Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

48 reviews

thequeercaseofmarius's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

Dark, bewitching, and so very gay. 

‘Why is your friendship so fateful to young men?’ 

In The Picture of Dorian Gray; Oscar Wilde crafts a narrative of Queer love, desire, vanity, and fear, embodied in a twink who wishes to remain young and beautiful forever. Wilde’s only novel is one that is both frighteningly fantastical, but also harrowingly personal. In Dorian we see the picture of the dark version of ourselves; the Hyde to our Jekyll, and it is his ability to transform with each reader that makes The Picture of Dorian Gray so enduring as a staple of Queer Literature, and one of the bestselling titles in Penguin’s Classics series.

Wilde’s writing and descriptions are breathtakingly beautiful, so much so that I would find myself rereading the same sentences over and over again. Wilde’s genius and intellect is also evident in the text, and his use of Queercoding through historical and art references is very clever.

Our main cast of characters are so very gay, and it’s crazy because it’s almost like Wilde met my gay friends and acquaintances and wrote a book about us (I like to think that I am Basil). But I also see each character as a different side to the Queer experience; Basil being the Queer artist who represents the beauty and tenderness of love between men, Lord Henry as the witty sass Queen that gay men are often viewed as from the outside, and Dorian represents Queer fears and anxieties that most of us have experienced some point in our life. The result is one of the most ingenious Queer horror stories ever written. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray should be a (not-so) straight five-stars, however it does contain some racism and anti-semitism that I can’t ignore. It is a book of it’s time, but I’m also aware of writers and people from Wilde’s time who tried their best at not being racist. I think it’s important to appreciate this novel for everything good about it, but also to recognise it’s faults rather than excuse them, so that we as the readers can grow as people. 

‘Each man sees his own sin in Dorian Gray. What Dorian Gray’s sins are no one knows. He who finds them has brought them.’

-Oscar Wilde 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Classism

Minor: Misogyny and Sexism

This novel is VERY dark as it covers a lot of internalised homophobia and fear of your own Queerness.

jessthanthree's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicide, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, and Alcohol

hauntedboi's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

lavalierre's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Antisemitism, and Murder

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

sarahna's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Antisemitism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mclement's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood

lizardgod's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

 "...That a burnt child loves the fire"
"I am not even singed. My wings are untouched."
"You use them for everything except flight." 

• Personal Review
  •  
    'Dorian Gray is a mediocre story, I really don't get the hype. Yeah, I was surprised Basil was killed by Dorian, but the rest was just 'OK'. I definitely see the LGBTQ overtones but that's what makes it uncomfortable. Wilde doesn't really glorify either of them yet it's still awkward especially considering Henry was grooming Dorian and was shocked when Dorian became deranged; like what did you expect? Also the

    antisemitism

    ? I thought at first it was in Dorian's POV, but it was continuous and expansive. I couldn't find concrete evidence Wilde was anti-Semitic but considering its popularity of the time it adds another uncomfortable layer to the mix.'
     

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism

Minor: Addiction and Suicidal thoughts

pershie13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Wow. This. Was. Phenomenal. The writing and pacing were good, the story was gripping, and I was wondering how this book was going to end literally until the last sentence. This is my favorite classic I've read so far and easily deserves five stars!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death