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

fuck lord henry all my homies hate lord henry. good on victoria for leaving that miserable POS. rich people should have their excesses seized. get a job. my copy of this book was old and withered and musty like dorian gray and his crusty ass. basil <3 bby you didnt deserve what you got <3

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blynn817's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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vivisms_82's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

4.0

Shallow vanity and living a debaucherous life, free of accountability at the expense of maintaining a soul with a conscience and kindness. A tale that holds as much today as it did 130 years ago.

It is weird, and perhaps a little obnoxious to review a classic (!!) but will say there is quite a bit of philosophy in this and long thoughts and internal dialogue which I will admit, I found my mind wandering at times. But otherwise this is an acclaimed classic for a reason.

** Note: some uneasy use of prejudicial slurs when referring to people of Jewish faith.

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rachelharp's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

5.0

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eyesofcrows's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

It’s a truly extraordinary story of vanity and philosophy. Also it’s a lil gay.

I loved the ways each character contrasted and the prose was beautiful. Basil’s adoration for Dorian in the beginning of the novel is quite romantic. I will say, about Lord Henry,

he’s the most pretentious, wannabe profound man who’s thinking is solely to mock others and live as frivolously as he wants: it’s in his constant quoting and “debating” that he makes statements so complicated that it becomes hard to argue against. He shuts others down, basically. No wonder no one can stand him. That man is toxin at its most potent.

The slow but sure corruption of Dorian Gray combined with the changing world around him was something to behold. And the way they describe the picture, Dorian’s inner monologue, and just all the analogies they pull out was so detailed. Sure, they make many mentions of stories and characters I know nothing about but the context is provided. If Dorian was talking about romance, I’m going to assume whatever random Greek name he mentions has something to do with that.

Sometimes a dialogue can go on for too long and loop into itself or an internal monologue seems longwinded, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Beauty is skin deep and Dorian’s youth really was a mask on top of the hedonist he became. At one point, yes, he was all that Basil’s painting displayed, but he’d corrupted it thoroughly that even Basil couldn’t recognize his soul. Though, we have to admit, Dorian had the makings of it with his vainness. Influence, and the horrible things it can accomplish.

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turidt's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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katbotelho's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

this was a reread bc i originally read it when i was too young to comprehend its complexities.

i was also prompted to reread bc i heard recently that netflix is picking it up as a series and theyre going to absolutely butcher if. but that nonsense aside-

i found this much easier to understand and enjoy this time around. the first time i read it i found it difficult to understand how this was an lgbtq+ classic, but although there is no explicit instances of homosexuality (although basil’s confession is a pretty gay if you ask me) you kinda have to look at it through a queer theoretical lens in order to see and understand the queer/ homoerotic subtext.

though i have heard their is an ‘uncensored version’ which i would be interested in getting my hands on to see how it compares to this version

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