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Dorian

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 705 ratings · 54 reviews

Henry Wotton, gay, drug addicted, and husband of Batface, the irrefutably aristocratic daughter of the Duke of This or That, is at the center of a clique dedicated to dissolution. His friend Baz Hallward, an artist, has discovered a young man who is the very epitome of male beauty — Dorian Gray. His installation Cathode Narcissus captures all of Dorian's allure, and, perha...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published January 20th 2004 by Grove Press (first published October 1st 2002)

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Aug 09, 2007 R. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2004

My addiction to Self began here; an interlibrary loan that, afterwards, I foisted upon Melanie with a fever.

"Oh, man, unreliable narrators! You should...you gotta...oh, man...just...just read!"

It brings to mind the taste of tuna melts and fries at Swarthmore's (secondary) cafeteria, as I discussed my amazement with the sustained wordplay, the in-your-face use of big, eldritch words.

Melanie listened patiently, probably feeling a bit sad for me that I'd never been out of my literary gutters befor...more

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Sep 24, 2008 Dusty Myers rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Self's title here works two ways. His Dorian is an imitation of Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, and Self's Dorian Gray, which is to say his hero, is an imitation of whatever he needs to be, given the situation at hand. Numerous times the narrator refers to this man as a chameleon, and indeed there's something far more sinister about this Dorian than Wilde's.

Self has updated the story to AIDS-era Britain. Instead of a picture, Dorian is reproduced as Cathode Narcissus, a nine-monitor video insta...more Self's title here works two ways. His Dorian is an imitation of Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, and Self's Dorian Gray, which is to say his hero, is an imitation of whatever he needs to be, given the situation at hand. Numerous times the narrator refers to this man as a chameleon, and indeed there's something far more sinister about this Dorian than Wilde's.

Self has updated the story to AIDS-era Britain. Instead of a picture, Dorian is reproduced as Cathode Narcissus, a nine-monitor video installation of Dorian's nude body seen voyeuristically at all angles at once. It's this video that Dorian wishes would age while he stays young, and, indeed, this is what happens. But Self pushes the central magic further: Dorian's video self also bears AIDS's ravages of the body, while the live Dorian is able to live with (and spread) the virus without any personal threat.

What's great about this novel is how it sits right at that line between anti-gay and anti-"gay"—which is to say, borderline homophobic but really in the end just smartly critical of all the failures of post-Stonewall gay culture. Self attacks the whole notion of gay identity and identification, most explicitly in the dialogue of his heroin-shooting novelist stand-in character Devenish: "'It's been the misfortune of people who prefer sex with their own gender to be forced to regard this as some essential part of themselves. After all, homosexuality was only defined as a pathology in response to the alleged healthiness of heterosexuality. It's the great mistake of you ... erm ... you gays to mistake a mere attribute for an essence'" (212). And the same character attacks gay/our culture's youth obsession: "'If Gray were able to stay young and have this video installation age in his stead, he'd be the icon of an era in which everyone seeks to hang on to their childhood until they're pressing furry fucking teddy bears against wrinkled cheeks.'" [. . .] "'You homosexuals are only the vanguard of a mutton army dressed as denim lambs'" (220).

Will Self is straight (or, well, "straight" or whatever), which complicates all this in stupid ways. What I mean is, if it were, say, Foucault saying this (which he did, essentially, regarding the first quote), or Roy Cohn in Angels in America (who said something similar to the second quote regarding clout and anti-discrimination laws), I'd be fine with it. The "community" or whatever would be fine with it, but as Self doesn't identify as gay (nor could he I don't think), his writing could be seen as homophobic.

It's not. I for one am glad for Self's book. I'd much rather read something critical and thought-provoking than the easy bromides of rah-rah, "Good for us!" gay fiction. Even if the former isn't accurate, the latter feels like a lie.(less)

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Sep 27, 2009 Hannah Eiseman-Renyard rated it 4 of 5 stars

I Liked this Better Than the Original

A literary re-write is a difficult thing to do well, but Will Self does it. I think Self works better within the restraints of this form,(versus his bloated books The Butt or The Book of Dave) and the new twists Self adds to the tale work wonders.

There is no one picture - there is a modern art installation of multiple videos of Dorian - and he has to track down and hide each and every one - adding to the drama which was missing in the original. The debauched...more

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Apr 19, 2007 Cazzie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wonderful re-inventing of Oscar Wilde's classic 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' Set in hedonistic 1980/90's London and New York, this is the tale Wilde would have told if he'd been born in 1969. Dorian is the subject of a video installation by artist Baz Hallward, and as with the portrait in Wilde's original, the video image ages instead of arrogant, beautiful Dorian. Set against the AIDS epidemic as it is, a large proportion of the characters have contracted the diesese towards the close of the ta...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Michael William West rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's like stuffing your face with literature. I can only summon myself once a year or so to a whole Will Self book. I don't really know how to review this without resorting to tepid adjectives like 'audacious'. It's not really that anyway, because the boldness is unsurprising. It seems, as I remember it, slightly more relevant now than it was upon publication ten years ago, not that there's any hint of foresight necessarily, more the direct recognition of dysfunctional human repetition. Cathode...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Liam rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: c21st

I myself have only one virtue - I hate every little thing and all big ideas. I loathe the so-called "art" of the twentieth century with a particularly rare and hearty passion. Would all that paint, canvas, plaster, stone and bronze be balled up and tossed into that fraud Duchamp's pissoir. With a few notable exceptions - Balthus, Bacon, Modigliani - the artists of this era have been in headlong flight from beauty or any meaningful representation of the human form. Were Basil Hallward's video of

...more

I myself have only one virtue - I hate every little thing and all big ideas. I loathe the so-called "art" of the twentieth century with a particularly rare and hearty passion. Would all that paint, canvas, plaster, stone and bronze be balled up and tossed into that fraud Duchamp's pissoir. With a few notable exceptions - Balthus, Bacon, Modigliani - the artists of this era have been in headlong flight from beauty or any meaningful representation of the human form. Were Basil Hallward's video of Dorian Gray to have a life of its own, it would be a fitting coda to this vile age with its spasms of isms. Yech! Christ, how this city sickens me. I wish the season would begin so that I could escape to the country and shoot a little smack. p.220

Until this moment in the novel (very late on) I struggled to come to terms with why Will Self wished to update the Picture of Dorian Gray. Nothing seemed to click until I read these words from the mouth of a late 20th Century reincarnation of Lord Henry Wooton, and when it did click, I reached a sympathy with what I had read so far. A sympathy, and an admiration, but still not an appreciation for the material. With the above excerpt, what I had "clicked" with was an opinion; at best I could call it a satirical objective; but the character voicing it remained flat and lifeless: a very verbally dynamic puppet of Will Self.

Verbally dynamic, perhaps, but not verbally spellbinding. Will Self's prose is Joycean. This means different things to different people, and I'll leave it at that. The dialogue is a well-executed version-ing of Wilde's aphoristic original, with Basil acting like Basil, Dorian acting like Dorian and Wooton acting like Wooton. However Will Self's aphorisms are reminiscent but pale in comparison to the Old Master of the bon mot himself. New Wooton lines like "violent crimes are in astonishingly bad taste, just as bad taste is a violent crime" can be imagined in the voice of the original, but sound at the same time a little bit unwieldy. Neither does Will Self's metaphor work as elegantly as the image of the painted portrait. Just to pick one example, the supernatural transformation of the artwork is not an effective part of this novel, and Self seems to rush through the moment (and the subsequent murder) quite flippantly, as if he realises that not everything will translate with the same strength. In the original, the very notion of a portrait hooked immediately onto ideals of unchanging beauty: the glory of surface beauty. In this novel, the notion of a "video art installation" has less clear connotations, and certainly does not lend itself to the idea of supernatural transformation, as do the qualities of oils on a painted surface.

Somewhat like the original novel by Oscar Wilde, this novel alternates between indulgence and distain for the knowing artificiality of the pampered, bohemian life. Wilde took the Aesthetes as his model hipsters whereas Self takes the Studio-54-through-YBA era of post-industrial bohemia. Both authors study truly regrettable moments in Art History and both authors try to make the louche hipsters of their day at once repulsive and seductive. We're pulled in by the baroque opulence and repulsed by the immorality, but Self's world is so entirel devoid of wholesome pleasure that there is little room at all for a descent. Missed opportunities for characterization abound. For example the freshness of Dorian out of Oxford University is, at a late stage in the novel, remembered by the other characters - but is not explored in the early stages of the novel. These gaps make excerpts such as the above more hollow than they should be. Unlike the original, we do not believe that the characters have a life in the absense of the writer's pen.
(less)

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Jun 14, 2011 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: earl-grey-scented-englishness, fantasy-scifi-and-other-oddities, generally-gay-not-strictly-straight, mystery-suspense-and-noir, feels-good-to-be-a-gangsta-reviewa

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is:
a) filthy
b) awesome
c) one of those that pulls the rug out from under you in the last few pages

I thought I was reading an update of The Picture of Dorian Gray, one whose modern setting and graphic sensibility allowed it to wallow in questions about the nature and addictive properties of evil, the duty of self-awareness, and the contagion of ideas. All that was very interesting. I felt sorry for Basil/Baz Hallward, although I did love this assessment of his murder from the lips--bien...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Nathan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: abandoned, other-fiction

Oscar Wilde: foppish aesthete. Limp-wristed intelligence with prepared wit, language so ethereal that it's like being smothered in a bed of marshmallow clouds. Famous book: Picture of Dorian Gray, about a man who sells his soul to stay forever young and debauch.

Will Self took that and has written a novel inspired by Picture of Dorian Gray, about drug use, gay sex, and ... well, actually, I never got to the point where the plot starts. By page 50, I was still struggling my way through hard jagged...more

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Sep 07, 2007 Li rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people that like trainspotting

I learned that I should probably read the original as well. This one is interesting because it is written with accents and isn't apologetic ....at all my first instinct is todefinetly not like it but that is only because it is hard to find a character to sympathize with when all the guys (gay) in the book hate women but I think I need to look deeper

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Jun 05, 2011 Ben Cooke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Really good, interesting working on a classic book. The contemporary setting and locations in this book make it really interesting. As a young, adopted londoner I found the book captivating not only for the main plot but also for the interesting history regarding the AIDS virus in London. At the time I read this I was actually working off Goodge Street and used to go past the hospital mentioned in the book everyday (though it has now been demolished). I came across this book after meeting Self a...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Nicole rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a modern version of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture Of Dorian Gray.’ Will Self brings the story forward to the 1980s, The story follows the same format as it’s original but with a focus on snobbery, drugs and gay sex. In this version of the tale, ‘Baz’ Hallward creates a video installation of his beautiful friend Dorian (the tapes known as ‘cathode narcissus’.) As the tapes begin to age and Dorian stays young and beautiful, he descends into a world of debauchery and excess.

This may be tough...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Amadei rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really don't think this book is for everyone--for example, I would never pass this one along to my father to read. The descriptions Self gives of drug use and homosexual acts are vivid and unapologetic. It doesn't matter if you feel uncomfortable reading them; in fact, that might be the point.

I don't know much of anything about the gay community of the 1980s and 90s, so my critique of those pieces would be shallow to say the least. I do think that Self made some interesting points about the st...more

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Mar 29, 2012 D.M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not what I would call one of Self's best books, but quite a lot better than the last one I read (Walking To Hollywood). Of course, this is years old, and has the benefit of following an already established narrative structure, but Self managed to put his own twisted spin on Wilde's classic tale. He attempts to make Gray some kind of allegory for AIDS or gay culture, but I'm not sure it really comes off (i.e., I don't quite get it). His characterization, however, is fun and he does a nice updated...more

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Sep 18, 2010 Tatiana rated it 5 of 5 stars

terrific, fantastic, outrageous and exciting re-reading of WIlde's Portrait!! Up-to-date, Dorian-- is nowadays a proeminent figure of gay, AIDS-plagued, artistic milieu, and the novel turns out to portray sarcastically the world we live in. Such wit in delineating Henry Wotton, superb explorations of London in Wotton's jaguar!!! The pervading cynicism is matched with a style that conveys with lavishness the inner rottennes of the characters. We cannot but laugh and/or shrug when reading the "exp...more

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May 12, 2012 James rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was a bit reluctant to give this a try, since remakes are seldom as good as the original.(Gus Van Sant's "Psycho," anyone?) But since I've enjoyed Self's non-fiction, I thought this might be a good way to dip my toe into his fiction.

It's a hilarious, clever, bawdy, and bitchy book. It was a quick read, but I might've finished it even faster had I not been savoring Self's lapidary prose, and stopping every few minutes to jot down delicious words and phrases.

There's plenty in here to offend som...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars

An imitation, perhaps, but more a modern adaptation of the Wilde classic. With Self's characteristic urban grit, here we have a rather accomplished homage. However, despite the modernization, there are still elements that feel dated (and here we are not criticizing the writing style, but the objects that come to represent the themes of narcissism, shamelessness, and portrayal).

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Aug 11, 2010 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dorian Gray, welcome to the present! I wasn't the biggest fan of the original, and while this version was intriguing, it's not the type of book I usually read. It captured the general foppishness of the original, while bringing in some modern elements, like Princess Diana and AIDs. Also a modern feature that you don't see in the classics is a trippy ending that I'm not looking too deeply into.

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May 19, 2013 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2013

Self's 20th century reinvention of Oscar Wilde's brilliant The Picture of Dorian Gray is a thrilling, graphic sex- and drugs-filled ride that is original and imaginative, yet stays true to the tale it is based on. Well worth the read!

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Apr 22, 2012 Dominic rated it 5 of 5 stars

It is very rarely that an author can re-write a classic and match the original, but Will Self has done it with "The picture of Dorian Gray".
If you knew London in the late 70's and early 80's this book will really resonate. It is not, however, a book for the faint-hearted as it shows the dark side of humanity in an uncomfortably real way.
A very good read

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Jun 28, 2010 J. rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was going to get four stars from me, actually, until the epilogue which really kind of ruined the book for me. Stylistically really quite good, theoretically well thought out...I really like the comment on video being the replacement to painting in our era (and share Wotton's befazzlement as well as his bewilderment at that fact). Quite a good novel until the last forty pages or so.

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Jan 04, 2012 Frl Drosselmeyer added it

Had to finish this, because I have to pass it on. And now I have to buy another copy...

Recommended to me by an HIV specialist, though I can't say it'd be terribly enlightening if I hadn't already researched the period. Smart, smarmy, vicious, amoral, dark and very clever. And did I mention it's technically fanfiction?

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Jan 13, 2013 Ross O'keefe rated it 3 of 5 stars

A unique and brilliantly re-conceived telling of Wilde's 'Picture Of...' set at the height of the late 80s/early90s AIDS epidemic. It's a disturbing tale, narcissistic and grim, hashing the stories of sexually excessive characters and the decay of morals in that time. A novel to burrow under your skin!

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Feb 28, 2008 Lucie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like books and films about gays. Not ones about self-hating gays that struggle with a coming out and find it hard to cope with the burden of life, people who think they will never be understood by their family etc. etc. Grow some balls. I like books about flamboyant gays who embrace it, whose idea of fun is sex, drugs and sex - and money. I like books about reckless people who know how to use, misuse and abuse others in any way and enjoy it immensely. And I like sarcasm, lots. This book is pac...more

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May 31, 2012 Scott Whittaker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Does this count as an improvement on the usual lack of development and plot, given that the plot was essentially written by someone else? Can't decide. But still, I like Will Self with plot and enjoyed this more than any of his others.

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Jan 10, 2010 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, classics

I never thought I'd read Dorian Gray saying things like "totally gnarly" and talking about cryonics, but it works.

Even if it is an egotistical abuse of a classic.

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Nov 29, 2009 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gender-bending, should-re-read

This book is hilarious, and all the jokes are SO dark and fiendish-- This book is drugs and sex and glamorous people in the world's hottest cities, and this book is a different look at all the themes that are in Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Grey", of Narcissism and questions of identity, youth and beauty and the immortalization of self through image. Also of the inner hideousness that can lurk behind outward displays of beauty, and how appeal can become abuse. But I was seriously laughing at...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Andrey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-best

for those who love the story of Dorian Grey, one more interesting look on classic story in modern way

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Sep 01, 2012 Dan Donnelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Take the Wilde version and amp it up by a Zillion adding grey sex, drugs and depravity and hey presto

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Jan 18, 2013 Valerie rated it 3 of 5 stars

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7275613@...

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Oct 29, 2008 Eleanor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: re-reading

I’ve read some reviews that compare Dorian unfavorably to the original, but I read The Picture of Dorian Gray as a teenager, and I remember thinking that the allegory or closeted homosexuality would have made a better short story. I found Self’s version hilarious, unforgivingly satirical and actually kind of touching. I saw Self read from Dorian at a book store in San Francisco, and I got the distinct impression that Henry, the narrator and nominal writer of most of the book, was a sort of Will...more

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About Will Self

William Self is an English novelist, reviewer and columnist. He received his education at University College School, Christ's College Finchley, and Exeter College, Oxford. He is married to journalist Deborah Orr.

Self is known for his satirical, grotesque and fantastic novels and short stories set in seemingly parallel universes.

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“An English gentleman never shines his shoes, but then nor does a lazy bastard.” — 27 people liked it

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