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A review by evitacademia
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All I know is that this book has made me devastatingly unsure. It questions the foundation of everything, it discusses and it argues and then: murder.
I found the spell with the painting to be so original and interesting and the whole book is riddled with quote-worthy sentences (epigramms, which is one of the words you encounter a lot of times (like misshapen or sodden) that I probably almost emptied my Highlighter.
Of course, the book and it's characters are complicated. Perfectly complicated so that you're not sure how likeable they really are to you and that is so rarely executed this well. Henry had some points sometimes and made actually good arguments. However, I could've done without the persistent and marring (another word) misogyny. Basil was probably the only character one felt for and the unrequited romance between him and Dorian made me think of Wilde himself and how that's maybe how he has felt about men.
It is brilliant. It is brave and morose. But I cannot, with good conscience give it 5 stars. I also won't be a bigot and gloss over the absolute artistry so 4 stars it is. Will be memorizing passages to quote them when I'm drunk at someone's house.
I found the spell with the painting to be so original and interesting and the whole book is riddled with quote-worthy sentences (epigramms, which is one of the words you encounter a lot of times (like misshapen or sodden) that I probably almost emptied my Highlighter.
Of course, the book and it's characters are complicated. Perfectly complicated so that you're not sure how likeable they really are to you and that is so rarely executed this well. Henry had some points sometimes and made actually good arguments. However, I could've done without the persistent and marring (another word) misogyny. Basil was probably the only character one felt for and the unrequited romance between him and Dorian made me think of Wilde himself and how that's maybe how he has felt about men.
It is brilliant. It is brave and morose. But I cannot, with good conscience give it 5 stars. I also won't be a bigot and gloss over the absolute artistry so 4 stars it is. Will be memorizing passages to quote them when I'm drunk at someone's house.