The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wordsworth Classics)
£0.01
Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray - By now, most people are aware of the basic plot of this book: young man foolishly wishes that, upon seeing his current beateous youth captured forever in a picture, he could remain in that moment of youth forever, and the picture age in his stead. Not only that, but the picture becomes twisted and cruel as a result of the callous hedonistic behaviour perpetrated by Gray in his perpetual youth. At first, Gray is horrified, but then finds himself submitting to it...The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fantastic novel, so fantastic that it made me sad that the eminently quoteable Wilde has only written the one. At one point, a bad-influencing friend of Dorian s lends him a novel that Gray is charmed by, a novel that tells of a man who lives a hedonistic lifestyle, with care only for pleasure and enjoyment, and it s this novel that kick-starts Gray s eventual downfall as it affects Gray s behaviour, leading him to eventually describe it as dangerous. Wilde s novel is possibly such a book: it s seductive discussions on hedonism, pleasure, and the real joys of life almost make one want to throw mores out the window and life such a life oneself, or at least wish intensely for a period that one has or could. Henry Wotton, Gray s witty, philosophical influence is a raconeteur, a man of life, who knows its pleasures and derides it s follies, chosing simply to ignore them. It s his discourses that are particularly charming and fascinating. There s obviously a temperance to his message (in terms of the whole arc of the novel), but that s almost neither here nor there. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a superb book, fascinating, witty, supremely intelligent and philosophical, romantic and gothic and chilling also. It s one of those books that might lay a bomb under your life, and it deserves its classic status.
Hard work - Found this book to be quite boring! The story was weak the characters dull, all in all an unenjoyable read and unnecessarily wordy.
nothing special - i didn t really like this book. i found all the characters quite irritating, and the story was fairly absurd and didn t really capture my imagination. more than that, i just didn t feel like there was any real depth to the book. there was nothing truly unpredictable, nothing particularly thought provoking. i don t think there s anything particularly impressive or engaging or interesting about the story. i also found wilde s style of writing so flowery, it just felt a bit fake and naff. i don t think there s anything particularly special about this book, and i wouldn t say it s particularly worthwhile reading it.
A New Light..... - After reading a review of The Ripper Code in the TLS, I had to return to my school favourite and reread it. It was fascinating to read it in a new light.
Sublime - I loved this book, not so much for the cautionary tale or the disintigration of Dorian s conscience, but for the beautiful philosophy embelishing the story, many of the things Henry says, for example, are interesting and thought-provoking theories on life. And I loved how youth and beauty were depicted in the book. The only criticism I would give is that it was far too short for my liking, and I thought that the part between Dorian s youth and his 38th year could ve been elaborated on. Though an original, genius story!