Customer Reviews
Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray - By: RachelWalker, 18 Nov 2008 
By now, most people are aware of the basic plot of this book: young man foolishly wishes that, upon seeing his current beateous youth captured foreverin a picture, he could remainin that moment of youth forever, & the picture agein his stead. Not only that, but the picture becomes twisted & cruel as a result of the callous hedonistic behaviour perpetrated by Grayin his perpetual youth. At first, Gray is horrified, but then finds himself submitting to it...
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fantastic novel, so fantastic that it made me sad that the eminently quoteable Wilde has only written the one. At one point, a bad-influencing friend of Dorian's lends him a novel that Gray is charmed by, a novel that tells of a man who lives a hedonistic lifestyle, with care only for pleasure & enjoyment, & it's this novel that kick-starts Gray's eventual downfall as it affects Gray's behaviour, leading him to eventually describe it as dangerous. Wilde's novel is possibly such a book: it's seductive discussions on hedonism, pleasure, & the real joys of life almost make one want to throw mores out the window & life such a life oneself, or at least wish intensely for a period that one has or could. Henry Wotton, Gray's witty, philosophical influence is a raconeteur, a man of life, who knows its pleasures & derides it's follies, chosing simply to ignore them. It's his discourses that are particularly charming & fascinating. There's obviously a temperance to his message (in terms of the whole arc of the novel), but that's almost neither here nor there. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a superb book, fascinating, witty, supremely intelligent & philosophical, romantic & gothic & chilling also. It's one of those books that might lay a bomb under your life, & it deserves its classic status.
Hard work - By: Mistress Funk, 09 Nov 2008 
Found this book to be quite boring! The story was weak the characters dull, allin all an unenjoyable read & unnecessarily wordy.
nothing special - By: Mr. L. M. Williams, 22 Oct 2008 i didn't really like this book. i found all the characters quite irritating, & the story was fairly absurd & didn't really capture my imagination. more than that, i just didn't feel like there was any real depth to the book. there was nothing truly unpredictable, nothing particularly thought provoking. i don't think there's anything particularly impressive or engaging or interesting about the story. i also found wilde's style of writing so flowery, it just felt a bit fake & naff.
i don't think there's anything particularly special about this book, & i wouldn't say it's particularly worthwhile reading it.
A New Light..... - By: D R Jones, 27 Sep 2008 After reading a review of "The Ripper Code"in the TLS, I had to return to my school favourite & reread it. It was fascinating to read itin a new light.
Sublime - By: twiglet, 25 Sep 2008 
I loved this book, not so much for the cautionary tale or the disintigration of Dorian's conscience, but for the beautiful philosophy embelishing the story; many of the things Henry says, for example, are interesting & thought-provoking theories on life. And I loved how youth & beauty were depictedin the book. The only criticism I would give is that it was far too short for my liking, & I thought that the part between Dorian's youth & his 38th year could've been elaborated on. Though an original, genius story!
