The Picture of Dorian Gray

This book really goes into the fascinating psychology of a man as his soul degrades, though he continues to hold up an innocent appearance, and how the portrait of him shows him his true colors. Even at one point, when he attempts to perform a more righteous act, his portrait continues to shrivel up. It haunts him to the point that he cannot stand it anymore and all the dark things he has done in his life, and tears at it with a knife, and in truth, kills himself in the process. A truly thought-provoking page-turner that will not disappoint, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Excellent. As dripping with sensation and as worth reading now as it surely must have been one hundred and thirty years ago. I think the really captivating thing about reading a classic like this one—and reading the writing of someone who has clearly pondered at length the human condition—is just how relevant the ideas end up being to one’s modern mind state. It's sort of a "the more things change the more they stay the same" kind of thing. The same kind of thoughts capture out attention. The same kind of feelings seize our bodies. We seek the beautiful; the tragic; the transcendent. And so you're able to read a book written in 1890 and feel that, at least in part, it was written just for you.

“It is the face of my soul.” (p163) Presumably, Oscar Wilde would object strongly to any attempt to find meaning in this novel. He states firmly in the preface that art is about beauty, not meaning. He repeats this assertion often in the novel itself. The briefest look at his biography confirms that he held this view. To paraphrase another thought he expresses several times in the novel itself, I don’t think he really believes this. I certainly do not. This wasn’t quite the parable of decadence that I anticipated; nor was it simply a sordid celebration of youth, beauty, and pleasure. The story was richer and more complex than any of that. The title character proved more thoughtful and vulnerable than I expected, and one other primary character astonished me. I enjoyed the sharp, cynical, sarcastic dialog poking fun at the ways in which people are often shallow and predictable. The ending was deeply troubling – and that’s a compliment. I relished Wilde’s deep insights into the human condition, even (perhaps especially) where I see the world differently. In short, while nobody will confuse “Dorian Gray” with “Pollyana”, it was for me an immensely satisfying read.

Amazing story, a true classic, and one of the ongoing (following Jeckell/Hyde) descriptions of the co-existence of purity and perversity within the same individual at the same time. This particular book is attractive and well made. Forced to read it in middle school, had no clue. Now as a senior it makes perfect sense, a short but compelling read.

Very inytreging story. Read it in college 30 years ago. Rereading it was equally good.

Had to get a different copy that was easier to read, really had to strain on it.

Oscar Wilde wasn’t writing just about beauty, or morality, or art. He was writing about consequences. That charm, wit, and elegance mean nothing when they are hollowed out by cruelty and selfishness. That you can lock a portrait in a room, but you cannot lock away your soul. The Picture of Dorian Gray is decadent and brutal. Haunting and oddly tender. It doesn’t preach, but it punishes. And it asks, with every page: What are you really becoming when no one is watching?

A lovely book! Oscar Wilde is a very talented writer and I love his books! In my opinion, his writing style is very understandable and this is one of my favorite books I’ve read. The ending was perfect. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a classic!