Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Wilde's writing is deliciously witty and knowingly self-indulgent. Much like Dorian, its effortlessly charming. That being said, Chapter 11 was... something. I can't lie, I ended up skipping it. Also... damn was it antisemitic.

That being said, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a wonderfully dark, twisted and a little bit sexy exploration of Narcissus, Faust and Icarus all in one. A man granted the privilege of beauty marred by his own hubris.

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gabriellesimpson's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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elihrus's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.0

**Read for school compulsory reading**
Well. It's complicated.
I won't talk about the blantant antisemitism and horrible mysoginy, but damn that made it hard to read. I understood that Henry *is* a bad influence, but it was unhinged.
The first half of the book was pretty slow, nothing really happend. But the middle and second part? That was something, and it made the overall experience much much better.
I loved the psychology in this book, it reminded me little bit of The Cremator - how much you can influence one.
I also loved the flower symbolisms throughout the book.

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enoemo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

This was a good read (you know, apart from the random misogyny and antisemitism that came with the time and do not really add to the story either) and chapter 11. I don't know but chapter 11 was just a lot of rambling in an otherwise exciting book in my opinion. Also, I see how someone would likely dislike this book if deeply flawed characters are not their thing - for one it kind builds the main plot and also there's probably a bit too much Lord Henry in there.

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sophtanda's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Man gets a painting that ages instead of him and reflects his soul. Man decides to commit crime.

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avocadotoastbee's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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

2.0

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is highly overrated!

The plot sounds promising:
Young Dorian Gray wishes that his portrait would age and bear the marks of his sins instead of him. When he realizes that his wish is coming true, he commits all kinds of sins, while keeping his young, perfectly pure appearance.

The execution was disappointing though:
The book starts slowly and then, in the second half of the book, events suddenly overturn. Also, none of the events really follow through. I was disappointed that after each eventful chapter there was another big time jump. I had expected more. Also, it became very predictable as time went on.

The absolute worst thing, however, was the character of Lord Henry Wotton. With Lord Henry, Wilde has created the most misogynistic character ever. But that's not all, The Portrait of Dorian Gray contains many problematic characters and statements. The racism, anti-semitism, and misogyny that were ever-present completely spoiled the reading experience.

But not all of it was bad:
I enjoyed the little bits of wisdom and queerness Wilde sprinkled in.
The underlying exploration of aging, indulging in "pleasures", pain, living with dark secrets and death was well done and endlessly quotable.

“What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose […] his own soul?”

Overall, I know Oscar Wilde is a Gay Icon and can do so much more, but The Picture of Dorian Gray just wasn't for me.

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academy_killer's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

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