The Picture of Dorian Grey
Ratings1,313
Average rating4.1
“To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.”
Parts of it definitely drag on with its incredibly pretentious, long winded characters but that does not stop the meat of the story from being engrossing and enjoyable. A classic for a reason and it 100% holds up.
I have mixed feelings. The beginning of the book was quite funny, but I was under the impression Basil would be in it more. But really it ended up being pages and pages of Lord Henry spouting his ridiculous, nonsensical philosophies. I don't love reading about unlikeable characters. I wouldn't put Dorian in this category, but Harry definitely.
I also was struggling somewhat with the way dialogue is written. I think older books do that more often, where one character was a big part of just speech and then nothing else is described in between. No physical reactions, facial expressions or thoughts or anything. It made it feel emotionless and slightly tedious.
I did really like reading about Dorians descent into madness. And this morals turning on him. I would say I enjoyed it the book, but it wasn't in the way I would enjoy something that isn't a classic.
I really liked this book for the most part, it is a very easy read, the language is beautiful at parts and some of the twisted Henry's thoughts make sense sometimes, but well even if he is evil he is a very interesting conversationalist.
I wanna give a four because I feel like execution was lacking especially at the end, I feel like the resolution wasn't enough to cement the themes. The characters were also a bit dummy thic which maybe brings some frustration to me.
I think it shows that the author did not like realism and I do like realism so dhdnsjsjs lol. I do like the aesthetics, but it would be even better to me if they were combined with a more satisfying conclusion.
These characters were so gay, I guess I read the censored version, but it's so hard to believe that they did not start kissing each other or smh while talking the way they did.
A strange and horrifying tale - much more than the well known basic plot. It is a study of the human soul, written in beautiful prose and poetic imagery. Loved it.
What is it like to not be in denial with your soul? To have a mirror to your consciousness that one cannot deny? No, it is not the art that has the power to influence man. It is the power of the man, (an active act in doing so,) to be influenced by art.
Ironical, because it is art and not the man to possess the soul; in its true meaning. For is not having a soul, same as having the omnipotent divine in you?in being truthful to oneself?
In Widle's own words indeed, the separation of the body and the spirit is as enigmatic as it's unison. He contrasts the gift of emotion, which can lead us astray, with the beauty of science's emotionlessness, showing the tension between subjective experience and objective observation; the said subjective experience having 0 ethical value.
PS: fails bechdel test.
4,5While the first half of the book was 5 worthy I was a bit disappointed that we didnt really get to see Dorian's corruption and actions a bit more. I also loved the dynamic between the three main characters that was mostly absent after the halfway point (partly for an obvious reason, but still)
But this book did live up to the hype and it was as funny and witty as I had hoped!
The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most discussed books I've come across on the internet. What's interesting is that it appeals to a wide range of readers. Personally, I was drawn to it because of its gothic elements.
Dorian Gray wishes to sell his soul in an attempt to maintain perpetual youth. The catch: His painting bears the marks of time and the scars of an immoral life. He keeps the portrait hidden away as he continues living a life solely for his own pleasure.
I find myself enjoying summaries and the general idea of this book more than the book itself. I also enjoyed a discussion of it that I found on YouTube. As for the actual reading experience? I was bored. There was so much that I could skim and stop whenever the story was being pushed forward.
In all seriousness, the book is a work of art. It left me completely speechless. After finishing it, I spent an entire hour just lost in my thoughts, thinking about how incredible this book is. It's a beautiful story that explores the human soul, the dangers of vanity, and the consequences of living without facing any consequences for your actions. The story begins with a simple but life-changing realization for Dorian: Beauty doesn't last forever. It's like a beautiful flower that eventually fades away. Imagine being a young man whose looks are the only thing people care about. It's quite scary, really. People only want to be around you because you're attractive and charming. They want to be close to you, but only for your appearance. Oh, and there's also some interesting romantic drama in the story, which makes the book even more exciting. The book is an easy five-star read. It keeps you hooked and makes you think about life and even about yourself. Oscar Wilde did an amazing job writing this book.
“Vivimos en una época en la cual las cosas innecesarias son nuestra única necesidad”.
Livro incontornável para os amantes de literatura.
Só pelas reflexões e considerações de Lord Henry vale a pena a leitura. Adicionando as reflexões sobre imoralidade, perversão, corrupção e beleza, é uma obra filosófica mascarada de romance.
Oh Dorian Gray...
This book was honestly a masterpiece.
I didn't give it five stars because of some scenes but it was the 1800s so I'll forgive it
Se dovessi rispondere ad una di quelle domande del tipo: “Quale autore famoso del passato porteresti a cena?”, sceglieri con piacere Oscar Wilde. Il ritratto di Dorian Gray mi è piaciuto molto: brillante per le idee, memorabile per ciò che succede e appassionante per lo stile. Un vero capolavoro.
Un libro breve ma troppo vasto per trarre una sola morale senza sminuirlo, un libro che ha dei passaggi così poetici e belli che qualsiasi aggettivo che mi viene in mente mi sembra riduttivo, un romanzo che lascia il segno, perché si parla del bello, del brutto, delle virtù e della vita; in qualche modo tocca argomenti vicini a tutti, difficilmente secondo me si può finire questo libro e rimanerne indifferenti.
This book was okay. I appreciate how dark it gets at some points, but there was a lot of (in my opinion) unnecessary philosophizing and description. It's just something that I personally do not enjoy in books, and I would have preferred more plot or just a shorter book.
Es un libro muy profundo para las pocas páginas que tiene. De los que te pone a pensar. Algunas ideas fueron redundantes pero la esencia de lo que quería transmitir Wilde es una maravilla.
Si pudiera inventar un género ahora mismo sería el Dark Philosophy y esta sería la obra cumbre 😅
god this book DESTROYED me and i will never get over what happened to basil
Overall I liked it but it wasn't extraordinary 3.75/5. The ornate prose is not overdone like Dicken's third person pov but IMO It isn't the most exclusive feature of this book, also judging it only by its prose is kind of shallow which our man Wilde doesn't approve of. Chapter 11 was a bit like a summary of some years of Dorian's life. I would've liked more elaboration on his hedonism tbh :hmmmmmmm: Victorians were too fussy about many normal things. I liked the philosophical exploration or art, aesthetic along with morality but it wasn't that spellbinding, the main theme was confined to that issue only and at this point in modern times, after reading so much about Faustian bargains or the horrible limits people can go on to preserve their outer appearance. It didn't seem like some great discovery. Btw Wilde's occasional incorporation of witty dialogues was great!!
Now some life lessons self-proclaimed intellectual, Andy has learned from this book- people really need to wake up from the notion of associating only aesthetics and beauty with a scale of morality and how pursuing it only limits not only their intellectual growth but restricts them from opening up their true selves with others around them, creating a paradox of lies and deception.
Considering all of these I would say it was pretty nice but I just wasn't particularly impressed by it, it is on my mid-level radar
I finished this last night and contemplated giving it 4 stars, mostly due to some of the omitted information. Like, what did Dorian write on that piece of paper to Alan Campbell?
But then i spent hours thinking about it and I believe part of the genius of this work lies in exactly that - omitting the exact sins and letting the reader conjure them in their mind, which would make them uniquely horrible, as nothing can scare or disgust us more than our own imagination.
I loved reading this and I find the philosophical monologues by the author utterly fascinating.
Oscar Wilde's writing is as always exceptional and I am happy I finally got to enjoy it in English as well.