The Picture of Dorian Gray

Ebook

Am 8. November 2016 von Standard Ebooks veröffentlicht.

(1 Bewertung)

The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published as a serial in Lippencott’s Monthly Magazine, and the publishers thought it would so offend readers that they removed nearly 500 words without Wilde’s approval. Wilde soon expanded it and republished it as a novel, including a short preface justifying his art. Even though his contemporaries considered it so offensive that some argued for his prosecution, Dorian Gray today survives as a classic philosophical novel that explores themes of aestheticism and double lives. Couched in Wilde’s trademark cutting wit, Dorian Gray is still being adapted today, with Dorian and his moldering portrait remaining cultural touchstones.

112 editions

mikerickson@bookwyrm.social reviewed The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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4 stars

Granted I'm sitting on a pretty small sample size, but what few ~Classics~ from Victorian England that I have read, I have enjoyed, and this was largely more of the same with an every so slight paranormal twist. Which is to say I got exactly what I wanted out of this book.

This was a book club read and two of us (including me) read the normal version with 20 chapters, whereas the other two read the Uncensored version which came out a year earlier and was much shorter. It was interesting comparing the differences in real time and the discussion added to my reading experience. Also the particular printing that I read had plenty of helpful footnotes explaining specific references Wilde was making and pointing out individual sentences or paragraphs that were revised/edited from the original uncensored version that also made the read more enjoyable for me; I don't …

Granted I'm sitting on a pretty small sample size, but what few ~Classics~ from Victorian England that I have read, I have enjoyed, and this was largely more of the same with an every so slight paranormal twist. Which is to say I got exactly what I wanted out of this book.

This was a book club read and two of us (including me) read the normal version with 20 chapters, whereas the other two read the Uncensored version which came out a year earlier and was much shorter. It was interesting comparing the differences in real time and the discussion added to my reading experience. Also the particular printing that I read had plenty of helpful footnotes explaining specific references Wilde was making and pointing out individual sentences or paragraphs that were revised/edited from the original uncensored version that also made the read more enjoyable for me; I don't know that I would have liked it as much without the extra context.

There is a lofty chapter right in the middle of the book that acts as a sort of time skip in the overall plot, but it is entirely too long and flowery and gothic where literally no dialogue or dramatic action is taking place. I absolutely would have enjoyed this read more without that substantial speed bump placed right in the middle, but the beginning and end of the story help lift the overall work up.