Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

43 reviews

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

Knowing about Oscar Wilde's past is crucial to reading this novel. It's not just that his gayness was an open secret, but that his targets weren't just men, but also boys. As in actual teenage children. Wilde was also openly Antisemitic and misogynistic in his real life and throughout the novel. What his three main characters do, say, think, and feel very closely mirrors Wilde's own. Much like the titular Dorian, it is clear that Wilde suffered from an inflated ego, was bloated with pride, and had a conscience that weighed him down...but not enough to change, grow, or do better. Trigger warnings abound throughout this novel as we watch Dorian explore the world of vice and sin, leaving a body count in his wake.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

evaeyre's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

super well written, and very poetic! in a way, it was a very good commentary on humanity and such qualities as vanity and hubris!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicide

Minor: Drug use, Antisemitism, and Grief

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.

wrensandroses's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief

zia_c's review against another edition

funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I loved everything about this but I don't know where the lgbtq section was in the whole story. Maybe it was in thr one I skimmed through. 

Don't care about others opinion of Henry (Harry) but he's my favourite character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent

marthadude's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

stefo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

iscid Certainly not "the perfect book", but a very good read.
The story was easy to follow and the fast pace was pretty enjoyable. I personally had a problem with some of Harry's ramblings as they became a bit annoying after the first act. Chapter 11 was also entirely dreadful, incredibly tedious...
Overall, I can say that I finally understand why people recommend this to newer readers, its certainly a very good introduction to classics. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Misogyny and Grief

sasquatch_3's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

hayleyvem's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Self harm