Name: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Rating: 4.258125 (160 reviews)
ISBN: 9780141442464

Oscar Wilde

Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life; indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence. The novel was a succès de scandale and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895. It has lost none of its power to fascinate and disturb.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Chock-full of witty epigrams, astutely dark observations and pure compelling suspense, this goes down as one of my new favourite cautionary tales!

Conner Jack

This was an absolutely riveting read.

Chock-full of witty epigrams, astutely dark observations and pure compelling suspense, this goes down as one of my new favourite cautionary tales!

One of my favorite classics, this story will never not intrigue me.

Jess

Excellent book on the fickleness of human nature. It was my a-level text and I reread it recently, I really enjoyed it!

Heather Armstrong

Re-read this after years. I am at a point in my life where regrets consume me every waking second, regrets of things I once promised myself to never do. This has been a compelling read and I slightly related to Dorian at times. I have experienced what its like to have people like Henry around you. Thankfully I pulled my legs out the water before drowning. Oscar Wilde deserves all the appreciation he gets because this work of his is just phenomenal

rumitumi

Did this for English. Every single word was compelling. Loved it

Andreea

Have you ever read a book and wanted to highlight every single sentence? I've always loved marking the words that leave the greatest impression on me with my old 2B pencil. But, fortunately, when I received this book as a birthday gift from the person who was once very dear to me, I wanted to preserve it as much as possible and chose not to draw any line. I am rather glad I didn't because every single page of this book would otherwise be filled with pencil-lead because I find every word utterly compelling and has made me realise that Oscar Wilde truly deserves the fame he got/getting.

The flatmate who gave this book to me,  felt like my Dorian, I admired her with a kind of adoration she probably never needed. And I, perhaps, was her Basil, the person whose presence brought her a certain comfort, though never the person she would choose above anyone else.

Now, we no longer speak as we once did, and it feels as though I have been stabbed in the head repeatedly. Dramatic (I know haha), but there is something peculiarly painful about missing someone you see every day.

Or maybe our relationship was just like the picture, slowly it was being corrupted, but instead of addressing it, we hid away, locked it, ignored it, until it became worse, until we became worse.

I shall miss this book, despite having read it only over the course of a few days, and I miss my Dorian, despite seeing her every day.

azi 蔡

Have you ever read a book and wanted to highlight every single sentence? I've always loved marking the words that leave the greatest impression on me with my old 2B pencil. But, fortunately, when I received this book as a birthday gift from the person who was once very dear to me, I wanted to preserve it as much as possible and chose not to draw any line. I am rather glad I didn't because every single page of this book would otherwise be filled with pencil-lead because I find every word utterly compelling and has made me realise that Oscar Wilde truly deserves the fame he got/getting.

The flatmate who gave this book to me,  felt like my Dorian, I admired her with a kind of adoration she probably never needed. And I, perhaps, was her Basil, the person whose presence brought her a certain comfort, though never the person she would choose above anyone else.

Now, we no longer speak as we once did, and it feels as though I have been stabbed in the head repeatedly. Dramatic (I know haha), but there is something peculiarly painful about missing someone you see every day.

Or maybe our relationship was just like the picture, slowly it was being corrupted, but instead of addressing it, we hid away, locked it, ignored it, until it became worse, until we became worse.

I shall miss this book, despite having read it only over the course of a few days, and I miss my Dorian, despite seeing her every day.

As much of a classic as this is, it was only while reading it that I realised I knew very little about it. I now understand why this is a classic.  This book is such a good lesson in morality and consequences and seeing the very human emotions from Dorian almost make you feel bad for him, despite his terrible actions. It is a true classic tragedy. Definitely worthy of its reputation!

Soph

It gave me many firsts. Thoughts I would've never think if it weren't for the book's prompts. Dorian Gray is a complex character, easy to hate but impossible to not love. He represents something in us that can only be revealed when we are at our worst, that I cannot deny. My favourite classic.

I can see why it is a well known classic, it shows two sides of life and is very unexpected for a book this old. 

Martyna

my favourite book ever written i don’t think it will ever be topped

evie coxon

An absolute masterpiece, the immense emotion that this has got me feeling is undeniable. The obsession with youth and its vanity is a poison to our soul and how we consume it decides on how will it consume us.

RIP Basil and Sibyl, you deserved better. Harry, honestly shut up. 

I want to read the uncensored version soon. 

march🐇

An absolute masterpiece, the immense emotion that this has got me feeling is undeniable. The obsession with youth and its vanity is a poison to our soul and how we consume it decides on how will it consume us.

RIP Basil and Sibyl, you deserved better. Harry, honestly shut up. 

I want to read the uncensored version soon. 

the first classic book i read i think and i really enjoyed reading it. it was so complex and there were so many interesting details. everything was described in such a beautiful, detailed and dramatic manner.

i have a love-hate relationship with the characters. i think they were written beautifully, but i still hate some of them. i hate lord henry. he ruined dorian's life. he made him believe that he was nothing without his looks. he just played with dorian as if he was his personal toy. he talked so much nonsense that sometimes he made me want to throw my phone out the window. i liked basil, but it seemed like he only liked dorian for his beauty and was using him for that. but he was an interesting character and he didn't deserve what happened to him.

i sometimes had a hard time understanding what they were talking about, so i read the book slowly and enjoyed every chapter.

victor

the first classic book i read i think and i really enjoyed reading it. it was so complex and there were so many interesting details. everything was described in such a beautiful, detailed and dramatic manner.

i have a love-hate relationship with the characters. i think they were written beautifully, but i still hate some of them. i hate lord henry. he ruined dorian's life. he made him believe that he was nothing without his looks. he just played with dorian as if he was his personal toy. he talked so much nonsense that sometimes he made me want to throw my phone out the window. i liked basil, but it seemed like he only liked dorian for his beauty and was using him for that. but he was an interesting character and he didn't deserve what happened to him.

i sometimes had a hard time understanding what they were talking about, so i read the book slowly and enjoyed every chapter.

reading this book can best be described as an emotional and existential rollercoaster. something about the personification of Dorian's seared conscience stirred a fear in me yet to subside…perhaps because the world reminds us that although Dorian Gray is fictional, his concept is not. but i guess that is exactly the property of great art - the ability to act as a mirror - and when necessary, a warning.

Cecilie Spangsberg

Rahma fathy

I’ve been curious about the book since I watched the film (because, you know, 2009 Ben Barnes). Some of my friends have read this too and I have heard great things. I finished this on my flight and it is now quite an annotated book.

Wilde’s writing is vivid and exquisite, making me want to read more of his works. The exploration of the soul, the taboo (at that time), acknowledging and yielding to corrupted ways, and the regret that follows like a shadow were done so well.

It was true that as one watched life in its curious crucible of pain and pleasure, one could not wear over one's face a mask of glass, nor keep the sulphurous fumes from troubling the brain, and making the imagination turbid with monstrous fancies and misshapen dreams.

I wrote somewhere in Chapter 10, “So easily he surrendered into his corruption and influence knowing full well what was going on and someone loves him enough to save him. Well. Can’t really help those who refuse it.”

Overall, definitely one of my favourite reads this year. So glad I picked this up! Would love to read it again and discuss it with someone.

I’ve been curious about the book since I watched the film (because, you know, 2009 Ben Barnes). Some of my friends have read this too and I have heard great things. I finished this on my flight and it is now quite an annotated book.

Wilde’s writing is vivid and exquisite, making me want to read more of his works. The exploration of the soul, the taboo (at that time), acknowledging and yielding to corrupted ways, and the regret that follows like a shadow were done so well.

My favourite line would be:

It was true that as one watched life in its curious crucible of pain and pleasure, one could not wear over one's face a mask of glass, nor keep the sulphurous fumes from troubling the brain, and making the imagination turbid with monstrous fancies and misshapen dreams.

I wrote somewhere in Chapter 10, “So easily he surrendered into his corruption and influence knowing full well what was going on and someone loves him enough to save him. Well. Can’t really help those who refuse it.”

Overall, definitely one of my favourite reads this year. So glad I picked this up! Would love to read it again and discuss it with someone.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

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