Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

40 reviews

tamarakraljevic's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Classism

ashmash's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of my new favourite books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, and Murder

wowsmeows's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

"Beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich."

I went into Dorian Gray without knowing anything about it, and I really enjoyed it for the most part.

The main story is intriguing and there was a few unexpected moments that I really enjoyed. The three main characters (Dorian, Henry and Basil) are so incredibly unlikeable and would be tedious to know in real life, yet I still found them to be engaging. I think this book is a great example of how main characters do not have to be likeable for a story to be enjoyed. 

The thing I disliked about the novel novels is that it feels like the story gets interrupted by the author going on a personal tangent and lecturing the audience.  I really struggled through one specific chapter and I very nearly didn't pick it back up again. It felt very preachy and really interrupted the story. 

Overall, I enjoyed The Picture of Dorian Gray and I'm glad I picked it up!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, and Classism

dizzyizzyy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, and Classism

kalynlarva's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Addiction

thestrangebeingyouare's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Misogyny, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

the story is strange and beautiful, but the main characters are all extremely flawed. there are also some aspects of misogyny and antisemitism that are unrelated to the plot, so i do warn you to be aware of the authors prejudices so you can critically read the story.

macliffe's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I have been wanting to read this book for so long and it did not disappoint! Fully lived up to the hype. 
I was hesitant because I’m not a horror reader, but this book did a good job of being gothic without having unnecessary gore or uncomfortable scenes. 
The characters were so well done, especially Dorian.
I love how the message of the book is stated subtly at the beginning with Lord Henry saying the world needed a “new hedonism”. Then the plot gives Dorian that new hedonism, but he comes to realize that it doesn’t satisfy and only leaves him miserable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, and Blood

Minor: Violence

magicalb1tch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use

starryknightace's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

1.5

Such an interesting concept but didn't age well into the 21st century. With controversial anti-Semitism and misogyny dotted throughout the story it made it easy to dislike the characters and made for an interesting read. I personally struggle with the classic English writing style and found at times struggling to understand what I was reading, Wilde uses a lot of flowery descriptive paragraphs, which were quite honestly, boring. I found myself 70 pages in and gritting my teeth to get through the rest. Admittedly the action did somewhat pick up and I found myself enthralled to see the confliction in Dorian Gray's moral come to blows. A bit of a lackluster climax but definitely can see the appeal and why the novel is still considered a classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Antisemitism

sagelikesscats's review

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I will definitely return to this book. Great writing, great characters, and an amazing ending. I did find that all of the rich people problems get annoying towards the end, but still a fantastic book about beauty, morality, and heathenism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism

The classism is less of a thing that happens and more of a general presence throughout the book.