estefizaga's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Death, Classism, Misogyny, Suicide, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Religious bigotry
mahamsiddiqui's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Abandonment, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting
snackattackisback69's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love this book and it's exploration of morality. Not many classics I've read have managed to grip me as much as this story did. I would have loved to have seen more of the corrupt and self destructive behaviours exhibited by Dorian but with the censorship of the time it wouldn't have been possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Gaslighting, Suicide, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, and Addiction
spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Blood, Suicide, Gaslighting, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
Moderate: Xenophobia, Ableism, Colonisation, Racism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
1_800_fuck_off's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.0
i read the dover thrift edition of this book.
i picked up this book on a whim because it had been sitting on my shelf for some time. even though the first two chapters piqued my interest, it wasn't enough to convince me that i had to read the remainder of the book. i did, however, manage to complete all of it on the same day.
the first half was fairly entertaining. i fw lord henry wotton. he was an amusing character, despite the fact that i didn't share many of his theories of life. despite the fact that he only made sporadic appearances by this point, he helped me finish the book's second half without becoming too bored. as amusing as he was, i do think lord henry most likely had a significant impact on dorian's development as the story progressed, though.
basil hallward was a bleeding heart. i liked him because there wasn't much to dislike about him—unless you don't like sympathetic characters, which he frequently presents as throughout the novel. he definitely loved dorian, and not just as a friend. my boy was in love. fortunately, even though i occasionally find these characters to be a bit boring, that wasn’t entirely the case with him. i had more pity for him than anything else, particularly after what became of him.
then, of course, we have dorian gray, who began as a kind, shy, gullible, and curious boy on the precipice of adulthood. ironically, i don't really have much to say about him. dorian gray grew obsessed with beauty and staying young forever. he learned the consequences that came with that obsession. i don't really feel very much about him as a character, other than the possibility that when i get older, i might be able to relate to him more. even now, in terms of appearance, i wouldn’t mind staying young forever, but i don’t quite envy the events that followed after dorian made such a wish.
the book's primary topic is youth. it describes its marvels and the fascination that the rest of the world feels for it. all of its highs and lows. the beauty and the wildness of it. the arrogance one might experience in what could be the prime of their lives and the unfathomable sense of invincibility that goes along with it.
now that i think about it, this book discusses society as a whole quite a bit. everyone has at some point envied youth and wished they could maintain that state of being and beauty forever. the people who are currently experiencing those years, which are frequently a source of envy for the rest of the world, have probably been through what dorian went through. most likely not in a specific way, but rather by being oblivious of the beauty of their youth until it has passed them by. some people have the good—or bad—fortune of having a lord henry wotton in their lives, whose character could also serve as a metaphor for society in general, who encourages them to take advantage of their youth and to focus only on their own needs. basically, to be selfish and chase pleasure in those fleeting years. youths are frequently subjected to the moans of those who long for that era once again or who regret not making the most of that brief period of time.
this book might make you seriously contemplate your present, your past, or your future. it's an intriguing classic, albeit a bit monotonous. especially the second half. even though it was somewhat expected, the ending was a bit of a "oh wow" moment in a positive sense. well, not entirely positive, but iykyk.
anyways. yeah. thought-inducing classic of a book. nice. on to the next book.
i picked up this book on a whim because it had been sitting on my shelf for some time. even though the first two chapters piqued my interest, it wasn't enough to convince me that i had to read the remainder of the book. i did, however, manage to complete all of it on the same day.
the first half was fairly entertaining. i fw lord henry wotton. he was an amusing character, despite the fact that i didn't share many of his theories of life. despite the fact that he only made sporadic appearances by this point, he helped me finish the book's second half without becoming too bored. as amusing as he was, i do think lord henry most likely had a significant impact on dorian's development as the story progressed, though.
basil hallward was a bleeding heart. i liked him because there wasn't much to dislike about him—unless you don't like sympathetic characters, which he frequently presents as throughout the novel. he definitely loved dorian, and not just as a friend. my boy was in love. fortunately, even though i occasionally find these characters to be a bit boring, that wasn’t entirely the case with him. i had more pity for him than anything else, particularly after what became of him.
then, of course, we have dorian gray, who began as a kind, shy, gullible, and curious boy on the precipice of adulthood. ironically, i don't really have much to say about him. dorian gray grew obsessed with beauty and staying young forever. he learned the consequences that came with that obsession. i don't really feel very much about him as a character, other than the possibility that when i get older, i might be able to relate to him more. even now, in terms of appearance, i wouldn’t mind staying young forever, but i don’t quite envy the events that followed after dorian made such a wish.
the book's primary topic is youth. it describes its marvels and the fascination that the rest of the world feels for it. all of its highs and lows. the beauty and the wildness of it. the arrogance one might experience in what could be the prime of their lives and the unfathomable sense of invincibility that goes along with it.
now that i think about it, this book discusses society as a whole quite a bit. everyone has at some point envied youth and wished they could maintain that state of being and beauty forever. the people who are currently experiencing those years, which are frequently a source of envy for the rest of the world, have probably been through what dorian went through. most likely not in a specific way, but rather by being oblivious of the beauty of their youth until it has passed them by. some people have the good—or bad—fortune of having a lord henry wotton in their lives, whose character could also serve as a metaphor for society in general, who encourages them to take advantage of their youth and to focus only on their own needs. basically, to be selfish and chase pleasure in those fleeting years. youths are frequently subjected to the moans of those who long for that era once again or who regret not making the most of that brief period of time.
this book might make you seriously contemplate your present, your past, or your future. it's an intriguing classic, albeit a bit monotonous. especially the second half. even though it was somewhat expected, the ending was a bit of a "oh wow" moment in a positive sense. well, not entirely positive, but iykyk.
anyways. yeah. thought-inducing classic of a book. nice. on to the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Classism, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Suicide, and Sexism
Minor: Stalking, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
first classic physically read. 🦦expected more homo moments. ✋🏽😔it’s probably just the edition i read though. 🥸 will definitely read the uncensored one. 😼thebookwasbetter_22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Death
sarahsbookss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Child death, Gaslighting, and Murder
hayleyvem's review
dark
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Classism, Body horror, Gaslighting, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Self harm
enoemo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
This was a good read (you know, apart from the random misogyny and antisemitism that came with the time and do not really add to the story either) and chapter 11. I don't know but chapter 11 was just a lot of rambling in an otherwise exciting book in my opinion. Also, I see how someone would likely dislike this book if deeply flawed characters are not their thing - for one it kind builds the main plot and also there's probably a bit too much Lord Henry in there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Suicide, Classism, Colonisation, Stalking, Antisemitism, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Racial slurs, Drug abuse, and Racism
trintrin's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Blood, Death, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug use
Don't listen to anything the literal embodiment of misogyny and sexism aka Lord Henry says please and thank you. Nothing good comes out of that man's mouth