I picked this up thinking that I wouldn't like it and was so very pleasantly surprised. The way the book is put together is not the best, looking like a slapdash job of pages glued together with a font that's displeasing to the eye. However, the story is incredible. There is the tiniest moment where it's imperfect -- when the picture is shown to someone else -- so the question of whether the changes Dorian sees in the picture are real or not is answered when it could have been left open. It could have ended in so many ways, but I'm glad Mr. Wilde chose the way he did. I don't recommend a lot of books, as I am very harsh, but this was honestly a very good read.
Read more

I decided to have a quick peruse of the one star ratings before writing this review, as I was intrigued to know why people felt so negative towards The Picture of Dorian Gray. Whilst I do agree with some of the criticisms, on the whole this is a beautiful piece of classic literature and the Kindle version is relatively well formatted (could do with page breaks on chapter starts). This was Oscar Wilde's only novel and upon reading it, I'm not entirely surprised. The narrative is largely driven by dialogue / monologue, although this isn't necessarily a problem. The characters are shallow, aristocratic types, obsessed with fine living and aesthetics, which was precisely what Wilde intended. True, it is often difficult to identify with them, apart from the artist who painted the portrait itself perhaps. The opening chapters are beautifully homoerotic, in the sense that Wilde clearly couldn't overtly describe the interactions between the characters; thus, the language used cleverly hints at the relationships for what they are and this is actually rather a nice change from the contemporary 'in your face' approach. The only bit I didn't enjoy comes somewhere in the middle, where Wilde sets about describing Dorian Gray's love of things - fabrics, gemstones etc. etc. ad nauseum. After a couple of pages of this I did feel like skipping to the next part. Otherwise I found this novel almost addictive, to the extent that I even used the experimental text to speech to listen to some of it in the car on the way to work (an interesting experience). It does come to a very abrupt end, which is odd, considering the extensive description and elaboration given to everything else. All in all, given that the Kindle edition is free and the novel is historically of some importance (as well as being a clever idea), it has to be worth a read. It left me disappointed that Oscar Wilde didn't write more novels, although the reviews here cover the whole range of opinions, so this is definitely one that is in the eye of the beholder.
Read more

We first meet Dorian Gray as a young man, precociously handsome and with a charming nature. He is having his portrait painted by the unassuming Basil Hallward when he first meets the cynical thinker, Lord Henry Wotton. Hallward adores Gray and is concerned by Wotton's influence over him but Gray himself hangs onto Wotton's every word and cannot help falling under his spell. Wotton manages to convince Gray that his looks are his most important asset and should be maintained and exploited as long as they last. This leads Gray to ponder the portrait and declare that he wishes his looks would remain and the portrait would age instead of him. As time goes on Dorian Gray loses his pleasant nature and becomes a vain young man, succombing to vices of drink, drugs and women. His youthful looks remain and, to his horror, the handsome charmer in the portrait becomes less and less likeable as it ages. Gray gets away with cruelty and a lavish lifestyle as people cannot believe such a youthful and pleasant countenance can contain a rotten soul. To the reader this raises the question of how we perceive others by appearance alone - can we really judge a book by its cover? Are our looks, as we age, a reflection of the life we have led, whether we have been cruel or kind, selfish or generous? I think to an extent yes, we can look at people and see sadness in their eyes or the lines of a lifetime of laughter. Of course looks can be deceiving and we should never be quick to assume things about others. One aspect of the novel that fascinates me is the action of the murderer. Having committed the most atrocious of crimes and got away without suspicion, the murderer cannot help but give himself away. A mixture of disbelief and revulsion takes over and he needs to repent somehow whilst still having the instinct for self-preservation - telling people outright that he did it, knowing they won't believe him. It reminds me a little of Raskolnikov in Crime & Punishment and his struggle to hold himself together and his need to pay for his crime. This is a wonderful novel, full of Wilde's philosophy and imagination. It goes off on tangents now and again but the force of the novel as a whole is immense. The story is humorous, surprising and tragic and has a fitting and dramatic ending. Definitely a book that everyone should read.
Read more

Absolutely amazing ending and a thrilling plot all the way through, although it was confusing when I realized that both the old and new versions were jammed together. Still love the book, 5 stars.
Read more

tutto ok!
Read more

I love Collectors Library books. They are perfect small size for travel, come with a bookmark and the pages have lovely gold edges
Read more

Boyut olarak normal kitaplardan biraz daha ufak ama yazıları okuması kolay ve kargolama başarılıydı
Read more

وش ذا طلبت مرتين وبالمرتين كله جاني والكوڤر حقه عليه علامات تعفيط
Read more

Undoubtedly the best novel written by Oscar Wilde... Storyline is quite attractive, and you will find many profound comments concerning such as love, art, life,etc. Readers should keep in mind that Lord Henry (intimate friend of Dorian Gray ) is the 'shadow main character' of this story.
Read more