The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

[Purple Poppy]

The Picture of Dorian Gray.


Having at last finished this book, I will start this thread as I know a couple of people wanted to discuss this work.

What a book! I can’t say I enjoyed it, and my dislike is probably reflected in the length of the time it took me to read it. Disliking it, however, does not prevent me from appreciating it as a good book and very well written.

The story is of Dorian Gray a young man famous for his flawless looks and initially a seemingly pleasant personality, but with a lot to learn of the world. His friend Basil, a competent painter, who idolises the boy (though it turns out he is married), paints a portrait of Dorian which is very realistic and shows the young man in the prime of his youth. Dorian is so pleased by it that it ‘turns’ his head and he wishes , with Basil present, that he would always stay youthful.

His wish is fulfilled but (this is like our Corrupted wish game) the Dorian in the picture begins to age and takes on cruel and ugly features. Daunted by this, Dorian hides the picture in the attic room of his house where no one else can see it. As Dorian succumbs to the influence of his new friend Henry, we see his personality change and this is reflected in the picture, hidden upstairs. Dorian seems to have some understanding of what is happening, but dismisses it and is enjoying his life and the company of Henry too much to dwell on the dangerous ground he is treading. Eventually he oversteps even his boundaries and from somewhere deep within he hears the tiny voice of his conscience and tries to rectify his evil deeds, but the truth will out and his hopes of cleansing his soul and continuing his life are dashed for ever.

I will continue below...

[Purple Poppy]

Cont...
The story itself is interesting in that it illustrates that looks and beauty are only surface deep and superficial and to rely on them for a fulfilling life is fruitless and shallow.. Dorian trades his soul for his continuing beauty. He changes personality and becomes an evil calculating individual who uses others to satisfy his own needs. His friend Henry encourages him, with long lectures about the pleasures and advantages of a degenerate life, cleverly disguised just enough to convince the young man that what he is doing is right. At a very early stage I felt that Henry was actually the devil or evil personified and I remain of that opinion. At the beginning when Dorian and Henry meet you get a strong sense of black and white, evil and purity. As Dorian descends into wretchedness you feel that he wouldn’t be able to pull away even if he wanted. He was trapped like a fly in a spider’s web.

The other characters were strange. I couldn’t empathise with them as I felt I didn’t know them and they seemed to avoid issues, even though there were indications that they knew what Henry was like and how he would influence Dorian.

Then there was what I felt was a strong homoeroticism throughout the book. This actually, for me, made for more tension as I didn’t know whether this would be where the book was heading, but it turned out to be peripheral. The tension was created not so much with the deeds but with the general feeling of evil, which eventually pervaded every page until the end.
The best part for me was the writing. Some of the descriptions are beautiful and the wit is present throughout. The story is slow in places and Henry’s ramblings go on for too long at times, but generally it was a beautifully written book and I’m glad I read it.
Now over to you guys!

PP

[Kell]

Wow! What a great review, PP! I've been meaning to read this for ages, despite already knowing what it's all about, as it's always appealed to my darker side. I have, however, just downloaded an audio book version & shall be listening to it very shortly, so I'll be posting my thoughts on it too when I get to it...

[Liz]

I really enjoyed reading Dorian Gray. One of the best books I read last year, actually.

I agree with you, PP, on the beautiful descriptions in the book. They were wonderful. However, I liked Henry's little speeches throughout the book. I felt that some of them raised a few good points in them.

[poppy]

That was an excellent review PP - you have a real talent there. The book sounds a lot different to what I thought, but I've always liked Oscar Wilde's wit so will definitely give it a go. Understand it was very controversial at the time, but then so was Oscar.

[Purple Poppy]

Poppy said ...

That was an excellent review PP - you have a real talent there.

and
Kell said

Wow! What a great review, PP!


Thanks guys! I would insert a smilie here but for some reason the post submitted itself before I was finished and I've had to edit to finish it...can't see any smilies.

[Michelle]

When you're editing, click on Go Advanced to get all the options.

[Purple Poppy]

Michelle said;

When you're editing, click on Go Advanced to get all the options.

Thanks Michelle. I've only just started using the quick replies. Now I know!

PP

[dogmatix]

Nice review PP. You've got me sold and now TPODG is on my TBR.

[Purple Poppy]

Thanks Dogmatix

PP:)

[Kell]

And here's my review to add to the rest...

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Narrator: John Gonzalez
Publisher: www. librivox.org
First Published: 1891
Running time: 6 hrs 19 min 46 sec
Format: Audio Book
Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:
Dorian Gray, a young man of wealth and stature in late 1800’s London, meets Lord Henry Wotton while posing for a portrait by his friend Basil Hallward. Once the painting is complete, Dorian realizes that it will always be young and attractive, while he will be forced to age and wither with the years. Carelessly, he wishes the opposite were true. What happens is a treatise on morals, self-indulgence and how crucial personal responsibility is towards one’s self. Note: This is a recording of the 1890, 13-Chapter edition.


Review:
I'd been meaning to read this book for as long as I can remember, but somehow never got round to it, so I thought I'd try an audio-book version. Only one chapter in, Wilde's trademark wit and humour was already very apparent, along with his vivid descriptions of characters with just a few choice words.


I wonder how much of Dorian was Wilde's own beloved Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas) and how much of himself was in the tortured artist that adored him. Lord Henry seemed to personify Wilde's own ideas about the workings of society, yet the artist, Hallward, seemed to represent his more heartfelt romanticisms...

I think this is one book where I might have got more out of it for actually reading it myself. I found myself laughing at the narrator's mispronunciations as I was walking down the street, but over-all, he wasn't bad, despite being an American occasionally trying to adopt an upper-class English accent, and not quite making it, whenever a character was speaking. Also, his "voices" didn't really differ enough to distinguish who was speaking till he finished with "... said Dorian."
The story itself is fascinating, though - an exploration into the morals of the time, the belief that sin will show itself on the face of the sinner and that our sins will be found out however we try to hide them. I really rather enjoyed this, but wish I'd read it instead - I may well do at some point in the future. I also understand there is an extended version that was published after the original serialised publication of 13 chapters (which is the version I heard), so I would be interested in reading the parts not included in this version.

[scottishbookworm]

I enjoy reading that book because I always like to read the complete works of oscar wilde.
:readingtwo:

[Bronwen]

I really enjoyed this book as well, probably for the reasons already stated although I wasn't absolutely glued to the pages... but there was something there. Beautifully written though.

[radjack]

One of the best books i've ever read and also the only classic (:blush:).
I read this in order to do an oral presentation in my class, since then i re-read it two times.
Everything Lord Henry say is pure music. It's my favourite character of the book.
I higly recommend it:blush:

[radjack]

I higly recommend it:blush:

highly#

(i still can't edit my "post's")

[Antoinette]

It took my over two years to find this book in a charity shop and I wasn't disappointed. It was just the right length and although I didn't take to any of the characters ( I'm not actually sure we were meant to really :lol: ) I did enjoy the story and the questions it posed about how others perceive us.

[SocialGo]

As a little extra, I think the preface or the supposed rules of aestheticism, make the novel that bit more enjoyable. It acts as a pre-cursor of Wilde's humorous, yet cruel, style.

[scottishbookworm]

I must admit that was one of oscar wilde's best written books

[Amakash]

I read this many years ago and it's remained one of my favourites.

It's on my list to revisit this year!

[Gyre]

I just finished reading 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. It did take me awhile to get into it but it was beautifully written. A lot of underlying tones in the book which I felt that even though they were not overly pronounced as such, Oscar Wilde was not exactly hiding them (hope that makes sense).

The characters were brilliantly written, I felt that Basil Hallward was being blamed far too much by Dorian for the course his life had taken and I did get the impression that Sir Henry Wotton did know what was happening with Dorian but choose not to say anything or do anything because he saw it as some manner of game, something to pass the time. Even though I expected the ending, I could not help but feel sorry for Dorian.

:readingtwo: