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A review by ina_pages
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
3.75
I had pretty high expectations for this book going in, and they weren’t exactly met. It was an interesting exploration of the corruption of innocence, morality, and aestheticism but it was clearly a product of its time. Some of the references mentioned in the book were things that were probably common knowledge to them but required research on the part of modern audiences. Because of this I think the book is a great pick for class discussions but might be difficult for casual readers to get into.
Oscar Wilde also tends to ramble on and likes to tell the readers rather than show. He spent the first 17 pages telling us about Dorian without introducing him yet and the proceeded having the first few chapters in the perspective of Harry talking about Dorian rather than showing us how he interacted with people.
The later chapters switched to Dorian’s perspective and the book picked up from there. Oscar’s rambling writing style persisted however and interesting plot points that could have been expanded (in my opinion) weren’t, while Dorian’s more philosophical debates with Harry and the other characters were given full chapters to complete. Because of this, I think it’s a great piece for discussing philosophy and art (which I think is the intension of the author anyway).
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TLDR; I think the story is great! The plot was interesting and it posed a lot of good questions to debate about, but Oscar Wilde’s writing style didn’t suit my taste. Compared to other classics I think this reads fairly easy, but he tends to ramble about the things that I found boring and skimmed over the parts I was more excited for.
Oscar Wilde also tends to ramble on and likes to tell the readers rather than show. He spent the first 17 pages telling us about Dorian without introducing him yet and the proceeded having the first few chapters in the perspective of Harry talking about Dorian rather than showing us how he interacted with people.
The later chapters switched to Dorian’s perspective and the book picked up from there. Oscar’s rambling writing style persisted however and interesting plot points that could have been expanded (in my opinion) weren’t, while Dorian’s more philosophical debates with Harry and the other characters were given full chapters to complete. Because of this, I think it’s a great piece for discussing philosophy and art (which I think is the intension of the author anyway).
———
TLDR; I think the story is great! The plot was interesting and it posed a lot of good questions to debate about, but Oscar Wilde’s writing style didn’t suit my taste. Compared to other classics I think this reads fairly easy, but he tends to ramble about the things that I found boring and skimmed over the parts I was more excited for.