Picture of Dorian Gray, The : Penguin Cl

Synopsis: Dorian Gray is a naive, unassuming young man before he comes into contact with Lord Henry Wotton. Henry, fondly called Harry, is a friend of Basil Hallward. Basil is an artist who is smitten with Dorian and considers him his muse. It so happens that Basil does a life-sized portrait of Dorian and puts his very essence into it, such is his art. But, what if it results in something sinister? And, is Dorian really that naive or is it his inherent nature that comes out as he ages? Was that evil already there, just waiting to be unleashed? Review: The story opens in Basil's studio, where Harry is sitting languidly - inhaling both the scent of roses and cigarette smoke. While in the centre sits the artist, with an unfinished painting of a very beautiful man. So beautiful that - anyone who so much as glances at him, cannot help but look for a second time, a bit longer, that was the marvel of his face. Basil unwillingly reveals that man's name to be Dorian Gray and refuses to display that creation extraordinaire of his anywhere as he believes that he has put too much of himself into it. But when Dorian comes to visit Basil in the presence of Harry, their meet up with each other is inevitable. Something which Basil didn't want, judging by his mannerisms. He's apprehensive of Harry ruining Dorian's 'innocence'. Sounds pretty simple, like your average goth story, no? Nah. What do you say when each and every line of The Preface is a quote in itself? In fact, throughout the text, the story is littered with brilliant and quotable quotes. Of course, you just read and be mesmerized, and be impressed by the sheer brilliance of the author's way with words. It is really sad that Wilde didn't write any more prose. "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." While Basil worships Dorian, Dorian doesn't feel their friendship has altered him, as much as Harry's did in the short time of knowing him. Harry, that man is so sure of himself. Influencing Dorian negatively, arousing unhealthy passions in him. He doesn't even believe Dorian when the latter shares that he's in love with the seventeen-year-old Sybil Vane, an actress. Though it is obvious later on that Gray seems to be in love with the idea of love. His twenty-year-old brain seems addled as far as the concept of love is concerned. As time passes, under Harry's influence, Dorian gives in to his decadent lifestyle. His mood swings are too much. Wilde has written such wicked characters, that you will love to hate them or hate yourself for loving them. Haha! I buddy read this book with a bunch of bookstagrammers and I remember one of the co-host - Ditsha - saying that she would love to suggest him a therapist. I believe so too. "The more he knew, the more he desired to know. He had mad hungers that grew more ravenous as he fed them." The eleventh chapter (out of a total of twenty) is a revelation, a hedonistic revelation. The passage of life has made him all of thirty-eight now. His aura is such that he destroys everyone who comes in his path. He has become the epitome of evil, and what a cruel fate Basil had been handed in the end. But there's one character who doesn't change, Harry has his wits and his quips with him right till the very end. And in the end, the same portrait that saves him destroys him too. "There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful." The book has so many references to other written works and most importantly - music! But the text is something that I wouldn't call lyrical. It's rather lush, luxurious in meaning, rich in wordplay, oozing like chocolate out of a centre filled cake. I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to fall in love with the written word again. P.S. Published in 1890, The Picture of Dorian Gray is described as a gothic and a philosophical novel. And I haven't touched at all in this review about the philosophy part. I plan to do it soon, give me a month or two, maybe after my exams. I feel there is so much in the text that is just waiting to be unravelled. Books the Characters Read: 1. Émaux et Camées by Théophile Gautier (Enamels and Cameos) – A collection of Poetry Available for free on Project Gutenberg 2. À rebours by Joris-Karl Huysmans (Against Nature or Against the Grain) 3. Disciplina Clericalis by Petrus Alphonsi 4. A Margarite of America by Thomas Lodge 5. The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo and Rustichello da Pisa 6. Historical Memoires on the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James by Francis Osborne Originally posted on: My Blog @ Shaina's Musings

4.5/5 "If it was I who was to be forever young and the picture that was to grow old! There is nothing in the world I would not give ... I would give my soul for that!" The Picture of Dorian Gray is a hard book to review. After reading such articulate and beautiful piece of literature, I am at loss of words. Interesting set of characters. Original story. Dialogue is magical. To read 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is to know Oscar Wilde-- the man as well as the writer. I love both. The novel has many fascinating features. The The Picture of Dorian Gray, isn't about a picture at all. It's about a book. It's about the conveyance of that book into the mind of Dorian Gray, and the destruction that follows. Lord Henry is the real engine of the book. Whenever he enters the scene, the novel takes off. The reader longs for Henry to show up. I could talk about this book forever and I still wouldn't be able to give it the proper review it deserves. Just go read it if you haven’t already read it and if you have, read it again. Note: I think if you familiarize yourself with Oscar Wilde, this becomes a very personal novel, much more than just a disturbing horror story where a man sells his soul.

Arguably literature's greatest study of shallowness, vanity, casual cruelty and hedonistic selfishness, Wilde lays it down here with ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!! This was my first experience in reading Oscar Wilde and the man’s gift for prose and dialogue is magical. This story read somewhat like a dark, corrupted Jane Austen in that the writing was snappy and pleasant on the ear, but the feeling it left you with was one of hopelessness and despair. The level of cynicism and societal disregard that Wilde’s characters display towards humanity is simply staggering. Despite the dark (or more likely because of it) this is one of the most engaging, compelling and lyrical pieces of literature I have read. The quality of the prose is nothing short masterful. I assume most people know the basic outline of the plot, but I will give you a few sentences on it. The three main characters are Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton and Dorian Gray. Basil Hallward is an artist who after painting a picture of Dorian Gray becomes obsessed with him because of his beauty (the homosexual vs. art object love Basil feels towards Dorian are left vague, likely because of the time it was written). Dorian then meets a friend Basil’s, Lord Henry, and becomes enthralled with Lord Henry’s world view, which is a form of extreme hedonism that posits the only worthwhile life is one spent pursuing beauty and satisfaction for the senses. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. Well at one point, Dorian utters the famous words quoted at the beginning of my review and the “Faustian” bargain is struck. While this story is often mentioned among the classics of the Horror genre (which I do have a problem with) this is much more a study of the human monster than it is some boogeyman. My favorite parts of the story were the extensive dialogues between the characters, usually Dorian and Lord Henry. They were wonderfully perverse and display a level of casual cruelty and vileness towards humanity that make it hard to breathe while reading. Oh, and Lord Henry reserves particular offense for the female of the species, to wit: My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals. YES folks...he absolutely did. One of the most intriguing quotes I have seen from Oscar Wilde regarding this book is his comparison of himself to the three main characters. He said that he wrote the three main characters as reflections of himself. Wilde said, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry is what the world thinks me: Dorian is what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.” I was somewhat floored by this as I found Dorian to be a truly stark representation of evil and could not see how Wilde could find an idealized form within the character. When I say evil, I don't mean just misguided or weak-minded, someone bamboozled by the clever lectures of Lord Henry. I found Gray to be selfish, vain, inhumanly callous and sadistically cruel. I intend to try and learn more about Wilde’s outlook on this character as it truly escapes me. Regardless, this is a towering piece of literature. Beautifully written and filled with memorable characters and a deeply moving story. A novel deserving of its status as a classic of English Literature. 5.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!! P.S. For of audiobooks. I listened to the audio version of this read by Michael Page who has become one of my favorite narrators. His performance here was amazing.

A classic novel. Worth a read.

I went into it blindly and it truely shook me towards the end. Great twists and really a really good story . The book itself is high quality so no worries on that end . Great purchase .

Fair enough as per the price concern, though not upto the mark as per the standards of Penguin Classics! Expected better quality.

Well priced

tutto ok!

Does anybody on here write a bad review of Oscar Wilde? I am not qualified to give this author less than five stars 🤣

Idk like fake printed? It was a weird size and the paper felt like printer paper other than that it was fine

Undoubtedly the best novel written by Oscar Wilde... Storyline is quite attractive, and you will find many profound comments concerning such as love, art, life,etc. Readers should keep in mind that Lord Henry (intimate friend of Dorian Gray ) is the 'shadow main character' of this story.