The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - March 2020
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Collecting classics so I went ahead and bought this today! This actually sounds really interesting, don't know how I've managed to know nothing about this story for this long.
This has been on my TBR since 2012. I've wanted to read it since I was in middle school and heard the premise of the story, but I didn't know how to find it despite my multiple trips to the library. I'm so happy to finally read this and have others with whom to discuss this! ❤❤
This has been on my bookshelf unread for too long. It will be the first book I read with this group:)
I'm planning to read this one as well. I don't often care for classics, but there are some that I really want to read and this is one of them.
Grant wrote: "This has been on my bookshelf unread for too long. It will be the first book I read with this group:)"
Welcome, Grant! I hope you enjoy the read and your first group discussion with us.
Hi all! I'm new to the group and plan on jumping in here for my first book of the month. Looking forward to it!
Welcome, Hannah!
Hi everyone! This is my first group discussion so I'm really looking forward to this! I have been wanting to read this book for a while now!
Welcome, Melanie! Seems like we have a few new participants for discussion. Should be fun. :)
This will be my first group discussion as well! I'm so excited to find a group that's also interested in reading the classics. Looking forward to the read!!
Just started...I’m not a reader of the classics but this sounded interesting so here we go!
Welcome to you too, Sara!Carol, I'm in the same situation as you. Classics are not my genre, but this one sounds interesting to me too.
Awhile back I decided to try and read a bunch of classics so I knew what others were talking about and got some of the references. This was on that list and I have to say I LOVED this book! I find classics a little hard to focus on but not this one.
Excited to read this one! Here's the question: Is the "uncensored" Harvard edition the way to go?
I've definitely gone collecting classics as I've come across neat editions of them and I've had this one lying around for awhile. Really looking forward to finally reading it since the premise of the story has always intrigued me. Especially considering Oscar Wilde's personal comments on the characters within it!
My library hold came in! I'm looking forward to reading this one.
Cora, your comment made me think. I don't think I know what Oscar Wilde's personal comments were on The Picture of Dorian Gray. So, I went looking a bit. I don't have enough time to really delve into it at the moment, but I found this interesting article from the New Yorker 2011, if anyone is interested in reading it. I skimmed it, but plan to go back to read it whenI have a bit more time. HOW OSCAR WILDE PAINTED OVER “DORIAN GRAY”
Finished! I’m not a reader of the classics so was apprehensive but this was a 4 star read for me. The writing was flowery and verbose for me, but I’m sure that was the writing of the time. Put into context of world events, a statement of what’s important in life, and that Wilde seems to have been on the forefront of pushing the “social norms” of the time, a remarkable and brave book. I did do a fair amount of googling on the controversy surrounding the book, Wilde’s life, and a brief “cliff notes” of the book which helped me have a better appreciation for the book.
I have started reading this a few times but have never gotten too far into it, so I am very excited to finally read all of it!! I love classics—they give us an entry into the minds of the past that we couldn’t access any other way. Once I start it tomorrow I’ll give another update :)
I’m about a third of the way through, and I am really enjoying it—more than I expected to. I am a sucker for classics, regardless of how good they actually are, but this one is right up my alley. I love how verbose the diction is and how vivid the imagery is. I am also keen on the pacing—I adore longer sentences and paragraphs of dialogue.
Sarah, I also started it today and completely relate to what you said about the vivid imagery and how beautiful the wordiness is. I haven’t gotten very far into it but so far I am only compelled by the beauty of the writing and the world building but not so much by the story itself. Definitely itching to read more though, which is great!
Hi, Cela! I’m so glad that you agree with me about the beauty of the words! I also am not quite sure where the plot is going to go but can feel that it will be good :)
This is a bit of a strange comment to add, but I feel like some might find it amusing. The words in this book evoke a truly decadent feel to me, and for some reason my brain associates decadence with the smell of teriyaki sauce from Panda Express. Therefore, as I read this book, the whole "perfume" of the scenery is just a rich teriyaki sauce scent. Maybe because it's a thicker sauce? My aroma association confuses me, but honestly makes the book special in a way that others aren't, ha!
Sarah, absolutely the plot feels like a slow boil so far. And Bridget, I think its awesome that you’ve associated an aroma with the story! It kind of reminds me of the idea portrayed by Marcus Zusak in The Book Thief where colors are emotions and situations. Do you often find yourself comparing novels to fragrances? I think that would make for very compelling reviews!
This is my all-time fvorite book. Re-reading it for the fourth time now. Somehow I seem to like to more and more every time.
Hi Cela and Bridget! I agree, I usually like books that have a slow burn so I’m still going strong. And Bridget, I love what you said about the smell!! For me, the smell I associate with it would be closer to fresh bread and maybe a whiskey smell if it were to be a food or drink. Mostly I think of fresh flowers and sunlight, probably because of the scene in the garden in the beginning.
So, i have finished this book yesterday and I have mixed feelings about it. In one hand, i get why this is known as a masterpiece. In my opinion, it teaches many valuable lessons regarding beauty, the important things in life, kindness etc... It also has some amazing characters. Of course, both Harry and Dorian are despicable, but i can't help findind this one weirdly attractive, just like everyone does in this book. Also, the relationship between those two is so toxic but so interesting, because they both idolize one another. And last but not least, this book is really beautifully written. I have highlighted an enormous amount of quotes that I think are really inspiring and that I am surely going to use a million times from now on.But, one the other hand, I found this book quite hard to read. For this, I mostly blame my young age and my inexperience with reading classics, but still. I had sometimes hard times getting through it because the writing was really tedious, which resulted in me getting distracted. This was also accentuated by the fact that I mostly read before going to sleep, but as a result, I wasn't able to fully enjoy this book. I think i'll re-read it in a few years in order to get the most out of it.
I rated it three stars, by the way.
I just finished chapter 1 and I am so happy I started the read! I liked the comments about smell and thinking about it, I imagine/smell a musty, humid air perfumed with mahogany and a few fresh flowers, a smell that I would associate with an older English estate. I had never thought of that before, but it is definitely there in the read! Weird!!
As for the content, I am digging it. There are so many good quotes and so many words to look up meanings and pronunciations for - I love it! I'm curious to see if the authors comments through Basil's friend are true or not, I predict they will be, but we will see!
Julidé - I ALWAYS find myself using the web search and dictionary functions on my Kindle when I read classics, I figure it's just because they are more complex and from a different period. Don't sweat it, I know I don't :)
I've just joined the group and about the start this classic. I was very pleased to find that 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' was the BotM as I have this book already and had been meaning to read it for quite a while.
I am so happy to have found this group! I have been on Goodreads for awhile, but have never really used it to it’s full potential. I love books and love talking with “bookish” people. I started reading “Dorian Gray” a couple days ago and am in love with the beauty of the language use. The author paints such detailed pictures that it’s hard not to be drawn into his world. I am usually put off by too much description, the type that gets burdensome and wordy. But this feels like just the right amount.
Also, moue has become my new favorite noun. Definitely using that one on my kiddos today.
I've read this several times now, and it never fails to enchant me!
Cela wrote: "Sarah, absolutely the plot feels like a slow boil so far. And Bridget, I think its awesome that you’ve associated an aroma with the story! It kind of reminds me of the idea portrayed by Marcus Zu..."
I don't often immediately associate novels with scents, but as I think about it now, most books I read have some scent that I feel like is attributed to them. However, with the Picture of Dorian Gray, it was an immediate feeling as I was reading the book, the teriyaki sauce was so clear!
I hit a reading slump in March. I think there was just too much going on in the world. I didn't read anything for two weeks, so this had to go back to the library unread. I'd still like to read it at some point, so I'll be borrowing it again.
Kristie, I completely understand where you are coming from! Halfway through March the world turned upside down and with 6 day work weeks I haven't touched a book that isn't a textbook in weeks. I'm slowly getting back to a manageable schedule and can't wait to finish this book, although I wasn't too happy with where the story was going when I left off.
I'm curious about it, Cela. As soon as finally have some more time to read I'll get back to it. It might be a while though.
So, I have to be real at the risk of HEAVY judgement: I couldn't get into it. I love classics like this and am especially a fan of Victorian culture/literature. Maybe its just everything else going on in the world right now, but I stopped around chapter 10. I also got the Harvard "uncensored" Picture of Dorian Gray and there was this overwhelming feeling of darkness and depression that I just couldn't handle. Maybe I'll try to pick it back up after a few more books on the list, but it was strange. Anybody else have this feeling?
I completely understand that, Daniel. I strongly disliked Frankenstein. I think there can be judgment by some people if you dislike a classic, but not every book is for every person and most people understand that. I'm curious what the difference is between the standard edition and the Harvard uncensored edition. I wonder what the censored part was.
It seems as though the differences lie within some order of events and approximately 500 words of “graphic homosexual content.” Within my partial read it, I couldn’t tell you what exactly that was. Basically, the editor edited it out because at that time, they believed that the homosexual content would have caused a massive backlash by readers while such graphic homosexual content was accepted my most in that era. The Harvard edition is what Wilde actually intended it to be. Maybe the classic edition adjusts the narrative a bit, but I’m not sure.
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Kristie, Moderator (Retired)
(last edited Apr 13, 2020 05:28AM)
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rated it 3 stars
Oh, I think I understand. Funny how sometimes things get edited out because editors aren't comfortable with the subject matter or for other reasons only to have it published that way later. When books become popular there are always people who are interested in reading the story the way it was intended. I find it interesting that you couldn't even really tell the difference, but I think that happens often.
I'm sure there was a difference, it just wasn't easily apparent without doing a full comparison, or even finishing the book! I'm likely going to give it another go once the world becomes less plague-y.
Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.