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this reminded me of why dorian gray has been one of my favourite books since i was a teenager. oscar wilde has a wonderful way with words that just made me fly through this book, and it wasn't because i already knew the story by heart but because his prose is some of the best i have read in my life.

i will say that i am very grateful that i got to read this copy because ugh! i love beautiful words and beautiful confessions!! basil hayward, you have never done anything wrong in your life, ever.

my biggest question in life is: will we ever have a good and accurate dorian gray adaptation or is hollywood too cowardly? (the answer is yes)

but all jokes aside, i started this this morning and only got through the introductions so i could start the actual story on the train and just... absolutely flew through it and was finished by the time i got home. yeah, this hasn't lost its spot in my favourites.

I wanted to try and read more classics this year and figured I’d start with this one because so many people I know love it, and I value their opinions. So this was … ok. I was mostly intrigued by the fantastical element of it, but that’s about it. The long winded monologues by annoying men threw me off. I simply cannot believe that this  blonde haired, blue eyed man was the apple of everyone’s eye — especially when paired with who is on the cover. Like let’s be serious for a second. Everything about the characters seemed too theatrical and overdone in a way that made it hard for me to connect with anyone. I understand the “point” of the novel; it was a very long winded fable like when we were kids, but it was kind of just ‘eh’ for me. Also, why was Ch 11 even there? Also AGAIN — I was under the impression that this story was a lot gayer than it was, so my expectations just simply were not met. But like I said before, the thing saving it and making it a 3 star instead of 2 is the magical element.

Oscar Wilde is a reminder of the unchanging nature of man. That even as we face ourselves in the mirror we refuse to see the shameful arrogant grim hidden beneath.

As decades go by the book accomplishes its purpose by being forgotten. Locked somewhere like our most ambitious dreams, needed to be forgotten to keep insanity at bay.

Review on April 2020 reread—So it turns out that I was wrong about remembering there being a character her who wanders into a crack den in this book? Also I forgot how sudden the ending is. I made many notes and highlights in my kindle copy this time, and most of them further enforce how much I love lord Henry’s character. He is the most horrible influence and everything he says is very profound but in the most insulting way, and I it’s incredibly entertaining to read. I wanted more of the “rich life” in this book with servants running around and your staff cooking you a meal for your dinner party and such. I think I liked the book more this time around, so I will maybe bump it up to 4 stars. Definitely not a 5 star read, but it’s one of the better classics I’ve read—both morally and intellectually valuable while also being entertaining and timeless. That’s all—hopefully I remember to share my kindle highlights. Oh yeah, I read the uncensored/unedited version because it was supposedly so much more true to Wilde as an artist but it was like almost exactly the same except for the wording of a few things.

More than 120 years after Oscar Wilde submitted The Picture of Dorian Gray for publication in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the uncensored version of his novel appears here for the first time in a paperback edition. This volume restores all of the material removed by the novel’s first editor. Wilde famously said that The Picture of Dorian Gray “contains much of me”: Basil Hallward is “what I think I am,” Lord Henry “what the world thinks me,” and Dorian “what I would like to be, in other ages, perhaps.” Wilde’s comment suggests a backward glance to a Greek or Dorian Age, but also a forward-looking view to a more permissive time than his own repressive Victorian era. By implication, Wilde would have preferred we read today the uncensored version of his novel. I loved the foreword written by editor Nicholas Frankel which explained the history behind Oscar Wilde and this novel, and I was fascinated to hear the history behind this manuscript and how long it took to get the true uncensored version published. The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. While he remains flawless, a portrait of himself ages and fades while visually recording all his sins. I have always had trouble with reading classics, simply because of being forced to read them in English classes, but I had always been drawn to The Picture of Dorian Gray. With this uncensored version being the author’s preferred version, I figured that this version was the one I was meant to read, and decided to give it a try. Oscar Wilde himself is an interesting historical figure to me, his life being a tragic look at queer men in a time when all his works and his character were looked down upon simply because he was gay. The foreword of this uncensored version only made the life of Oscar Wilde feel all the more tragic, as I’m reminded that he was a real person with a real life, full of love and heartbreak like any one of us. In the novel, Oscar Wilde presents the theme of good versus evil side of human nature. The depths of what it means to be human is explored by Wilde with the three characters of Basil Hallward, Henry Wotton and Dorian Gary. Each character represents a different side of the conflict between morality and giving into temptation. The three characters equally represent the difference in the class structure of society. The character of Henry Wotton represents the wealthy, proper man of society during the Victorian era in the novel, whose ideologies encompasses hedonism. Henry as the older man in the novel, appears bitter and resentful that time has taken a toll on his person and he can no longer enjoy the full breadth of the human experience as the young and beautiful can. Basil Hallward is the painter who becomes enamored with Dorian’s beauty and innocence, seeing him as the ideal to which his work has always aspired. When one day he paints a portrait of the true likeness to Dorian, his feelings overwhelm him. It is the best work he has ever done but he is afraid that there is too much of himself in it. After the painting, his artistry becomes average, he can never elevate his work to the perfection that Dorian inspired at his youthful peak. He tries to guide Dorian towards decency, so in love is he with the memory of that innocent boy, but the knowledge of how Basil has dictated his now tortured existence with his painting and his passion, enrages Dorian. Basil becomes a sad example of a good artist disappearing in sacrifice for Art. Dorian’s ability to maintain a youthful complexion helps him keep favor with the who’s who of London society despite the rumors that circulate about him. These people clearly favor beauty, manners, and appearance more than whether or not a person is good at heart. Dorian’s character explores the superficial nature of society and how they can never see past the surface of things. Dorian soon finds that people will not reject him or his way of living as long as he is perceived as beautiful, a commentary of human beings and their lack of morals. Dorian also has an ongoing obsession with his appearance, leading to youth and appearances being among the key themes of the work. Additionally, there are various other themes for The Picture of Dorian Gray that are prominent during this story such as transformation, innocence, mortality, friendship, art, and culture. I was surprised by how easy it was to get into this story, I distinctly remembered having trouble with this when I was a teenager, but it was much easier now. I resonated with a lot of what was being said in this book, especially everything surrounding superficiality of society and the complexities of art and culture. I’m not usually a fan of stories set during this time period, but it was perfect for exploring the themes presented here, especially surrounding society, beauty, and morality. These characters are expected to live a certain way so it’s compelling to see Dorian struggle with this and his beauty and how it changes things for him is interesting in contrast to the characters that surround him who could not do the same as him due to their perceived value as not being “beautiful”. Dorian has pretty privilege, and quite literally. When comparing societal standards back then to now, it’s interesting to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. It was fascinating to see how much of Oscar Wilde was in this novel, the three main characters truly echoed pieces of the author’s real life throughout the story, especially Basil feeling as if he could never elevate his art to reach the mastery he achieved in his portrait of Dorian. This didn’t connect with me in the way that it should have and that I wanted it to, but I still understand why this was such a significant work and why it’s still being studied today. I think there’s a lot to be found here, which is why I will still rate it three stars, but it is not a story that highlighted anything new or made me feel anything significant despite how much I liked it in paper. I think the story has a good message and the ending is great. If I were to recommend this story to someone, I would recommend them read the Uncensored edition simply because it features a preface that gives greater context to the author and themes and has all the censored passages added into the text. I think this might be a story I will have to revisit at a after date in order to appreciate more, but for now I’ll just say that this was a queer story written ahead of its time and I’m sad that the author never truly got to see how much his work inspired others and became influential.

While the censored version is already a masterpiece, this uncensored version including the love confession of Basil surpassed it. Beautiful with a lot of relatable quotes even 132 years later. My favorite classic of all time, recommending it to everyone who wants to get into classics (apart from that chapter where he explains gray's obsession, that one was just hard to push through)

The superior version. Such a great read when it’s in its intended condition and not doctored within an inch of its life

i don’t know if this is particular to the uncensored version or not, but there were so many things in this book i simply didn’t care about and was forced to read through because what if it was important, right? i’m the kind of person who doesn’t like skim-reading or skipping chunks of paragraphs; i love giving a book my full, undivided attention because i’m a believer that the essence of a book, a story, can be found in its every nook and cranny. but, while that was the case for some of the admittedly long and seemingly never-ending dialogues in this book, it also didn’t apply to everything, as is to be expected. this makes me think of how truly important an editor’s job can be. i’m sure i would’ve thoroughly enjoyed the book hadn’t it been for the unnecessary bits i struggled so much to get through. the story is compelling, some the dialogue incredible and thought-provoking in the best way possible; even now, a week after i finished it, some quotes still remain engraved deep in my brain, most of them coming from the unlikeable, devil-like lord henry. it’s a good story about temptation and sin and the heaviness of our burdens in our souls even if we can’t physically see them. in dorian’s case, he has the representation of his picture. it also says a lot about human nature, a critique in my opinion: how, if given the freedom to do what we want without consequences, we won’t hesitate to become twisted and tainted with blood. in a way, with its characters, the uncensored picture of dorian gray sets up a story of contradictions, a paradox of sorts: lord henry being represented by sin and apparent freedom and uncanniness, basil being represented by his good nature and big heart and his desire to help even after the cause has clearly been lost; and dorian, an in-between factor with the ability to get influenced by any of the two. unsurprisingly, because evil and sin and darkness has a certain allure to it, seems fun and freeing, that’s what he choses. he disregards basil, becomes closer to lord henry, and digs his own grave. the ending is spectacular, probably my favorite part of the whole book. i wouldn’t call it an open ending but rather one up to interpretation. no, in my head, it’s not the same. because the reader, going from there, is driven to finish the tale with their own words and ideas. and i finished mine. overall, this book wasn’t a bad read. simply a little too full and unedited which, really, i should’ve expected by the uncensored in the title. this is a previous manuscript from the one eventually published. i might, someday, read the original version and see if i like it better or worse.

Flowery and lovely prose, aesthetic and decadent images--what more could I ask for? Call it narcissism, call it naivety, but I adore this tragically beautiful novel.

this is the only version of dorian grey i've ever read and i'm glad

4,5

took me a while to finish it bc i was caught up with work but amazinggg ! literally devoured the 30 last pages at the beach, beautiful beautiful book.

This is one of my favorite books ever /first book I read in English so it will always have a spetial place in my heart. That was a yearly reread, but I read uncensored version for the first time. Totally worth it!

I read the edited version last year and honestly did not like it. I understood the significance of the classic novel, but that version seemed choppy and disconnected. This version, however, makes much more sense. I feel like the story and the characters connected more and the plot wasn’t disjointed. The prose is beautiful. I liked this version more, but the long-winded paragraphs tended to make me zone out. I’m the kind of reader that needs paragraph breaks, and this book didn’t have many of those. Overall this version is superior, so if you are interested in the story be sure to pick up this edition.