maggiemarie83's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
torishams's review against another edition
4.0
Men will truly obsess over a painting before going to therapy.
* It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.
* “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.”
* “There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral—immoral from a scientific point of view.” “Why?” “Because to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sings, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of some one else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly—that is what each of us is here for….”
* And beauty is a form of genius—is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has divine right of sovereignty.
* “They say that when good Americans die they go to Paris,”…”And where do bad Americans go to when they die?”…”They go to America”
* “Do you think my nature so shallow?” cried Dorian Gray angrily. “No; I think your nature so deep.” “How do you mean?” “My dear boy, the people who love only once int heir lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination. Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the life of the intellect—simply a confession of failure. Faithfulness! I must analyze it some day. The passion for property is in it. There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up…”
* “…Good artists exist simply in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a rally great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating… He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others writ eh the poetry that they dare not realize.”
* There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them. There were maladies so strange that one had to pass through them if one sought to understand their nature.
* Ordinary people waited till life disclosed to them its secrets, but to the few, to the elect, the mysteries of life were revealed before the veil was drawn away. Sometimes this was the effect of art, and chiefly of the art of literature, which dealt immediately with the passions and the intellect. But now and then a complex personality took the place and assumed the office of art, was indeed, in its way, a real work of art, life having its elaborate masterpieces, just as poetry has, or sculpture, or painting.
* The basis of optimism is sheer terror. We think that we are generous because we credit our neighbor with the possession of the virtues that are likely to be a benefit to us.
* One should absorb the color of life, but one should never remember its details. Details are always vulgar.
* Nay, without thought or conscious desire, might not things external to ourselves vibrate in unison with our moods and passions, atom calling to atom in secret love or strange affinity?
* There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful.
* “I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else.”
* Each man lived his own life and paid his own price for living it. The only pity was one had to pay so often for a single fault. One had to pay over and over again, indeed. In her dealings with man, destiny never closed her accounts.
* “What are you?” “To define is to limit.”
* Romance lives by repetition, and repetition converts an appetite into an art. Besides, each time that one loves is the only time one has ever loved. Difference of object does not alter singleness of passion. It merely intensifies it. We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible.
* Art has no influence upon action. It annihilates the desire to act. It is superbly sterile. The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.
* It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.
* “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.”
* “There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral—immoral from a scientific point of view.” “Why?” “Because to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sings, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of some one else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly—that is what each of us is here for….”
* And beauty is a form of genius—is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has divine right of sovereignty.
* “They say that when good Americans die they go to Paris,”…”And where do bad Americans go to when they die?”…”They go to America”
* “Do you think my nature so shallow?” cried Dorian Gray angrily. “No; I think your nature so deep.” “How do you mean?” “My dear boy, the people who love only once int heir lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination. Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the life of the intellect—simply a confession of failure. Faithfulness! I must analyze it some day. The passion for property is in it. There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up…”
* “…Good artists exist simply in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a rally great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating… He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others writ eh the poetry that they dare not realize.”
* There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them. There were maladies so strange that one had to pass through them if one sought to understand their nature.
* Ordinary people waited till life disclosed to them its secrets, but to the few, to the elect, the mysteries of life were revealed before the veil was drawn away. Sometimes this was the effect of art, and chiefly of the art of literature, which dealt immediately with the passions and the intellect. But now and then a complex personality took the place and assumed the office of art, was indeed, in its way, a real work of art, life having its elaborate masterpieces, just as poetry has, or sculpture, or painting.
* The basis of optimism is sheer terror. We think that we are generous because we credit our neighbor with the possession of the virtues that are likely to be a benefit to us.
* One should absorb the color of life, but one should never remember its details. Details are always vulgar.
* Nay, without thought or conscious desire, might not things external to ourselves vibrate in unison with our moods and passions, atom calling to atom in secret love or strange affinity?
* There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful.
* “I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else.”
* Each man lived his own life and paid his own price for living it. The only pity was one had to pay so often for a single fault. One had to pay over and over again, indeed. In her dealings with man, destiny never closed her accounts.
* “What are you?” “To define is to limit.”
* Romance lives by repetition, and repetition converts an appetite into an art. Besides, each time that one loves is the only time one has ever loved. Difference of object does not alter singleness of passion. It merely intensifies it. We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible.
* Art has no influence upon action. It annihilates the desire to act. It is superbly sterile. The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.
seattlesasha's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.25
0ivy0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
This was a re-read for me. I first read The Picture if Dorian Gray at 16, I fell in love with the book and wanted to read it at 24 to see if my feelings had changed.
The short answer is they have not, this is still one of my all time favourite reads.
I forgot how beautiful Wilde's writing is, the prologue and first chapter, even the first page, lays the whole book out to you without you realising. The characterisations are brilliant and the prose gorgeous and easy to read.
The parts that I was disappointed with was the racism and antisemitism, it was pretty bad.
My heart still breaks for Sibyl, and then Dorian after. I want a book from Sibyl's perspective, her upbringing and her demise would be such a heartbreaking read as a novel.
Dorian realises how Henry's words have poisoned him and tried to go back to fix his actions, but they've already had their consequences.
TPODG is a fantastic exploration into the soul and into the belief that pretty people are more moral whilst 'ugly' people are immoral - something we still see in our society today.
We see how his thought processes change after spending time with Henry and it's so saddening to watch as he eats up Henry's words and becomes a completely different person.
It's also so difficult to see that he has all the time in the world but is still obsessed with beauty - through his obsessions with music, fashion, jewels and the other pleasures of life.
Such a brilliant book that I'll continue to hold close to my heart and re-read throughout my life.
The short answer is they have not, this is still one of my all time favourite reads.
I forgot how beautiful Wilde's writing is, the prologue and first chapter, even the first page, lays the whole book out to you without you realising. The characterisations are brilliant and the prose gorgeous and easy to read.
The parts that I was disappointed with was the racism and antisemitism, it was pretty bad.
My heart still breaks for Sibyl, and then Dorian after. I want a book from Sibyl's perspective, her upbringing and her demise would be such a heartbreaking read as a novel.
Dorian realises how Henry's words have poisoned him and tried to go back to fix his actions, but they've already had their consequences.
TPODG is a fantastic exploration into the soul and into the belief that pretty people are more moral whilst 'ugly' people are immoral - something we still see in our society today.
We see how his thought processes change after spending time with Henry and it's so saddening to watch as he eats up Henry's words and becomes a completely different person.
It's also so difficult to see that he has all the time in the world but is still obsessed with beauty - through his obsessions with music, fashion, jewels and the other pleasures of life.
Such a brilliant book that I'll continue to hold close to my heart and re-read throughout my life.
yanners's review against another edition
5.0
This was an indisputably inordinately intoxicatingly good book.
So good, that I’m adding it to the hallowed halls of my five-star shelf, where good books reside and multiply on an indiscriminate basis.
This is a book about sin, vanity, corruption, art, deceit, soul bartering, and fountain-of-youthing. It’s a story about human vices and the temptations of lust. It’s a story that will charm, bewilder and disgust. Above all, it’s a story about why you don’t vow to tie the knot on a whim or let your sneaky philosophical friends near impressionable, sheltered children.
More concisely, it’s a story of the century and how it trended too late for my boy Oscar to see it become the literary masterpiece it now is.
To all my literary demons who said I could never read 17th century literature eat this.
5 stars
So good, that I’m adding it to the hallowed halls of my five-star shelf, where good books reside and multiply on an indiscriminate basis.
This is a book about sin, vanity, corruption, art, deceit, soul bartering, and fountain-of-youthing. It’s a story about human vices and the temptations of lust. It’s a story that will charm, bewilder and disgust. Above all, it’s a story about why you don’t vow to tie the knot on a whim or let your sneaky philosophical friends near impressionable, sheltered children.
More concisely, it’s a story of the century and how it trended too late for my boy Oscar to see it become the literary masterpiece it now is.
To all my literary demons who said I could never read 17th century literature eat this.
5 stars
anastasiacarrow's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
oscar wilde was . . . a genius?
this book is perhaps the most quotable in the world, so here are some of my favorites:
"the real drawback of marriage is that it makes one unselfish."
"beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich."
"being adored is a nuisance."
"there is a luxury in self-reproach. when we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. it is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution."
"it often seems to me that art conceals the artist far more completely than it ever reveals him."
"there seemed to him something tragic in a friendship so coloured by romance." (POOR BASIL)
"and what sort of lives do these people, who pose as being moral, lead themselves? my dear fellow, you forget that we are in the native land of the hypocrite."
"what nonsense people talk about happy marriages!"
"when they make up their ledger, they balance stupidity by wealth, and vice by hypocrisy."
"shallow sorrows and shallow loves live on. the loves and sorrows that are great are destroyed by their own plenitude."
"as for omens, there is no such thing as an omen. destiny does not send us heralds. she is too wise or too cruel for that."
"life has been your art. you have set yourself to music. your days are your sonnets."
"the books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."
oscar wilde was . . . a genius?
this book is perhaps the most quotable in the world, so here are some of my favorites:
"the real drawback of marriage is that it makes one unselfish."
"beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich."
"being adored is a nuisance."
"there is a luxury in self-reproach. when we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. it is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution."
"it often seems to me that art conceals the artist far more completely than it ever reveals him."
"there seemed to him something tragic in a friendship so coloured by romance." (POOR BASIL)
"and what sort of lives do these people, who pose as being moral, lead themselves? my dear fellow, you forget that we are in the native land of the hypocrite."
"what nonsense people talk about happy marriages!"
"when they make up their ledger, they balance stupidity by wealth, and vice by hypocrisy."
"shallow sorrows and shallow loves live on. the loves and sorrows that are great are destroyed by their own plenitude."
"as for omens, there is no such thing as an omen. destiny does not send us heralds. she is too wise or too cruel for that."
"life has been your art. you have set yourself to music. your days are your sonnets."
"the books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."
aftermoonie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fireflyonaquest's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
snwbubsy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0