Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

A remarkably handsome youth, Dorian Gray, meets Lord Henry Wotton and is corrupted into a life of terrible evil.

Reviewed by clq on

4 of 5 stars

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Well, what is there to say? A classic, and the first Wilde-book I have read. Not only is it a classic, but I had been told it was one of the classics that stands the test of time very well. I found this to be partially true. A lot of the time, especially during the first half of the book, I found myself getting a bit bored. Sure, there were a lot of thoughtful quotes, and a lot of "deep" things are said. Keeping in mind that this was written and published in the eighteen hundreds, the book must have been extremely progressive at the time, and a lot of things are said which one can only imagine would have been very controversial. However, I'm reading this book in 2012, and that is how I am judging it. Fortunately, as the story progresses, the story itself takes more of the focus, and I found myself going back to taking an interest in it. Overall the book pretty much matched my expectations, and I'd say it is well worth a read. It's entertaining enough to be worth it, and of course, when one finds onself in sophisticated, educated company one can be one of those people who say "Why, yes. Of course I've read The Picture of Dorian Gray. Who hasn't?"

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