The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray

TL;DR - a true blue masterpiece, and one that is going to make me start a classics binge shortly.
Whether it is the characterisation, the heady Faustian themes, and a surprisingly great plot - my first foray into Wilde's literature was nothing short of spectacular. Lord Henry's cynicism was laugh-at-loud at parts, and somewhat deep at others, but where the novel truly shines is in depicting Dorian's corruption - first as a charming and uncorrupted seventeen-year old, but then whose countenance grows darker the more he revels in his senses. What I liked the most in this depiction is that we get to know about Dorian's behaviour second-hand, and that too in parts - thus the misuse of the omniscient PoV is kept to a minimum.
A slight addendum - there are slight socialist undertones I got from this (for example, the depiction of vacuousness of the people having inherited wealth is unsubtle), to the point where I began to wonder if Wilde was a socialist - which he was? Unsurprising, but it only added to my appreciation of the text.

This was a good book, but the content was too short and simple to make me enthralled and the subject outside of my interest. Dorian Gray is a naive aristocratic young man in Victorian England that is first empty, then vain and then becomes callous, cynical, hedonistic and selfish.

His emptiness of spirit I think it could be attributed to a typical noble upbringing for the time, that resulted in an indifference to the world and no interest for intellectual or artistic pursuits. He would be a typical millennial these days, someone that never had to endure any real hardships, only cares about social events and dreads how boring life is.

This is not elaborated in the book, I'm just assuming that how he was before he met Basil Hallward. This is when he is told that because he is beautiful, nothing else matters. Basil encourages his vanity, but Dorian is still unaware of what all his youth and good looks can get him in the world if he would just learn how to use these qualities to “explore” others.

That's where Lord Henry comes in. He is the personification of everything that is rotten in the world. Well, I don't really think that, but that is how he is portrayed, as an alluring bad influence to young impressionable minds.

Dorian cannot help but to be attracted by this individual that is so interesting and confident. Someone who seems to know everything about life. All of his friends were probably mindless drones that just went with the flow, and suddenly comes into his life this magnetic personality that defies all common reason.

Lord Henry preaches a life of self pleasure, one that does not care for the interest of others as long as you do what is right for you. As times passes by, Dorian's plunges in more deeply into the corruption originated by this hedonistic lifestyle. And the ugliness of his soul is reflected in a portrait that his artist friend Basil has made for him.

Again, this was a good book, with a good message told in an interesting way. But it was not enough for me to like it too much. I'm giving it +1 star because it made a subject I don't care about (aesthetic) into a palatable short story.

This disturbing gothic novel follows the story of an excessively good-looking young man, the titular Dorian Grey, in British high society. He effortlessly captivates and charms, to the point a painter becomes obsessed with him and painting him. He gives the painting to Dorian, who then sees the portrait change and grow uglier with time the uglier the sins he commits in real life, while his actual body remains youthful and unchanged.

It took me a while to get into this book, possibly due more to life circumstance than the writing itself; that being said, I don't think the writing was immersive or particularly captivating. This novel is a vessel for metaphors, threaded with plenty of (too many?) Oscar Wilde-isms — which, personally, I think are better suited to plays.

I haven't quite dissed out what the book says about art, but personally I think the bulk of critics (she says, having read very few pieces of analysis) have gotten carried away with analysis of the book from a moral standpoint (as in, Dorian never really having to repent for his deeds, or some condoning of hedonism, or of unabashed vanity). But I think the book says a lot more about art: perhaps art as being more reflective of the soul, and of human nature, and of the artist, than life itself. Or something like that.

[3.5] i really loved the prose, i thought it was beautifully written and all the symbolism was very interesting. however i struggled a lot to really get into the story and i only really got invested towards the middle of the book. i don't know why i wasn't that interested at the beginning, but it definitely made me like the book less despite the fact that's it's objectively amazing. it's one of the best book i've read and i would recommend it to anyone. i would've loved to give it 4 stars but the truth is that i didn't enjoy it as much as i thought i would, probably because my expectations were too high.
again, i would recommend it to anyone because it's a classic (duh) and also because it deals with pretty interesting topics, and it's one of those books that everyone has to read at least once in their life.

Pretty good, glad I read it!

Pros: incredibly gay. Like, when people tell you that a classic book was gay, it's often a parting glance. This book only stops short of two men going down on each other.
Cons: Wilde really hates poor people and anyone worth a skin colour less than porcelain. Long diatribes full of antisemitic tropes, the “disgusting habits” of the poor, and the “brutishness and backwardness of pagan nations” (paraphrased but still).

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. 

“You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.”

The storyline of this book is not very complex. Dorian Gray is a beautiful young man just in his first bloom of life, his beauty captures the attention of a painter, Basil Hallward, who invites him to sit for a portrait. He perfectly captures Dorian's beauty on the canvas. Dorian, after speaking to Basil's enigmatic and thoroughly hedonistic friend, Lord Henry, suddenly realises just how fleeting and transient youth and beauty really is, while simultaneously becoming jealous of the painting's immortality that he cannot enjoy. He fervently wishes that it was the painting that grew older and more sinful instead of him - and his wish is fulfilled.

It's been a long time since I last read this book, and I think I had a fairly neutral impression of it. After growing older and also having had the advantage of taking a module on Victorian literature since, revisiting this book was an absolute delight. There's so much to unpack and discuss about this book.

A huge theme of this book is the idea of art and beauty - obviously. What exactly does justice to beauty? Is it in an immortal preservation in a frozen “original” state, or is it in molding something already beautiful into an image that further fits one's standards and ideals of beauty? At the very beginning chapters of the book, I kinda felt sorry for Dorian because, due to his beauty, no one seems to treat him like a human individual but as a subject on which to project their own ideals.

Basil, though he is extremely fond of Dorian, nevertheless wants to preserve him as much as possible in an “unspoiled” state, as if he could freeze the human being in a snapshot in time just as he had done on the canvas when painting him. It's simultaneously exalting but also dehumanising at the same time, when you refuse to let a person be the person they are, and just want them to be this ideal muse in your mind.

Lord Henry is both self-centered and also more callously apathetic in his treatment of Dorian. It feels like he wants to create a sculpture out of him, almost in his own image. In Chapter 4, when Lord Henry is musing about Dorian and says “to a large extent, the lad was his own creation”. He preaches a lot of his own hedonistic principles to Dorian, swaying him around like a rag doll but also just apathetically watching how things unfurl (“It was no matter how it all ended”).

Even Sybil Vane, Dorian's first love interest, is satisfied not even knowing his name. She simply calls him Prince Charming, and projects onto him all the ideals of the heroic male lead in the plays that she acts in. There is certainly something tragic in the way that, because he incited passion for the first time in her, it drew its source from her talent for acting, and that in turn caused his love for her to wither away.

Though this book is short, at less than 300 pages, it feels so much longer - but not in a bad way. Every sentence is so thought-provoking, and Wilde doesn't waste a single word. This is one of those rare books that I actually wanted to read on an ebook/physical copy because I wanted to slowly digest each line. Whether Dorian Gray can simply be written off as a “villain” by the end of the book is really so, so up for debate which I don't really want to go into here in a review. Nevertheless, this book was such an excellent introspective read about youth, immortality, art for art's sake, hedonism, morality, and conscience.

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!

I was looking forward to reading Oscar Wilde in novel form, as I remember thoroughly enjoying The Importance of Being Earnest my senior year in high school and loving his writing style. However, I got bored quite often in reading this novel, skipped over paragraphs and pages and thought Wilde could be quite long-winded at times (particularly the pages where Wilde goes on and on referencing the stages Dorian Gray goes through in embracing aestheticism and the “new Hedonism” through collecting fine furniture or whatever it was). The novel, in my opinion, is too long and could be a few chapters shorter. Nonetheless, the concept of “art for art's sake” and living a life solely for the purpose of seeking out pleasure is a fascinating concept, especially considering how unconventional this must have been at the time it was published. Lord Henry is a ghastly influence over Gray and this relationship seems to be a fair warning to those who allow certain individuals, thoughts or ideas to navigate their life and moral compass for them.

The idea that Gray had a visual soul of sorts to witness the wizening and decay of as he himself remained seemingly pure and full of youth is one that made me think quite a bit. The moral direction of this thought process is one I could probably muse on about for more than is necessary, but ultimately, really made me think about what it is I allow to hold influence over the decisions I make and how I approach life.

Overall, a fairly interesting read with a lot of good quotes and thoughts/ideas/principles to ponder. Would I read it again? Probably not but am glad I finally can add this book to my “read” list.

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.