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wad2k's review against another edition
5.0
This whole review could be full of quotes that I loved throughout reading this novel. In fact, one of the reasons I picked it up in the first place was because of one I had heard (from criminal minds lol). One of my favourites:
"To influence a person is to give him one's own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him."
We see this in effect almost immediately, with Dorian being easily moulded and sculpted by Henry, and his hedonistic ideals. Wilde delves deeply into different themes of vanity, morality and double lives. The last of which is what I found to be especially interesting - perhaps because of how relevant it was to Wilde himself. Living as a well respected gentleman in the 19th century and eventually being convicted for homosexuality meant that Wilde himself had to lead a double life, similarly to Dorian in the novel. The original novel (which originally contained scenes that were more romantic between Basil and Dorian) was used by opposing counsel in two out of his three trials. Basil stated early on that he did not want to showcase his artwork as he had "put too much of himself" in his artwork. This makes you think, did Wilde do so too?
Honestly, there are too many quotes for me to mention but here are my favourites:
"I wonder who it was defined man as a rational animal. It was the most premature definition ever given. Man is many things, but he is not rational."
"Youth smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms."
"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."
"Married life is merely a habit, a bad habit. But then one regrets the loss of one's worst habits. Perhaps one regrets them the most. They are an essential part of one's personality."
"The more he knew the more he desired to know. He had mad hungers that grew more ravenous as he fed them."
"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early or be respectable."
"I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters and my enemies for their good intellects."
"To influence a person is to give him one's own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him."
We see this in effect almost immediately, with Dorian being easily moulded and sculpted by Henry, and his hedonistic ideals. Wilde delves deeply into different themes of vanity, morality and double lives. The last of which is what I found to be especially interesting - perhaps because of how relevant it was to Wilde himself. Living as a well respected gentleman in the 19th century and eventually being convicted for homosexuality meant that Wilde himself had to lead a double life, similarly to Dorian in the novel. The original novel (which originally contained scenes that were more romantic between Basil and Dorian) was used by opposing counsel in two out of his three trials. Basil stated early on that he did not want to showcase his artwork as he had "put too much of himself" in his artwork. This makes you think, did Wilde do so too?
Honestly, there are too many quotes for me to mention but here are my favourites:
"I wonder who it was defined man as a rational animal. It was the most premature definition ever given. Man is many things, but he is not rational."
"Youth smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms."
"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."
"Married life is merely a habit, a bad habit. But then one regrets the loss of one's worst habits. Perhaps one regrets them the most. They are an essential part of one's personality."
"The more he knew the more he desired to know. He had mad hungers that grew more ravenous as he fed them."
"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early or be respectable."
"I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters and my enemies for their good intellects."
kaakison's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
23kak85's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Oscare Wilde is very eloquent and poetic. There were so many amazing quotes.
fa1th_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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
2.0
Hmm I guess I am not a Picture of Dorian Gray girl because this book is not for me.
I don't even know where to begin, the prose was probably the main thing that interested me going in and it was SO SLOW to start. I have read classics before but not Oscar Wilde so I guess here's where I messed up because his writing definitely wasn't my preferred style. It was way too flowery and the description of each and everything was slowly driving me insane (the entire chapter 11?? JAIL), it seems to me that the author would describe everything but the plot, then again the plot exists only within 40% of the whole book. The rest was vibes and it was not even good vibes, it should've been a 150 page short story and we can call it a day.
The main three characters are all annoying in their own way. I understand the point of them being Basil as the moral compass and Henry as the whispering devil on the shoulder for Dorian Gray, but Lord Henry was such a horrible pretentious misogynist by the end I don't even care about how witty paradoxical and sarcastic his comments were, just shut your yapping please. Dorian Gray was a whole another being all together, watching his corruption and deterioration was not even entertaining because most of it happened through words of mouth and off-page, and his messed-up psyche was unfolded only by the last 30% of the pages, which was a testament of how slow the pacing was (the ending was equally disappointing).
The homoerotic undertone is interesting and there're definitely things worth dissecting in the writing, but these atrocious men really just willfully ruined the lives of every single women they come across with no remorse aren't they. Was not enjoyable, I don't think I will pick it up again.
I don't even know where to begin, the prose was probably the main thing that interested me going in and it was SO SLOW to start. I have read classics before but not Oscar Wilde so I guess here's where I messed up because his writing definitely wasn't my preferred style. It was way too flowery and the description of each and everything was slowly driving me insane (the entire chapter 11?? JAIL), it seems to me that the author would describe everything but the plot, then again the plot exists only within 40% of the whole book. The rest was vibes and it was not even good vibes, it should've been a 150 page short story and we can call it a day.
The main three characters are all annoying in their own way. I understand the point of them being Basil as the moral compass and Henry as the whispering devil on the shoulder for Dorian Gray, but Lord Henry was such a horrible pretentious misogynist by the end I don't even care about how witty paradoxical and sarcastic his comments were, just shut your yapping please. Dorian Gray was a whole another being all together, watching his corruption and deterioration was not even entertaining because most of it happened through words of mouth and off-page, and his messed-up psyche was unfolded only by the last 30% of the pages, which was a testament of how slow the pacing was (the ending was equally disappointing).
The homoerotic undertone is interesting and there're definitely things worth dissecting in the writing, but these atrocious men really just willfully ruined the lives of every single women they come across with no remorse aren't they. Was not enjoyable, I don't think I will pick it up again.
eirinstiva's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alesforz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
isjamiethere's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
xx_boy_glitter_xx's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0