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A review by ash_hernick
Gray by Arvind Ethan David
2.0
No. Just... no.
I can't easily articulate everything that I disliked or found uncomfortable about this work, but there were definitely a lot of aspects that were either poorly executed or articulated in a very messy way. I can kind of understand where "Gray" was trying to go in its political commentary, but I think it tried to cover too many complex subjects in a short period of time, and instead of coming across as witty, groundbreaking, or at the very least educational, it just felt messy and occasionally offensive.
The absolute worst part of the entire book is when Gray has Detective Wutan stripped naked and tied down and Gray explains that she's not valued under the constitution, but he is because he's at least seen as "three-fifths of a man". This was awful - I can't tell if it's supposed to be a sarcastic comment reminding the reader of the three-fifths clause or if it's actually played completely straight as a statement of fact, but either way it feels messy and offensive. Invoking the Three-Fifths Compromise as a witty gotcha moment feels deeply tone-deaf for a book that is trying so hard to be completely "woke." There were quite a few moments that read similarly to this one, and they all left me with the same gross feeling.
Even ignoring all of this, "Gray" isn't even a good adaptation of Wilde's works. It sure isn't an apt adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and if it's supposed to emulate his other works it's too messy to make any meaningful sense.
It was frustrating because I was actually pretty excited for this book - the premise sounded both intriguing and promising, and I pre-ordered my copy. All that being said, the potential of the premise was wasted. Though I was trying to like this book the entire time I read it, the more I read, the more I hated this book.
Overall, this was an insulting mess. The art wasn't that good, either.
I can't easily articulate everything that I disliked or found uncomfortable about this work, but there were definitely a lot of aspects that were either poorly executed or articulated in a very messy way. I can kind of understand where "Gray" was trying to go in its political commentary, but I think it tried to cover too many complex subjects in a short period of time, and instead of coming across as witty, groundbreaking, or at the very least educational, it just felt messy and occasionally offensive.
The absolute worst part of the entire book is when Gray has Detective Wutan stripped naked and tied down and Gray explains that she's not valued under the constitution, but he is because he's at least seen as "three-fifths of a man". This was awful - I can't tell if it's supposed to be a sarcastic comment reminding the reader of the three-fifths clause or if it's actually played completely straight as a statement of fact, but either way it feels messy and offensive. Invoking the Three-Fifths Compromise as a witty gotcha moment feels deeply tone-deaf for a book that is trying so hard to be completely "woke." There were quite a few moments that read similarly to this one, and they all left me with the same gross feeling.
Even ignoring all of this, "Gray" isn't even a good adaptation of Wilde's works. It sure isn't an apt adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and if it's supposed to emulate his other works it's too messy to make any meaningful sense.
It was frustrating because I was actually pretty excited for this book - the premise sounded both intriguing and promising, and I pre-ordered my copy. All that being said, the potential of the premise was wasted. Though I was trying to like this book the entire time I read it, the more I read, the more I hated this book.
Overall, this was an insulting mess. The art wasn't that good, either.