The Picture of Dorian Gray

"This is a book about a seemingly normal man who uses his Society friends and Title in the worst possible way. "

"I am. I picked it for this month’s read!"

"Very obscure, but I liked the plot. I got bored during some of the chapters, but I liked the ending and the message. "

"A Classic for a reason, what a great idea to explore in a short and sweet format (reads very much like a play, imo). Though I sure get bored with the aristocratic going to other people’s houses theme that continuously shows up in so many classics."

"The language use for this time period for some reason bores me, so there were a few times I think I spaced out and didn’t follow along. This book I’d say is very quotable. There were a few things I liked and didn’t like about the story. <br/><br/>I’ll first start with what I didn’t like. I hated the character Lord Henry Watton. He annoyed me so much with all his opinions, his “theories” and “philosophies” that he says he lives by and yet I felt like everything he said contradicted himself. He likes to think he’s all that and high and mighty, posh, so arrogant, condescending, and thinking he knows the world for what it is when I think it was all just opinions. I also hated the way he talked poorly of women. Not all women are alike and his sexist remarks bugged me a lot. I don’t know why Dorian listened to him in the first place, Henry was an awful person I’d avoid and would never want to talk to again. He’s definitely one of those people that would suck your energy when at a party and he’s a terrible gossiper too. I don’t need his kind of energy and he also seems to be the person that’s all talk but no action. Long story short, I hate him with a passion.<br/><br/>Second, I didn’t appreciate how Dorian just decided to kill Basil, Basil didn’t even do anything wrong, he was speaking like a true, loyal friend and calling Dorian out on his actions or at least trying to give him the benefit of the doubts especially with all the rumors and gossip that had been going around about Dorian. Either way, I lost the little respect I had for Dorian when he acted selfishly to save his own skin and not dealing with his problems like a real adult—maybe that’s why he still had his youth, the immaturity he still had even though he had experienced a lot as time went on.<br/><br/>Thirdly, Dorian. Where to begin with him… I did like him in the beginning with his innocence and curiosity for the world and I can definitely put myself in his shoes since I’m no saint either (although I definitely haven’t committed murder and never plan to do it on purpose). It goes to show we definitely need to choose our friends carefully and see how they affect/influence us in our lives. He unfortunately chose poorly to listen to Henry. He let Henry get inside his head to the point he wished for his youth to stay forever and that his painting be the one to grow old. He misplaced blame on Basil who painted his portrait, saying it was his fault for painting him when it was his own fault he wished to stay young. If anything he should partially blame Henry for his “high fallutin’” opinions about life and the book he gave him that affected him a lot. <br/>The author didn’t really go into detail about the other “sins” Dorian committed with the 18+ years he’s lived after that first initial meeting with Henry Watton. I hated him for how he did treat Sybil especially after he told her he was going to marry her. It was very cruel and his words to her ultimately affected her to the point of her committing suicide. Words matter. They really can hurt somebody and have the power to be emotionally abusive. His reaction after hearing the news was disappointing too, to me it showed he never really had feelings for her and was pretty much just a playboy. He’s the kind of deuche I’d associate with the current ones today, the deuchy ones are almost always the handsome ones… I’ll just keep looking at them from afar, because unfortunately they’re still attractive. I was kind of rooting for Sybil’s brother to kill him to avenge his sister, but as real life goes sometimes, we don’t get the justice we feel we deserve, and some crimes go unpunished or backfire.<br/><br/>The one thing I did like was the concept the author made of having our sins/crimes/immorality/etc. be shown on a portrait of ourselves. That’s some powerful imagery and very symbolic of human character. Imagine if everyone had a portrait of themselves. They would literally be able to see the corruption taking place in themselves for all the actions they took that weren’t okay. We would see ourselves for who we truly are on the inside, or have a way to measure and be accountable for our actions. But then it could be subjective to each person’s opinions though, of what they consider “right and wrong”. Unless we are all kept to a set of ethical and moral laws."

"I really didn't like this book. I easily would have DNF'd it if I didn't have to read it for my English class but because I did, I ended up reading the entire thing. I was excited to read it too, a book that's widely acclaimed and has a plotline that on the outside sounds pretty interesting. Dorian Gray remaining youthful while a painting takes on his slowly degenerating morals and subsequent sins. But it didn't end up being what I thought it would be, it was mostly LOOONG talks about philosophy that wern't interesting in the slightest. For most of the book I was just struggling to concentrate which is never a good sign. I was so board and done by the time I got to parts that were semi-interesting it just didn't matter because I knew in a couple pages I'd be board again. Now I will say maybe I'm not at the age for this book and in 2o years I'll re-read it and find interest in all of the conversations but I think at most it's a 50/50 chance. Because I could understand enough of the conversations I just either didn't agree or didn't care about them. Next, I hated all the characters, I didn't get connected to a single one the entire book which is one of the pleasures of storytelling. I hated Dorian and everyone else as soon as they were introduced. Basil wasn't bad but he was too boring to actually connect with. Most of the characters were rich and lazy as hell and talked all day because they didn't actually need to do anything meaningful with their lives. They act superior and snooty and because that's the only thing you see, I don't understand how anyone likes this book. I don't care about their conversations and parties, it was all boring. The writing is pretty good and fancy, but I don't actually get anything from the words. I don't see how this book could have been made better which is something I always consider when I have problems with a book. I think so much would have to be changed for me to enjoy this book it would be a entirely different book. "

"What a phenomenal read. There are quotes in this novel that will be in my head forever. It is a fantastic classic that is about morality, sin, and who we show to the world versus who we are. I was genuinely shocked at multiple points of the story. Oscar Wilde gives us all great reminders to choose your friends carefully, stay humble, and that your words have power to wound. "

"Ugh! Dorian Gray was the worst! But this was such a good read. Or listen. (I cheated and listened to half of it via audiobook lol.) I loved it. This is an attainable classic for those who wanna read classics but get bogged down by the old language. Full Disclosure though: I def skipped around the wordier bits :)"

"This was my introduction to classics. I enjoyed every page. This book speaks of vanity and self-importance. The twisted ways in which we fall in love with the idea of love. Great book. I want to reread it soon."

"This is a biased review because again I'm not one for classics. This back story was very intriguing and I am happy learning about classic characters and how their portrayed on tv today. I underestimated how cruel and loathsome Dorain became. I thought before reading he was always that way but he actually seemed good before the portrait. It made me sad that a stranger could talk to you for a short while and turn you into a monster."