A review by nataliealane
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

5.0

A rich, haunting tale from Dorian Gray! I had to read this for my AP Lit class this year and loved it. While some might say that the ending is predictable, Dorian Gray himself declared the only flaw in the book was that it's moral was too obvious to those who didn't need to hear it, and not obvious enough to those who need to here its warnings. In the story, Wilde traces a young man's descent into immorality and self-destruction. I loved how it wasn't just a heavy piece on immoral living, but also contained witticisms, wisdom, and satire true to Wilde's literary nature. To those who may have not enjoyed it due to its controversial elements, the book was meant to reflect Wilde's strong belief in aestheticism. The novel itself was not immoral, and it should not be unappreciated or scorned for such content, but rather the novel is beautiful simply because it is art. My class has many deep discussions on the book, and I highly enjoyed it. The Picture of Dorian Gray is both fun to read and fun to talk about!