The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
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Saturday, 05, Sep 2009 11:16
Published by Penguin Classics, out now, paperback, 213pp, £7.99.
In a nutshell...
Marvellous. Thought-provoking. Beautiful. Evocative. Thrilling.
What's it all about?
Dorian Gray is young, rich and beautiful, content with the life of a respectable socialite until he meets Lord Henry Wotton. This acquaintance, made through painter Basil Hallward who has created a masterpiece portrait of Dorian, sparks unknown desires in the young man to experience all that he can while he still has his youth. Dorian sinks into a life of debauchery and sin, while those around him are none-the-wiser to his actions, curious only as to how he retains his youth and good looks. Only Hallward's portrait belies Dorian's true lifestyle of vanity and corruption, but as key to his fruitful life, it also lights the path to Dorian's demise.
Who's it by?
Dublin-born and Oxford-educated Oscar Wilde, whose early career as a poet failed to impress. Short stories, comedies and this, his only novel, followed to the tune of greater success, although scandal surrounded the writer. He fell in love with Lord Alfred Douglas and lost a libel case against Douglas' father, the Marquess of Queensberry. Later sentenced to two years' imprisonment for acts of gross indecency, he went into exile on his release and died in France in 1900.
As an example...
"We never get back our youth ... We degenerate into hideous puppets, haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too much afraid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to."
Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster
It already is, hence the re-release. Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Emilia Fox star in the film adaptation, out on September 9th.
What the others say
"Dorian is a bore, and his search for ever new sensations far less fun than the novel's drawing-room discussions. Even more oddly, the moral message of the novel contradicts many of Wilde's supposed aims." - Amazon.com
"It has all the hallmarks of Wilde's famous plays: gilded, debonair youth indulging in witty epigrammatic repartee while sighing over the beauty of art." - Marie Clare
So is it any good?
A truly remarkable piece of literature, that has throughout history been shocking and successful, and, at times, both at once. Even the most avid page turner would find it difficult to flit through this book, as almost every sentence sparks a debate or sets off a train of thought that allows the reader to not simply take in the printed words, but become part of Wilde's Faustian gothic horror classic.
It feels as though there is something to be learned from Wilde's postulations on philosophy, beauty, art and genius, but by the time the reader has battled through the minefield of proclamations and thought-provoking statements, the only thing left to do is take a deep breath, and return to page one.
10/10
Gemma Rathbone