The Picture of Dorian Grey

Wilde's writing is beautiful and turns an offhand "if-only" into a story on the meaning of life and morality. The exposition is quite long as it takes half the book for the focus on the portrait to begin, and then chapter 11 definitely felt too long. If you're not fond of sociophilosophical conversation and introspective dialogue you might find the first half dry (maybe read the uncensored version instead since it's shorter? I am saying this prior to reading it though) but aside from that the second half suddenly becomes a page-turner. I recommend skipping Chapter 11 because it's far longer and more detailed than it needs to be. Overall though I enjoyed The Picture of Dorian Gray and have now ordered the uncensored version! It's definitely an insightful read into late nineteenth century England and - because this was my question prior to reading it - it's super gay as far as the 1800s go. Yay for historical gays :))