Book Review: A Picture of Dorian Gray

A Picture of Dorian Gary by Oscar Wilde

Rating: 4.5 of 5 STARS

Source: TBR list...just one of those books you should read

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm catching up on my book reviews. These are not books I have just read...I'm not that fast!

This was a great, great book that gives you a very clear picture of man's innate sinfulness and the ultimate result of a life lived purely for pleasure. Here's a summary from Wikipedia:

The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is greatly impressed by Dorian's physical beauty and becomes strongly infatuated with him, believing that his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Talking in Basil's garden, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new kind of hedonism, Lord Henry suggests that the only thing worth pursuing in life is beauty, and the fulfilment of the senses. Realising that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian cries out, wishing that the portrait Basil has painted of him would age rather than himself. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, subsequently plunging him into a series of debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin being displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging.

Although I struggled with the flowery writing, I still highly recommend this book.

"She behaves as if she was beautiful. Most American women do. It is the secret of their charm."

"He covered page after page with wild words of sorrow and wilder words of pain. 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."

"Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes."

Oscar Wilde as a historical figure is very intriguing. My friend Lynn says this biography, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, by Joseph Pearce is wonderful.