Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

768 reviews

lenorayoder's review

Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The plot and characters in this book are both really interesting. Dorian’s internal monologue and Henry’s creeping influence are both well done. Unfortunately, Wilde frequently goes on long tangents, often philosophical or referential in nature, that are a real chore to get through and don’t really feel like a part of the story. You don’t have to make your readers suffer to show that a character is insufferable.

If you are planning to read this book I recommend this edition, the notes were informative and provided details about what was censored or changed between the early versions of the novel. It felt worth it to read this once, but I suspect I would like a good adaptation better and will seek one out.

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kaimekolreads's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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 the best books I've ever read. I recommend only reading with a clear and awake mind, as some parts can get confusing with the long drawn out lists of attributes that happens in some chapters.

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artemy_se's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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hoiyan's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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shaanzeh1_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sophiaxscherm's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-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

1.75

I had such high hopes for this book and really wanted to like it but unfortunately I was disappointed. I really like the idea of the story and when it was about the story, I enjoyed it, even though I never felt like it was really catching and exciting. However, most of the first half are just monologues, mainly by Lord Henry about how he knows everything and just him being a sexist dick. At first, I liked the philosophical monologues but after a while it gets annoying and just doesn't add to the story in my opinion. The second half was a bit more interesting as it focused a little more on the story but still wasn't very exciting. It's so sad because, like I already said, I think it's a great story and I think the most interesting part would have been to see Dorian become this monster, however, we sadly don't really get to see the way there which would have been the best part, instead we get a 20 pages chapter that serves as a fast-forward chapter which only describes in a monologue-style what Dorian did for like a decade, which was so boring that I was really close to just skipping it entirely. Unfortunately, I was very let down.

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___'s review against another edition

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dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this classic much more than I was expecting. Admittedly, the middle of the book got a little boring for me, but the beginning and end hooked my attention well. I'll want to reread to get a better grasp of some stuff I might have missed in the middle of the novel.

Another reason I'll want to reread the book is because apparently most copies out now are heavily edited and censored. I hear the uncensored version is much better.

Art lovers and haters alike will enjoy this book, I think.

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fantomerrant's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

Oh, how to begin talking about this book? I adored it, despite it being clearly problematic at times (misogyny, antisemitism, romanticizing adults attracted to children and the likes, though some of it isn't clear whether it is coming from the characters or the author) but it is also so wonderful. Wilde's prose is incredibly poetic but by all means, my favourite thing about this classic is all the references and themes of beauty and greek ideals, as well as tragedy, terror and fatality, because it parallels my favourite book of all time: The Secret History. I wonder if Donna Tartt drew some of her inspiration from Wilde, and more specifically Dorian Gray.

"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic" "Beauty is terror, whatever we call beautiful we quiver before it"

"There is something fatal about a portrait" "Does such a thing as the fatal flaw, that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs"

Dorian, which at times does remind me a little of Henry, is constantly being referred to as greek figures like Appollo or Narcissus. The way Sybil, his first love, is described reminds me a lot of Camilla.

There's also this romanticising of suicide/death where Sybil's, and later Basil's, ends are seen as a beautiful thing, through the lens of Shakespearean references like Romeo and Juliet or Ophelia, and it is simply used as a device to further Dorian's transformation.

As an artist myself, this novel, just like the works it draws parallels with, really touched me. I found the end of both the book and of Dorian's, incredibly fitting. How he, or rather his youth, it's memory, ended up absorbed in his portrait, as it was always meant to. How his soul, and its true nature, was released as Dorian enacts the final act, which reflects what he himself admired in his love interests, which is to kill himself, though quite inadvertently.

As a queer person, I can’t end this review without mentioning that I appreciated reading a classic written by another queer person, despite Wilde being problematic. And I appreciated all the queer subtext, if you can call it that (as to me, it was the clearest thing). I believe this book to be about the tragic love story of Dorian and Basil, or at least, of Basil's love for Dorian, and Dorian's love for himself.

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broccoli_mmm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wow wow wow.

Sometimes a piece of art just finds you at exactly the right time in your life. I had no idea what to expect going into this besides the queer subtext but wowww.

The idea of life itself as a form of art is brilliant and beautiful. Dorian’s complete misapplication of that principle is both fascinating and horrifying. Lord Henry is both clever and right and wicked and wrong. There is no room for absolute truth here.

The dialogue is insanely good, the only books ive read that come close are Austen’s. Every Basil and Dorian scene had me floored. sweet Basil </3

I want to read lines from this over and over and over again.

-0.25 because of the chapter listing every gemstone, tapestry, and instrument Dorian owned lol

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julalbert56's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

An intriguing and creepy examination of vanity and the value of beauty. Some parts dragged or were too philosophical for my liking, but overall a great read. Also very antisemitic and sexist, not cool.

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