Rating: 
Summary: Be careful what you wish for
Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray is a mesmerizing read dominated by two amazing personalities. Dorian Gray is certainly interesting, but I was much more impressed by his friend and mentor Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian is a perfectly nice, well-meaning young man when we first meet him in the studio of the painter Basil Hallward. Hallward in fact is so drawn to the youth that he draws his greatest inspiration from painting him and just being with him. It is the influence of Hallward's friend Lord Henry which leads to Gray's downfall. There are few characters in literature as decadent, witty, and somehow enchanting as Lord Henry. He is never at a loss for words, fatalistic observations of life and people, sarcastic philosophical musings, and brilliantly devious ideas. Among his world of social decadents and artistic do-nothings, his charm remains redoubtable and highly sought-after. Gray immediately falls under his spell, soon devoting himself to living life to its fullest and enjoying his youth and beauty to the utmost. He solemnly wishes that he could remain young and beautiful forever, that Hallward's exquisite picture of him should bear the marks of age and debauchery rather than himself. To his surprise and ultimate horror, he finds his wish fulfilled. Small lines and creases first appear in the portrait, but after he cruelly breaks the heart of an unfortunate young actress who then takes her own life, the first real signs of horror and blood manifest themselves on his portrait. His love for the ill-fated Sibyl Vane is a sordid, heartbreaking tale, and it marks the culmination of his descent into debauchery. He frequents opium dens and houses of ill repute, justifying all of his worst actions to himself, while the influence of Lord Henry continues to work its black magic on his soul. He hides his increasingly grotesque portrait away in an upstairs room, sometimes going up to stare at it and take pleasure in the fact that it rather than he bears the stains of his iniquities. In time, his obsession with his secret grows, and he is constantly afraid that it will be discovered by someone. For eighteen years he lives in this manner, moving among the members of his society as a revered figure who magically retains his youth, but eventually he begins to see himself as he really is and to curse the portrait, blaming its magic for his miserable life of ill-begotten pleasures and loss of moral character. The final pages are well-written, and the climax is eminently satisfying. Exhibiting the undeniable influence of the French Decadence movement of the late 19th century, this wonderful novel serves as a morality play of sorts. One can understand why its unique nature upset a British society emerging from the social constraints of Victorianism, but this reader is hard pressed to see why this novel proved so damaging to Wilde's eventual imprisonment and punishment. Dorian Gray is no hero, nor does his ultimate internal struggles and yearnings for rebirth inspire one to engage in the sort of life he himself eventually came to regret. The only "dangerous" character in this novel is Lord Henry; his delight in working his evil influence on others as a type of moral experiment and the silver-tongued charm he exploits to aid him in such misbegotten quests have the potential to do harm to a vulnerable mind such as that of Dorian Gray. Lord Henry's evil genius makes him much more interesting than his disciple Dorian Gray. By today's standards, this book is not shocking, and indeed it is much more dangerous to censor work such as this than it is to read it. This book in eminently quotable, and it still manages to cast a magical spell over readers of this day and age. Quite simply, The Picture of Dorian Gray deserves a place on the shelf of the world's greatest literature.
Rating:
Summary: Dorian Gray
Review: This book, which I read quite some time ago but will never cease to love, is a beautiful horror story. The language, the surroundings, even the characters, are gorgeous, but at the same time, everything about them is frightening, and even a little grotesque. Lord Henry is utterly cynical, continually saying things one can never be quite sure he means or is only saying. Dorian is corrupted and horrible, and yet at the same time, one almost thinks he may suddenly stop and try to turn back. Basil is one of the only pure characters in the book, and his devotion to Dorian is sweet, but at the same time, one just /knows/ it will will cause something bad to happen to him--as, ultimately, it does. This book is a very satisfying read, although some people might be disturbed by the content, which is rather mature. Besides that, the homosexual subtext runs rampant waving a Dorian's picture. This may bother some people, although not yours truly. :) Personally, I think it's excellent. If you liked Victor Hugo's style, but would rather not hear historic digressions; if you liked Crime and Punishment's moral conflicts, but were highly irritated by the happy ending; if you enjoyed The Invisible Man's supernatural circumstances but would have been satisfied without the scientific explanations, then go forth ye and read Picture of Dorian Gray. (...)
Rating:
Summary: APOLOGIA
Review: This is an APOLOGIA (I suppose) to Oscar Wilde on behalf of all those who rated his wonderful book lowly. It just so happens to be my favorate book, and I looked so see if there was anyone who didn't like it. Quite horrified, and rather losing my faith in Humanity (or HUMANITAD) I thought: I must write an essay myself!
To be honest, I am sure that dear old Oscar would not have been terribly upset some people didn't like his book, for his works are, let's be honest, only truly understood by those who share something of his divine temprement (like me!).
Let me now say why I like it.
I first read the picture when I was at school (vague memories of having written a review for this book before, have I?) - and, quite honestly, it is the most beautiful and cleverset thing in the world (bookwise).
Heaens above, if you can't enjoy a book that is so obviously about pleasure (in a very Epicurean, spiritual way, ye moral detractors, mark you!), what are you doing engaging in the Epicurean pleasure of reading at all? Give up! You do not have a soul to be corrupted!
Rating:
Summary: Forever young
Review: This sophisticated but crude novel is the story of man's eternal desire for perennial youth, of our vanity and frivolity, of the dangers of messing with the laws of life. Just like "Faust" and "The immortal" by Borges. Dorian Gray is beautiful and irresistible. He is a socialité with a high ego and superficial thinking. When his friend Basil Hallward paints his portrait, Gray expresses his wish that he could stay forever as young and charming as the portrait. The wish comes true. Allured by his depraved friend Henry Wotton, perhaps the best character of the book, Gray jumps into a life of utter pervertion and sin. But, every time he sins, the portrait gets older, while Gray stays young and healthy. His life turns into a maelstrom of sex, lies, murder and crime. Some day he will want to cancel the deal and be normal again. But Fate has other plans. Wilde, a man of the world who vaguely resembles Gray, wrote this masterpiece with a great but dark sense of humor, saying every thing he has to say. It is an ironic view of vanity, of superflous desires. Gray is a man destroyed by his very beauty, to whom an unknown magical power gave the chance to contemplate in his own portrait all the vices that his looks and the world put in his hands. Love becomes carnal lust; passion becomes crime. The characters and the scenes are perfect. Wilde's wit and sarcasm come in full splendor to tell us that the world is dangerous for the soul, when its rules are not followed. But, and it's a big but, it is not a moralizing story. Wilde was not the man to do that. It is a fierce and unrepressed exposition of all the ugly side of us humans, when unchecked by nature. To be rich, beautiful and eternally young is a sure way to hell. And the writing makes it a classical novel. Come go with Wotton and Wilde to the theater, and then to an orgy. You'll wish you age peacefully.
Rating: 
Summary: A sub-Faustian tale of self-love and self-obssession
Review: Though it's rather slow to get going in the initial chapters, Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Gray" builds up into a splendidly effective piece, written in highly polished prose. Dorian Gray, who is suggestively described as "charming" and "beautiful" ... is painted by his friend and admirer, Basil Hallward. Dorian, a self-centered social luminary whose character is reminiscent of Narcissus, makes a bizarre sub-Faustian wish which tragically comes true: that his beautiful portrait may age, while he retains his youthful looks. The conclusion is disastrous, the culmination of a narrative containing elements of murder, suicide, blackmail, a confrontation in a grimy alley and an episode in an opium den. The characters are very well sketched out, particularly the triad of Dorian, Basil and the intellectual cynic, Lord Henry, Dorian's mentor and the mouthpiece of some of Wilde's most cutting amoral opinions. The style is, typically, marvellous, characterised by brilliant exchanges and aphoristic gaiety. Wilde lacerates English bourgeois culture, the conceptions of sin and virtue and the attitudes towards art of his time with tremendous aplomb. Some of his quips are patently snide, sometimes mysogynistic, as in: "Woman represents the triumph of matter over mind, while man represents the triumph of mind over morals." Oh, isn't that just despicable?! I love it!
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece that was written ahead of its time
Review: When Oscar Wilde published his only novel back in 1890 he caused much excitement among the literary critics and the society as a whole. And I'm a little bit puzzled because there is no evidence that the book deserves some negative feedback. It seems to me that someone who criticizes the ideas in the novel and summarizes it as an `immoral' demonstrates high level of hypocrisy. This is art and art is about freedom of imagination and expressing. If we expect from art to represent only moral emotions we experience in our daily life then art wouldn't worth so much.
The story of the book is somehow very simple. A young and innocent man named Dorian Gray fascinates an artist so much that the artist finds inspiration even in his only presence. Basil Hallward confides his secret obsession to a friend of his named Lord Henry Wotton and at that very moment Henry decides to meet Dorian. From their meeting on, their relationship is the main point around which the story evolves. Henry is a cynic person who has very provocative and fascinating way of declaring his position for most of the aspects of life. His attitude is uncommon for 19th century London high society and could be characterized as immoral. Dorian gradually adopts the lifestyle Henry proclaims and indulges in taking maximum from the life no matter the cost and no matter who will have to pay for it. On the other hand a rash desire expressed by Doran that the portrait Basil has painted of him ages and Dorian himself stays forever young becomes true. With always innocent look on his beautiful face Dorian is in a very good position to take maximum of his life and he does it. By breaking norms, recognized by high society he ruins lives of most persons attracted and charmed by his beauty and charisma. Lord Henry stays always beside him as a `spiritual' mentor while Basil goes to the background of Dorian's world. The picture Dorian hides in an abandoned room in his house shows not only marks of aging but also is a mirror of Dorian's soul - everything he does reflects on the picture's face expression which turns to an evil grimace that disgusts Dorian. Finally he comes to a moment that feels sorry for the life he had chosen and decides to make everything possible so that to restore his portrait's humane look as much as possible.
The end of the story proved quite an intriguing to me and I feel somehow confident that such an end seems to be the most logical for the story although being drastic and direct in his representation.
The writing style of Wilde is of a person who knows very well what he has to say and in the same time you don't get feeling that someone is trying to teach you something. On the contrary - this novel looks like a very good related story. On some moments too much attention is paid to the details, something that represents more successfully the atmosphere of the story but the movement suffers a little bit.
I personally am in deep sympathies for Lord Henry's character. His directly stated position on the topic is very often shocking but the interesting part is that you could stay and think a while and take from it what you appreciate. Nothing in this world is completely wrong I think. Just be careful not to fall into blind deviation and become second Dorian Gray.
Rating:
Summary: Hopelessly Ambiguous or Unambiguously Hopeful?
Review: Who knows? But right-wing orthodox Catholic monarchist readers will be required to steel themselves through the first two chapters which consist of a drawn-out slap fight between Elton John, Graham Norton and Ian McKellan. Now I like a cat-fight as much as the next guy, but a tussle among effete Brit cats with man parts is just icky. So the narcissistic homo-erotic banter opening the book was significantly under-appreciated by this reader. But after you get through those chapters the book gets much, much better. It is difficult to maintain that the book represents a defense of amoral Aestheticism, since the embodiment of the aesthetic ideal, Dorian Gray, is shown to be a damned man. That is not to say that Wilde embraces Catholicism in the novel, as the narrator often posits confusing opinions on issues of conscience and sin. At times Wilde seems to suggest that only immoderate (quantitatively speaking) behavior is immoral; and yet, at other times, it appears some actions themselves ought to be avoided. Is Wilde acknowledging that there are exceptionless moral norms? And what is the reader to make of rotten Wotton, whose epigrammatic phrases seem so akin to Wilde's? Hallward points out that Wotton's cynicism is a pose. He never says a moral thing, but he never does a wrong thing. So are we to take his Wilde-isms seriously? Are we to take Wilde seriously? Wilde says art is neither moral nor immoral, yet Gray is poisoned by A Rebors, a book by another decadent author who, oddly enough, also converted to Catholicism. And then there's the picture itself, the fruit of Hallward's homosexual obsession, which is clearly cursed, in spite of its initial apparent beauty. Wilde's protests notwithstanding, it is a book with a moral informing the reader that he cannot escape his conscience, that he cannot reject nature and nature's God, and that the wages of sin are death. But therein lies hope, for if God is to be believed regarding the wages of sin, then why should we doubt Him regarding our Redemption? Unfortunately, this message is made ambiguous by an author who, rather than unintentionally creating a distorted image of an idea that cannot be fully represented, intentionally peppers the novel with paradox for the sake of cuteness. But the Truth is not cute. He's terrifying, and Wilde knows better. Therefore the book is best left to the orthodox or the decadent. The lukewarm will simply be confused.
Rating:
Summary: Hopelessly Ambiguous or Unambiguously Hopeful?
Review: Who knows? But right-wing orthodox Catholic monarchist readers will be required to steel themselves through the first two chapters which consist of a drawn-out slap fight between Elton John, Graham Norton and Ian McKellan. Now I like a cat-fight as much as the next guy, but a tussle among effete Brit cats with man parts is just icky. So the narcissistic homo-erotic banter opening the book was significantly under-appreciated by this reader. But after you get through those chapters the book gets much, much better. It is difficult to maintain that the book represents a defense of amoral Aestheticism, since the embodiment of the aesthetic ideal, Dorian Gray, is shown to be a damned man. That is not to say that Wilde embraces Catholicism in the novel, as the narrator often posits confusing opinions on issues of conscience and sin. At times Wilde seems to suggest that only immoderate (quantitatively speaking) behavior is immoral; and yet, at other times, it appears some actions themselves ought to be avoided. Is Wilde acknowledging that there are exceptionless moral norms? And what is the reader to make of rotten Wotton, whose epigrammatic phrases seem so akin to Wilde's? Hallward points out that Wotton's cynicism is a pose. He never says a moral thing, but he never does a wrong thing. So are we to take his Wilde-isms seriously? Are we to take Wilde seriously? Wilde says art is neither moral nor immoral, yet Gray is poisoned by A Rebors, a book by another decadent author who, oddly enough, also converted to Catholicism. And then there's the picture itself, the fruit of Hallward's homosexual obsession, which is clearly cursed, in spite of its initial apparent beauty. Wilde's protests notwithstanding, it is a book with a moral informing the reader that he cannot escape his conscience, that he cannot reject nature and nature's God, and that the wages of sin are death. But therein lies hope, for if God is to be believed regarding the wages of sin, then why should we doubt Him regarding our Redemption? Unfortunately, this message is made ambiguous by an author who, rather than unintentionally creating a distorted image of an idea that cannot be fully represented, intentionally peppers the novel with paradox for the sake of cuteness. But the Truth is not cute. He's terrifying, and Wilde knows better. Therefore the book is best left to the orthodox or the decadent. The lukewarm will simply be confused.
Rating:
Summary: Overflowing with insights and quotations
Review: Wilde's only novel contains some of the greatest dialogue of any literature written in the english language. There are few books that could be considered more quotable, and even fewer that could be considered more insightful. The novel is enjoyable even upon a cursory reading, but its splendor is revealed only when it is studied. Wilde reveals so much of himself in his art, and through reading of Wilde's biographies, plays, and the literature that inspired him, the reader becomes intimate with Oscar, and is able to understand him more throughly than most authors would allow from a study of their work. This is a piece I have truly enjoyed, and continues to be one of the premier pieces of English literature.
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