A review by cindywilk
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

5.0

The only thing I knew about Dorian Gray before diving in, was that he was a vain man, and had a portrait of himself that aged so he would not. Within the first few pages of reading this novel I immediately googled “The Picture of Dorian Gray, homoerotic undertones” because I was surprised to see the amount of innuendos so early on in a novel published in 1891.

Sure enough, I wasn’t imagining things, and then that led to reading a little on Oscar Wilde. If you’re like me, one of the few people on earth who hadn’t read this yet, I highly suggest learning a bit of Wilde’s life before reading Dorian Gray’s story. It certainly enhanced my reading experience.

I think one thing that makes this book genius, is that I felt like I should’ve hated Dorian Gray, yet I didn’t. He is, sometimes, even a sympathetic character (stupid Lord Henry). Wilde has crafted such an amazing tale of debauchery, of beauty, and of morality (or lack there of), and somehow packed it into this short novel. The writing and storytelling are impeccable and that ending was perfection.
Definitely added to my list of favorites.