The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Restarting March 10th 2020

[Rachmi]

Introduction by Jeffrey Eugenides

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.”

Everyone welcome to join me and Rachel to read this classic book on January 12th.

[[deleted user]]

I'll join! This book is definitely the kind of book that demands a re-read ;)

[Reading Rediscovered]

I will attempt to join you! Do you have a certain number of pages/chapters to read per day or just free-read and discuss as you go along?

[Rachmi]

Yay, please join us Abigail & Jessica! The more the merrier :)

[Rachmi]

Abigail wrote: "I'll join! This book is definitely the kind of book that demands a re-read ;)"

@Abigail, this will be my first time reading this book and also my first experience reading classics in English. I used to read them in my own language. I'm so excited and also nervous :D But knowing that you gave it 5 stars and want to reread it kinda make happy because it means that it's so good, right?

[Rachmi]

Jessica wrote: "I will attempt to join you! Do you have a certain number of pages/chapters to read per day or just free-read and discuss as you go along?"

We don't have any certain number of pages/chapters to read so just read it as free as you can and discuss it along the way. But if you want to set a certain number of pages/chapters, please do it. I don't mind at all. I think we can still discuss it anyway.

[Rachmi]

Chapter 1, I'm enjoying this book so far. As my first experience reading classics in English I like the author words choice. I thought reading classics in English will make me confuse as I still have limited vocabulary and all. Fortunately not in this case. I have no problem understand it.

I also like the way it's written, it's captivating. And Lord Henry and Basil way of thinking is quite interesting.

[Rachmi]

Chapter 2, (view spoiler)["An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them.[...]"

And yet Basil put himself into his panting, Dorian Gray painting. Or do I misunderstand it? (hide spoiler)]

[Rachmi]

Chapter 2, (view spoiler)[why does Lord Henry so eager to meet Dorian Gray? I know he's good looking and all, but I don't think it's enough reason for Lord Henry to meet him. He seems obssess with him just like Basil. (hide spoiler)]

[Reading Rediscovered]

Read chapter one. I'm sort of glad I saw the movie when I was in uni because I fear I might be lost. Writing is beautiful but some of the conversations get a little confusing. Excited to finally meet Dorian!

[Rachmi]

Jessica wrote: "Read chapter one. I'm sort of glad I saw the movie when I was in uni because I fear I might be lost. Writing is beautiful but some of the conversations get a little confusing. Excited to finally me..."

I saw the movie when I was in uni too! I forget the detail, though so it'll be exciting to read it for the first time. Which one did you watch? I watch the one with Colin Firth as Lord Henry and Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray. I think they are perfect for they role.

[Reading Rediscovered]

Rachmi wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Read chapter one. I'm sort of glad I saw the movie when I was in uni because I fear I might be lost. Writing is beautiful but some of the conversations get a little confusing. Excit..."

I saw an older one. Not sure which version. We didn't see the whole thing, we just watched parts of it to get the feel for Oscar Wilde-esque things as we were reading The Importance of Being Earnest.

[Rachmi]

I don't understand why (view spoiler)[Basil calls Lord Henry Harry, instead of Henry? His name is Henry Wotton, right? or is Harry nickname for Henry. (hide spoiler)]

[Reading Rediscovered]

I'm so annoyed with myself right now. I haven't gotten any further than I was 2 days ago. I feel like I'm avoiding it because it isn't as 'action-packed' as some of the other books on my shelf. But I will read it tonight! I will join some of the #0by16 sprints on Twitter & I will get more of it done! I have to!

[Reading Rediscovered]

Ok...so I read another chapter, yes, that's it. And it took me an hour! For me that's a long time to spend reading only one chapter. The writing is so different from what I'm used to, and even the way the sentences are structured takes a lot of getting used to, so it may take me far too long to read this book, but I will get through it!
This Saturday is a 24-Hour Read-a-Thon so I'll be getting through this book, and hopefully more then!

[Rachmi]

I haven't gotten any chapters either, Jessica. I have problem with my eyes and have to take rest from reading and staring at electronic devices for too long. But I'm planning to continue reading it tomorrow.

The pace is kind of slow for me and am overwhelm with Lord Henry's moral speech but I like it so far. As my first classic in English, I don't have problem to understand the story. Something that I'm quite nervous when I started it as I never read classic in English before and I often struggled to read classics even in my own language :)

[Reading Rediscovered]

Chapter 5 about (view spoiler)[ Sybil was unnecessary in my opinion. I don't really understand how it fits into the rest of the story. (hide spoiler)]

[Reading Rediscovered]

About half way through. Going quicker now that < spoiler> Dorian's painting has begun to change. I'm starting to enjoy the book a little more now that I'm reading it faster because until now I wasn't really that fond of it.

[Reading Rediscovered]

Chapter 11 (view spoiler)[ has been so dull. The many descriptions of art and tapestries Dorian is collecting are so over the top. I get that they are supposed to show a contrast of beauty to his ugliness but it is just tok much. (hide spoiler)]

[Rachmi]

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Feel free to join me (again) and Tessa to read the book on March 10th, 2015!

[C.P.]

Hey, Rachmi. I'd love to join in reading this! It's been on my list for ages and I just downloaded it to my kindle. :)

[Tessa]

Yey, can't wait ^^. I have this book in german. It's going to be a challenge for me so I'm probably going to read 1-2 chapters per day. Hope it's ok with you guys :) .

[C.P.]

I've already started this and it's quite interesting. Dorian is such a brat. And Harry (Lord Henry) just weirds me out.

[C.P.]

I'm about 30% in and enjoying this so far. It's not quite what I was expecting. Lord Henry is such an interesting character.

[C.P.]

41% It was interesting to have a chapter with Sybil and her family. And Dorian is such a shallow, selfish boy. It's starting to become more what I was expecting.

[C.P.]

64% I like seeing the way Dorian reacts to the picture. We get to see him unravel. I wish we saw more of what happened, but it's interesting.

[C.P.]

78% These last couple of chapters have been crazy. Much more involved than the rest of the book, which I like. Creepy though.

[Tessa]

Hey Courtney, sorry for not joining you in time for this, my last week was super busy, but I'll start reading it this week.

Hope Rachmi will join us as well :D .

[C.P.]

I hope you enjoy it! :) And I'll definitely discuss it with you.

[Tessa]

Courtney wrote: "I'm about 30% in and enjoying this so far. It's not quite what I was expecting. Lord Henry is such an interesting character."

I also think he's interesting, but a little imoral from my perspective.

Ugh, I'm moving so slow with this. So far, not much has happened, but I'm not displeased with the story, Oscar Wilde has an amazing writing style. I can't get enough :D .

[Rachmi]

Tessa wrote: "Courtney wrote: "I'm about 30% in and enjoying this so far. It's not quite what I was expecting. Lord Henry is such an interesting character."

I also think he's interesting, but a little imoral fr..."

Tell me about it! :D I like the story and of course the writing but somehow I keep put it on hold :( It's just too slow for my taste. I'll finish it anyway, though. I just don't know when I'll continue it.

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date Changed. Restarting June 22nd 2016. Happy Reading ☺

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[Abby]

Chapter 4: (view spoiler)[Sybil seems like she'll be trouble for Dorian. (hide spoiler)]

[Abby]

Chapter 9: (view spoiler)[Of course Basil has an obsession with Dorian! (hide spoiler)]

[Abby]

Chapter 13: (view spoiler)[Can't believe he killed Basil! (hide spoiler)]

[Abby]

Finished: (view spoiler)[Pretty predictable that he would kill himself. No one really wants to live forever. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date changed. Restarting July 8th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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[Dr. Andy]

25% (view spoiler)[ I've been tuning this out every so often. Idk it's not really keeping my attention. I don't really care about any of the characters so far. And Henry really irritates me with his view on women. (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[ Well I already forgot that girl's name, but her suicide after Dorian yelled at her felt all very romeo and juliet-esque. I also just kind of rolled my eyes. Poor girl didn't deserve that but now we begin to see the darker side of Dorian which is interesting. (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[ Okay damn, I didn't think he was going to kill Basil (that was his name right??) I have this strange vibe that Henry is secretly gay and that's why he has so much resentment to women. Whether it's true who knows. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ Okay so I knew Dorian committed suicide, but I didn't think it would be by stabbing the painting. That was kinda cool. I can't remember what happened to Henry, but ugh that man made me mad. Dorian was eh overall. It was surprising how dark this story became. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

I read this yesterday and I already feel like I forgot the whole story. It really wasn't memorable. And I didn't like Dorian or Lord Henry very much.

[Saige]

24%- (view spoiler)[This was partly spoiled for me by the fact that it's so famous, so I knew something was up with the painting. But now it has started changing and I am so intrigued. The way Dorian's inner cruelty is reflected on the physical painting is a really cool concept, and I can't wait to see where it goes. Also, there's a ton of foreshadowing going on, so I'm convinced Dorian is going to kill someone. Or Jim is going to attack Dorian. (hide spoiler)]

50%: (view spoiler)[Wow, Dorian really fell, fast. I wonder why he was so suddenly driven to sin the way he has. (hide spoiler)]

70%: (view spoiler)[I was right! There was some serious foreshadowing about Dorian committing crimes, and now he has. I love how all the implications from the beginning are working their way into the story. (hide spoiler)]

100%: (view spoiler)[This was so good! I loved the ending. I think that having Dorian destroy the picture but actually end up destroying himself was incredibly poetic. The fact that the painting went back to normal while he turned into an old man ties up the book's commentary on youth and beauty in a fascinating way. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date changed. Restarting August 17th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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[Maria]

Going to start this today

[Maria]

Through chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ alright I'm getting the hang of it now. Henry wants to influence Dorian in an evil way...and Dorian, being the impressionable youth, comes right and willingly to him.
There is nothing much happening, and I heard it's a rather character driven novel. The quotes and dialogue is fabulous, I can imagine Henry being a very good motivational speaker in our time, though he does the opposite of motivating you lol. But he has the same spell on everyone

Basil was right, Henry is a bad influence. And look what happened. Dorian is so easy influence.

Also I wonder why he hasn't revealed his name to Sibyl yet. Do you think Henry asked him not to? (hide spoiler)]

[Maria]

Through chapter 10 (view spoiler)[ that was a really strange kind of inception. Inception in a book! Lord Henry is so creepy. Is he trying to covey something? Or is it just really one of his amusements? I wonder if Dorian is conscious of the similarities between the main character and him? Is that what fascinated him- and unsettled him possibly? It did me. Henry is hella creepy

I realized how dark this was when Henry tried to convince Dorian of the "beauty" of Sibyl's death 😖 I'm convinced now that he wants to corrupt Dorians soul with his clever and wicked words. Dorian is annoyingly gullible too ugh
I feel so sorry for Basil. He loved Dorian! Maybe in a way an artist loves his work but still. I feel like the characters are developing backwards. It seemed right that Basil didn't want to exhibit the picture because he felt there was too much of himself in it. But now he seemed convinced that that's not true. And that an artist's passion doesn't show in his work. Just an interesting development I'd observed (hide spoiler)]

[Maria]

Through chapter 16. This has really picked up since ch. 11, which seemed to me rather pointless (view spoiler)[ so not only did he actually become a murderer but he's also been a drug addict! To escape from the memories of his sins!

This is getting darker and darker (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

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Date changed. Restarting March 1st 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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[Dannii]

Just starting this :)

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

10 % - (view spoiler)[I have seen the movie, but I don't remember much, only a few things, so I'm happy to read more about Dorian.

Right now I think it's rather boring, I hope it picks up at some point, but I doubt it.

And why ist Dorian crying every sentence? (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

First quarter - (view spoiler)[I first read this years ago and have also seen the movie, so much of the plot was already known to me, yet I had forgotten how exquisite the writing was. I had planned to listen to this whilst doing other chores but have instead sat down and highlighted all my favourite passages. The plot is quite slow and I think this probably feels more so the case for a modern-day reader who may be familiar with the subject matter and the outcome of the painting. I am adoring this, so far! (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Julie wrote: "10 % - I have seen the movie, but I don't remember much, only a few things, so I'm happy to read more about Dorian.

Right now I think it's rather boring, I hope it picks up at some point, but I d..."

I'm really loving this but I completely agree, it is a very slow-paced start. Lots of monologues on beauty and society that I am very much enjoying, though.