The Picture of Dorian Grey

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