Book Review - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Genre: Classic/ Horror/ Fiction
Published: 1890
 
Description: Handsome young Dorian Gray sees a painter’s stunning portrait of him and becomes transfixed by his own beauty. Troubled by the knowledge that the painting will remain handsome while he himself will wither, Dorian exchanges his soul for eternal youth. From that point on, Dorian lives a life of hedonistic indulgence, knowing that only the painting will show his moral corruption.
 
Review: We meet Dorian Gray, a handsome young man. A friend of Dorian, Basil Hallward, paints of portrait of him. One of Basil’s friends, Lord Henry Wotton, makes Dorian aware of his beauty and tells him that he should enjoy it, because he will not remain beautiful forever. He will eventually grow old and lose his beauty. Therefore, Dorian wishes that he will never age, but instead the portrait will. He exclaims that he would give his soul for it. And, somehow, his wish is granted.
 
The story is well constructed. From the beginning, you sense the clash between two ways of life, personified in Basil and Lord henry. The fateful events that follow are immediately apparent. The role that the painting subsequently plays in this is fascinating.
 
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is well written, indeed worthy of classic status in terms of themes. Often very misogynistic or so ridiculously amoral that it is clear that Oscar Wilde is mocking them through his characters.
 
It took me a while to really get into the story, and for a book with not even 250 pages, that’s a bit of a problem. And I found a lot of it very boring to be honest and I never sympathized with any of the characters. That last part didn’t bother me though, because that’s what Wilde intended. The books has some long passages that seemed to lead to nowhere, but the exuberant writing style and fascinating approach to philosophical themes made up for that.
 
In have mixed feelings about “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. I understand why it has a classic status and why people love. I liked it, but overall it was not fully my cup of tea.
 
Rating: 3/ 5