Reviews with content warning for Drug use - O Retrato de Dorian Gray

Giving this 5 stars in the sense I enjoyed writing a paper dissecting the obsession with youth and beauty, however Dorian Gray made me want to punch a wall in the least toxic masculine way possible.

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gabriellesimpson's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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emmerylynn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

For a book published in 1891, I did enjoy it. Of course there were dry spells of prose that was difficult to comprehend. And it’s definitely a product of it’s time (with some words/ideas we’d now consider problematic). However, I was quite intrigued with the storytelling. I laughed at times and audibly gasped at other times. It’s one that definitely made me think…

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sinkinglighthouse's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.5

BASIL HALLWARD MY BELOVED

i quite enjoy the premise of this, but personally it also feels as thought there are parts that are unnecessarily descriptive, that doesnt add much to the plot, character , or themes. so it can get a little draggy, chapter 11 especially. it also feels like lord henry gets a little repetitive towards the end.

again, the premise is quite interesting, but i walked into this thinking we'd get to see more of dorian's corruption, etc. which is portrayed, but personally i feel it was quite short as compared to the intro bit (and general descriptive bits). actually honestly the ending was a little rushed idk. i do wish we could've seen more of basil

cool premise, terrible characters, slightly weird pacing. but overall kinda fun, i think.

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trintrin's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.

This quote perfectly sums up the exquisitely tragic story that is Dorian Gray's.

The first classic that I have ever voluntarily fully read and oh boy did I love it. The descriptions just seemed so poetic and the writing is so fluid. It almost felt magical and whimsical reading some of those passages despite this book not having any magic at all. My only complaint is no normal person is gonna be spewing formal poetry for two whole pages in a normal conversation lol. I thought this writing style would be hard to read but it flowed really well for the most part. The only section I was actually bored by was in chapter 11 when we get pages long descriptions of Dorian's various new hobbies and interests. I found it too much like an info dump-y Wikipedia copy paste or something. That alone made me put the book down for nearly a week before continuing whoops.

The characters are amazing imo. Dorian started out pretty boring but I started loving him more and more as his character progressed. Lord Henry is... interesting, to say the least. I admire him for the confidence he has in his views and I'm also also scared of finding someone like him irl. Poor Basil got caught up in this mess I feel bad for him. Sybil Vane and her family were more or less there only to further the plot but I didn't particularly mind that. But my biggest question is, how do these people socialise so much? I feel exhausted reading about all the operas and dinners and clubs they go to like everyday. My introverted self could never.

I didn't know what I was thinking the ending would be but it wasn't what I expected. I knew this was going to be tragic but the abruptness of it all it still sort of took me by surprise.

Overall, an amazing book definitely worth the read.

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kianga_black's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

5.0

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