The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

[I LOVE TOLSTOY]

The beauty of Wilde is not only the complete lack of pity he places in his characters, or even the lackadaisical treatment he touches death with, nay, it is his subtle usage of the incomprehensible brutality of man, i.e. Dorian's murder of his one time best friend Basil, as well as his joy at discovering the dead man is James Vane. Upon reading this book do not think you are simply going to read a cheery, gay( old fashioned meaning ) novel that would tie in with your preconception of Wilde and his many epigrams. Whilst this at times can be a wonderfully joyous book to read: Sybil's declaration of love for Dorian etc it can also be monstrously morose, Dorian flatly rejecting Sybil, in the horrible explicitness of his rejection.

[Lynne Fees]

Yes, I believe the author would be on medication for depression in this day & age!

[Janine]

Yes, not a cheery novel but a great one! "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a masterpiece of writing! Personally it is my favorite Wilde piece. It never grows old and it never fails to excite the interest of the reader. I just bought the old movie version of this novel. I saw it once ages ago, and thought it was marvelous. I read that the painting used in this particular film is now in some museum. It would be so awesome to actually see it. One of these days I will re-read the novel because it is just too good to read only once. It is a wonderful work or prose, with much meaning and depth.

[onioneater]

Beyond the interesting story, I thought the writing was very beautiful. The beginning, for me, was a bit weird, but after the first few chapters I fell in love with it.

[Katy North]

I just finished reading this book, and I can't get it out of my head. This is Oscar Wilde's novel of young Dorian, who makes a wish that a portrait painted of him by a friend gains all the appearance of old age while he retains the visage of youth. I knew the general story of Dorian before picking up the book, but apparently I had been a bit confused by watching The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen several years ago... for some reason I thought Dorian would live for centuries, and that he would die by merely looking at the picture.

I was glad that this was not the case, because I hadn't been expecting the wonderful secondary characters of this book... Lord Henry the cynic who started Dorian on his path to Hedonism, and Basil, the artist who painted him and loved him. The description of how Dorian watched his picture age instead of himself I think also played on a fundamental human desire to conquer time and the effects of immorality.

I would also say that Wilde is the master of the "quip"; so many clever ones came out of Lord Henry's mouth that I was tempted to write them all down.

This was a brilliant book, and I'd love to hear what other people thought about it.

[Lumiere]

It's been a while since I read the book, but I remember thinking that Lord Henry and Wilde would have got along splendidly. They're both very clever and cynical, with a taste for aesthetic pleasure.

[Amoxcalli]

I thought it was a splendid book. The passages with Lord Henry are by far my favourite, but the rest of the novel isn't bad either. It is most the likely the only pre-1900 novel I love for the style more than the plot/characters/themes.

One of my favourite books of all time, for sure, and one of the few I'd consider re-reading in the near future.

[Lacra]

You know something? With your book review you made me to want to re-read this book. I think, I read it 15 years ago... it will be a nice time for me as a real "lector" is the one who re-reads texts. When I will finish I will be able to share with you fresh memories about the book.

[victorianfan]

I read it years ago. Great book!

[IceM]

I thought it was an above average novel, but I voted not to skip meals over because, aside from "Wotton's Maxims" of sorts, the rest of the novel felt average. The initial descriptions were lovely. Lord Henry's statements were bold and entertaining, but everything else seemed to fall a bit flat for me.

P.S. Sybil Vane is perhaps the most beautiful character in literature ever.