Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Picture of Dorian Gray is a very sinful, witty, humorous and beautiful book. This has got to be Wilde's most personal work, one can tell from the writing itself that Wilde really put himself into these pages or maybe what he wanted to become. The tale of Dorian and the tale of Wilde have the same kind of "tragic ending" to it. Wilde's downfall of being accused of homosexuality and Dorian no longer being able to bear the pain of his acts and conducts bring tragic endings to their lives. I think that every person has or has had for a certain amount of time the wish to stay forever young and beautiful, the burden of time not affecting you at all but something else, in Dorian's case, it was the painting, anyways I'm rambling on and on, do read this book, it's 2:00 am right now and I have a Physics exam tomorrow, today actually, anyway, do read it, it's enjoyable, funny, touching and everything else that a good novel should be.
Rating: 
Summary: Sub faustian my foot.
Review: Simply put: The greatest novel ever written in the english language.
Rating:
Summary: Dorian's stylish descent from vanity to debauchery...
Review: Rich with 19th Century imagery, particularly that of the British aristocracy of the day, this book had me cackling with Dorian's mentor Lord Henry, and pitying both the impressionable protagonist Dorian, and his meek admirer Basil Hallward. These three characters collectively represent the conflicting dimensions of the writer who created them.Dorian's entire existance is reduced to, and mirrored by, an evolving portrait that Basil Hallward painted of him. Dorian's impulsive wish to preserve the beauty that makes his elder companions dote on him, oddly comes true, but ends up being his ruin rather than his saviour. His beauty enraptures everyone with whom he is acquainted. Basil Hallward flatters him incessantly, while Lord Henry seeks to manipulate him, by giving him harmful books and lectures, whereas Dorian's fleeting love interest, Sibyl Vane, suicides after being shunned by him for a poor performance as a Shakespearean Juliet. Dorian's reputation is marred severely, while the dreaded painting becomes an ever-evolving satyr, but his outer beauty remains perfectly intact, though decades elapse. When a lapse of composure drives him to murder Basil Hallward, Dorian, with two deaths now under his belt, is slowly and silently maddening with guilt, making him as loathsome and depraved in his own view as he is to the conservative Victorian society in which he lives. Dorian's opulence and servants can't relieve his tortured conscience. The absurdly funny and original storyline is illuminated by Wilde's wicked use of descriptive language. Lord Henry Wotton's wit and power of influence are a definite highlight, and he acts as the mouthpiece for Wilde's own cynical sense of humour. This book is an enthralling fusion of obsession, influence, affluence, youth and aging issues, corruption and situational humour. The moral message represents itself in Wilde's (rather predictable) ending, which slightly robs from the impact of the book, but "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is nonetheless a dazzling, hysterically funny novel, which I won't soon forget.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: It is very easy to see why this novel is a classic, i do not know about other people conclusions but for me it shows simply that our own mind is a very hard judge for us, humans; and that our natural behavior hardly ever gonna live up to our mind expectations.
Rating: 
Summary: A book about sin and corruption...
Review: which is a waste of paper. What makes me say that? Could it be that the sins are too vague or too outdated? No, I judged this book based on my enjoyment or lack of enjoyment in reading it. Wit without substance, characters without passion, dialogue without reason. I found myself reading other books just so I had an excuse not to continue reading this one. In the end all I can say to truly show how I feel about this novel is that this book BORED me. 177 pages of art that is 'quite useless'. The only reason I finished was because I hate to start a book then walk away and also I wanted to do review (and to do a review without finishing the book is unfair).
Rating:
Summary: The Picture of Dorian Gray - 5 stars!
Review: "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a classic novel suffused with intriguing philosophies along with discrete ethical lessons. Oscar Wilde incorporates conventional defeating human dispositions such as superficiality, idolatry, and obsession into an astonishing tale of the life of a young man conflicted between morality and a hedonistic culture. The storyline is dynamic and captivating while the words play smooth and melodious. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is thought-provoking and certain to interest a variety of readers. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: The Picture of Dorian Gray - 5 stars
Review: "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a classic novel suffused with intriguing philosophies along with discrete ethical lessons. Oscar Wilde encorporates conventional defeating human dispositions such as superficiality, idolatry, and obsession into an astonishing tale of the life of a young man conflicted between morality and a hedonistic culture. The storyline is dynamic and captivating while the words play smooth and melodious. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is thought-provoking and certain to interest a variety of readers. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book, boring book, genial book...
Review: I was reading the graphic novel: Jaka's Story (Cerebus, volume 5) by Dave Sim and Gerhard (which I strongly recommend anyone to read, together with the sequence: Cerebus, volume 6, Melmoth) when I met the fictional character "Oscar". In that story, "Oscar" discussed with Jaka's husband, Rick, about a poisonous book ("The Picture of Alfred Douglas"), written by a certain Lord Henry Wotton! Any resemblance with the reality? :) "Oscar" told that he asked to Lord Henry how did he explain his success after saying that "to be popular one must be mediocre"? Lord Henry answered him that "in this matter as in many others, he was the exception that proved the rule". Reading these passages, I was charmed with the Oscar Wilde character and decided to read the true "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" written by the true Oscar Wilde. I think the passages in Cerebus clarified to me what this book was about (modern graphic novels have the power to illuminate one's thoughts). One should not read this book looking for coherence. All the characters are incoherent, and this is one of the genial points in this book. People are not coherent, so fictional character must not be coherent either! In the preface the author, himself, says that art is quite useless, though it is the thing he loves most to do! The artist Basil says initially that a picture, done with heart, belongs to the artist. Later, he gives the picture to Dorian Gray. Henry Wotton throws along all the story a series of poisonous thoughts that he doesn't follow! Other genial point is that Dorian, although being evil (and could be considered a villain in his own story) is not punished for what he does! Sybil Vane commits suicide because of him, but nobody was able to connect her death with him. Later, he kills Basil, but he just disappears with the body, with no consequences. Near the end, when we think that he is going to be killed by Sybil Vane's brother, he escapes easily from him. Only when, by caprice, he makes the foolishness of trying to destroy his portrait, is that he finds death. That is, he dies merely by accident, not because of his vicious or crimes. If, instead, he just tried to cut the picture he would learn that it would have the effect of hurting himself physically. Then he would guard the picture, and proceed living his life of eternal youth and beauty (that is, until some day some insects, or rats, or something, decided to eat his canvas... :) ) These are for me the mistakes of many writers, and what turns the end of many stories so boring and so unsatisfactory! The first one is that they want to produce a plot and tie all the characters of the story (as though it was necessary, and as though all characters deseverd to be well developed!!). The second is to try to create characters that evolve learning with their mistakes (as if everybody learned with their mistakes and stopped continuing doing them for all their lives!!!). Borrowing the words of Lisa Simpson (in one of those funny, crazy, genial, Simpsons' stories), the moral of Dorian Grays story is that it has no moral!
Rating: 
Summary: A Work of Self Condemnation
Review: Though this book was well written, Oscar Wilde fails in his attempt to glorify aestheticism, and in fact condemns it, and thus condemns himself. It was hardly surprising that following the publication of this book, the authorities sought to have him arrested for homosexuality. If aestheticism is embodied by Lord Henry, Henry is a despicable character, whose philosophies sound not only juvenile and sophistic, but ignorant due to his lack of practicing what he preached. He didn't act out his hedonistic, immoral theories, only Dorian behaved that way, and when doing so brought torment, shame, and guilt upon himself. And to preface the book with "All art is quite useless"? That makes no sense, since the picture was the most useful, significant, meaningful thing in life. Was Wilde's goal to declare his own dear philosophies completely worthless? If so, he succeeded, but I am much more impressed by someone who sets out to justify his philosophies rather than someone who sets out to debunk them.
Rating:
Summary: Dorian Gray
Review: I first read this book years ago and I think it is tremendous. A shocking story, sad, and disturbing. What is the price of youth? And with youth comes what? Incredibly moving and engaging book. Dorian is such a sympathetic character who goes through such change. Basil is a terrific narrator.
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