but also to recognise it’s faults rather than excuse them, so that we as the readers can grow as people.

‘Each man sees his own sin in Dorian Gray. What Dorian Gray’s sins are no one knows. He who finds them has brought them.’

-Oscar Wilde

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ash_is_reading_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A truly fantastic insight into vanity, pretty privilege and social influence. Wilde's writing is captivating and his characters feel so life-like they could exist anywhere

Readers should be warned that, due to the time period it was written in, it's important to be aware that this novel contains misogyny and anti-semitism. Personally, I'm grateful that this hasn't been edited out, as doing so would erase and airbrush the experiences of these groups

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froukjemelenhorst's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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reflective

4.0

I do think this book is mostly Oscar Wilde taking the opportunity to poke fun at anything and everything while trying to be absolutely charming. I did not agree with every little quip or moral that the book had to offer but I suspect that I am not supposed to. I do find Wilde’s treatment of women to be a little sus, as always. But the Faustian bargain—the main crux of the story—is intriguing. I think I might appreciate the book more upon rereading it.

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