Rating: 
Summary: Forever Young
Review: Innocent and young Dorian Gray is seduced by some bad influences, and taught to worship youth, beauty, and sensation. Due to a passionate prayer, the physical effects of a life dedicated to self-gratification and pleasure-seeking are borne by a painting of him instead of by his own body. The story focuses not on the actual events of Dorian's life, but the discussions on the philosophies supporting such a life. To this reviewer, the message is that a life of selfishness and self-gratification corrupts, and in the end we can have no separation from this corruption. Dorian Gray is a tad slow at times, as the conversations can get long, but it is still educational, and certainly worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Obbesion, Horror and Beauty
Review: I picked up this book on a whim at a local bookstore knowing little to nothing about Oscar Wilde. This story kept me entranced the entire time. I, like Basil, was completely infautated with Dorian Gray from the moment his name was annouced. A beautiful boy completely unspoiled by the darkness in the world. A boy immeressed in the decendance of his times. When Dorian realizes he too must face mortality and it's grip on his beauty he makes a wish to never lose his youth and beauty, to instead let his painting age for him. This the painting does... from the curve of his lips to the look in his eyes. Dorian uses this completely to his advantage and commits selfish and horrible acts all the while hidden under a charming smile and innocent face. A Picture of Dorian Gray is now one of my most favorite books of all time. If only Wilde had written more than one novel!
Rating:
Summary: A nice criticism of victorian society, but slightly boring
Review: It's been a while since I read The Picture Of Dorian Gray, but I'll try to review it as well as I can. The Picture Of Dorian Gray takes place in late nineteenth-century England, among the wealthy middle- or lower upper class. It is about Dorian Gray, a young man who is beautiful, charming and popular. His good friend Basil Hallward is painting his portrait, and during a visit at Basil's house he meets Lord Henry, another friend of Basils. Lord Henry is decadent and provocative, and Dorian is very impressed by him and his ideas.
Lord Henry tells him about how precious his youth and beauty is, and how awful everything will become when he grows old ("When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you, or have to content yourself with those mean triumphs that the memory of your past will make more bitter then defeats").
When Basils painting is finished, Dorian sees his own beauty in it and is struck by the fear of aging. He makes a pact with the devil, and sells his soul so that he can remain young and beautiful forever, while his painting grows old and repulsive. His former kind and lovely self is gradually reformed, and he grows evil and corrupt although he still appears just as fresh and innocent as he has always been. This book is not the best one I've read, but it is pretty good. I think that the characters are sometimes turned into caricatures of themselves; they don't really appear to be real persons. Although I really liked Lord Henry's philosophical monologues, they sometimes grew tiresome and a bit too long. The novel, and in particular the ending, is quite predictable.
However, the book is beautifully written (like most of the books I've read from that time (but I don't know if it's because of their superiority to the writers of today, or merely because the good ones are the only ones that are left to future generations)) (...) There are strong homosexual tendencies in the friendship between Dorian Gray and both Basil and Lord Henry, and their friendship does not feel like a mere friendship. Apart from being a way for Wilde to, through Lord Henry, give voice to some of his philosophical ideas, I think the novel is about the shallowness and hypocrisy of the Victorian society, which considered outward appearance more important than ethics and moral.
Rating: 
Summary: We are Dorain Gray
Review: This is quite a book. Mr. Wilde has quite a literary ability. His characters are as vibrant as a Van Gogh, his plot is tense, and he has quite a gift for quips and comebacks. All of this combines for a great piece of literature, regardless of the topic or story. This book explores the darker side of humanity, along the lines of Faust, Dr. Jekyll, and Lord of the Flies. We all feel this dread and anxiety deep within our soul; Wilde does not hold a mirror, but a picture for us to look upon and marvel. You get the chills up and own your spine as you watch Lord Henry seduce Dorian Grey. I think the high point of the story was in Chapter XI when Dorian sets a mirror next to the foul picture and goes back and forth looking at his baby-face and then the incubus in the painting. What is crucial is that Dorian is so detached: he sees himself as the smooth-faced god, but in reality, he is the demon in the picture. But his detachment is what is so crucial. He knows what his soul looks like, but he doesn't care! At times this books seems like a play, which has Wilde's native element. But the prose has such a smooth flow that you do not notice. I found myself constantly underlining Wilde's aphorism. He has a gift for one-liners, and his book is quite a charming read.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I expected Dorian Gray to be rather dry and restrained when I picked it up. However, it is anything but! This is an enjoyable fast paced novel. Basil Hawthorne paints his masterpiece inspired by (and the portrait of) Dorian Gray. In the blush of innocence, Dorian begins to spend time with Basil's friend, Lord Henry who revels in making shocking statements and defying social protocols. A quick study, Dorian takes this to new levels as he - spurred on by Lord Henry and his own vanity - winds his way down a road of moral corruption all the while horrified at the changes on the canvas. When Basil decides that he would like to exhibit the portait (unaware of what has become of the portait while hidden away by Dorian), Dorian can no longer hide the flaws that have been for so long protected from outside eyes.
Rating:
Summary: WILDE COMMENTARY ON LIFE
Review: More than a story, The Picture of Dorian Gray contains many of Oscar Wilde's most famous commentary on life. Unlike any other work of fiction that I have read before I actually read this book with a pen in hand, underlining Wilde's eloquent thoughts about art, tragedy and life. No need to recap the story here other than to say that it continues to be applicable to every human being born into this world. Each of us has our own picture that reflects our deepest and truest feelings, thoughts and actions. Facades abound but there is no getting around our frequent trips inside to have a look at the portrait that only we can see. A masterful book that goes far beyond the well-known story.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic.
Review: No one can whip me into a frenzy with their writing style like Oscar Wilde. This book clearly stands from this reader as his greatest work and is as contraversal as it's author. I'm not saying anything else, why ruin it? I highly recommend this work.
Rating:
Summary: Spooky, creepy and downright fun!
Review: A novel about an especially gorgeous young man named Dorian Gray whose painting has the supernatural quality of taking on his aging looks. A really excellent book that I would recommend to the fullest!
Rating:
Summary: Intense and Dark (3 1/2 stars)
Review: This story was really good. It's about Dorian Gray who is about 18 at the time his friend Basil paints a portrait of him. Gray prays that his portrait would age and he himself would remain young, and of course his prayer is answered. Having been written in the late 1800's, it's hard to get past some of the vocabulary in this book, and also there are endnotes which makes it hard to read because you have to flip to the back and find what that part meant and then go back to reading. Another thing that I didn't like was when the author went on and on about jewels and embroidery - it was so hard to follow and it wasn't necessary the story at all. Overall I liked the story, but it was a tough read, and although it's not a very long book (a little over 200 pages) it is not a light read. I think you should read this book if you're into classic literature, but otherwise I would pick something else.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful
Review: I was highly impressed by this novel of arts, society, morality and immortality. It has to be one of the most deepest things that I have ever read. One thing that bothered me a little was how Oscar Wilde went through this long winded prose and at times became a bit essay like but it had gave me food for thought.
| 
