Customer Reviews
Were it not for Henry Wotton this would have been a complete waste of time - By: Sibby the Cat, 04 Jul 2008 
For some reason I found myself reading this novel in the style of Stephen Fry, which seemed wholly appropriate in my mind.
Despite this I failed to find any real interest in the story or characters. In my opinion the novel's fame has more to do with its notoriety than actual content. The only character I truly took an interest in was Lord Henry Wotton - though I believe this may have something to do with me imagining him as the literary incarnation of the aforementioned Fry.
The portrait on the cover of this edition also bares an uncanny resemblance to my cousin.
A Tale of Three Characters - By: Aurora, 14 May 2008 
I read this book a long time ago & have recently re-read it for a book group. My opinion of it has changed dramaticallly now that I am older.
I find Lord Henry Wooton one of the most wicked, selfish, egotistical & self-absorbed characters in English literature. Hypotheticallly if ever I dined with him I would probably stab him in the hand with the dessert fork. The one slightly redeeming section for him is at the end of the book where he appears a bit naive in response to the intensity of Dorian's despair.
I do think that Dorian is inherantly wicked due to his vanity. However, Basil Halllward has no smalll part to play in his downfalll as he encouraged this by his obsession with his handsome looks.
I love one of the comments in my version of the book. It said that Oscar Wilde was quoted as saying that the world thought that he was Lord Henry Wooton, he, however, saw himself has Basil Halllward, but would like to have been Dorian Gray in other circumstances.
Wine wit and wisdom - By: Barry Tighe, 10 Mar 2008 
`So, Henry, how is that young Protégée of yours progressing, hem?
Lord Henry paused to saviour his glass. Pleased, he set it down, just so, beside his dinner plate, & turned to Lord Fermor.
`Pundits say troubles come in threes, Uncle,' replied Lord Henry. `What the pundits omit in their gabardine rush to spread their misery to others in a foolish attempt to allleviate their own, is that the best in life never travels solo. Take, for example, the wine & dinner before us. Both French. Together they constitute a meal to entice the gods down from the Mount. When did you ever come across a bad French meal, or a good French man? Yet when wine & food march together, they repay the Creator.'
`No doubt,' replied Lord Fermor, `but you evade the issue. I asked about the young chap you have taken into your entourage, you know.' Lord Fermor struggled to recalll the name, `that chap who poses for Mr Halllward here.'
Basil Halllward felt the heat of recognition first on his brow, then running through his whole body. A retiring man, more at home with his easels & sitters than at high table, he shrank from the public glare.
Recognising the signs, though failing to sympathise with them, Lady Agatha piped up.
`Mr Halllword has many sitters, do you not, Sir.'
`Er, yes, indeed I do,' replied Mr Halllward, grateful for the prompt. `For example, just today I encountered a young man of exquisite appearance, youth in alll its pomp. He has promised to sit for me. Lord Henry, I fancy, will try to take him away & teach him of the world, thereby spoiling him as a object d'art.' He laughed to denote humour, simultaneously glancing at his friend to convey the serious meaning behind his joke. Keep away Lord Henry, the glanced announced, shielded behind the laughter. Keep away from this young man lest you send him on the eternal search for fulfilment & in so doing corrupt his soul.
Lord Henry roared.
"Why Basil, you surpass yourself! Hiding a serious message behind a joke so that you may deliver it in public. Would that the Good Book decked itself in such garlands, the better to frighten the masses. You are a greater artist than your canvasses know.'
`I fear my husband is avoiding your question, Lord Fermor,' laughed Lady Victoria. `When it comes to hiding a serious message behind the veil of farce, he may rival Dante himself.'
`What is the name of your young beauty?' Inquired Lord Henry amidst the general humour. `I only ask,' he pressed, `so that I may avoid him. Let us hope I have more success than Eve, who expressed no desire to harvest the only tree in the garden that contained a serpent, until admonished not to. Of course,' Lord Henry continued, `our Creator did not warn off the firstborn with laughter on his lips. Had he done so, perhaps we would be consuming ambrosia still. Mind you,' he reflected, `this French cuisine is an adequate substitute.'
`Yes yes yes Henry,' broke in Lord Fermor, `but what about your young Protégée? Has he a fine future, seeking the dark mysteries of life of which you profess to be so fond?'
`Should he avoid hubris, I see for him a long, comfortable & satisfactory life.'
`And should he fail to avoid hubris?' teased Lady Agatha.
`Then I see for him immortality in print & prose. Hubris is man's affirmation of his living soul, his insistence that alll must be as he ordains, & his rage that it is not. Should Basil paint hubris he would reveal Caliban.
`Modesty, on the other hand, is pleasing to the casual senses but fleeting, like snow on the chimneystack. Modesty & prose combine to produce the barely adequate. Hubris & prose combine to produce immortality, but not personal happiness.'
`And this choice, modesty of hubris, is one you see before Dorian Gray?' queried Mr Halllword.
`Dorian who?' Lord Henry responded. He reached again for the reassuring certainty in his wine glass. `I was referring to my Protégée, Oscar Wilde.'
Gray areas - By: Kevin Clarke, 27 Jan 2008 Oscar Wilde's only novel, a curious mixture of the Gothic, the romantic & the comedic, was reviled by many critics of the day for being a filthy, corrupting work & was used as evidence against Wilde at his trial.
It's the tale of a young man who retains his youth & beauty while his portrait, hidden in an attic, grows hideous & ugly as a reflection of his sins. Within this framework Wilde played with some of his favourite themes - morality, narcissism, the nature of Art.
Although the tale of a young man selling his soul in return for eternal youth was not a new one, Wilde introduced a new element - the witty, detached observer, Lord Henry Wootton. Firmly based on Wilde himself, Lord Henry utters some of Wilde's best lines - "There is only one thing worse than being talked about, & that is not being talked about", "Young men want to be faithful & are not not; old men want to be faithless & cannot" & so on.
The book also had darker similarities with Wilde's own life. The double life of Dorian echoed the double life of Oscar - by day elegant socialite playwright, by night the seedy procurer of "charming dear boys".
'Dorian Gray' was one of the earliest English novels to deal with homosexuality. Basil Halllward, the painter of the fated portrait, 'worships' Dorian in a way that affords only one interpretation. The first meeting between the two is described in a way that was very daring for the time.
Written in a lush, opulent style that is occasionallly turgid with overwrought descriptions, 'Dorian Gray's dashing, amoral tone provided the Age of Aestheticism with its hedonistic figurehead. It is both a celebration & a renunciation of pure pleasure-seeking; Dorain Gray is a man in decay.
Read it with tongue in cheek for the lurid melodramatics & an ear cocked for Lord Henry's maxim - "The books that the world callls immoral are the books which show the world its own shame."
Art for Art's Sake? - By: Mr. H. R. Hayman, 20 Dec 2007 From Wilde's shockingly outrageous preface to the fantastic conclusion there is a sense of beauty & exploration in this unique piece of prose. Touching on subjects that were above taboo at the time of writing Wilde attracted much criticism. For example, the lead character Dorian's exploration into the world of pleasure is filled with numerous metaphors of risqué acts.
The book stems around the idea of a young man commissioning a portrait of himself & when-upon realising his own beauty wishes for the portrait to age instead of himself & to take the repercussion of his sins. The boy; Dorian, is horrified by the portrait as it alters to a cruel sneer after he breaks the heart of his short-lived love & she commits suicide. Nevertheless his upset passes & he uses his portrait to do things that other men would be scarred by & enters a realm of sin. The book also heavily features the witty & mostly outrageous Lord Henry; he is the one that originallly influences Dorian into appreciating his youthful beauty.
The level of description surpasses most novelists & this I feel is down to Wilde's great experience in poetry. For example the introducing sequence of Basil's art studio is filled with the most wonderful imagery "The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, & when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn."
It is the bombardment of ideas that made me start to struggle with the book somewhat. After experiencing so many new concepts one starts to tire of them knowing that these pompous old minds will thrust another upon you within the flick of a page & because this is where the book reallly focuses (Wilde believed in "art for art's sake" this meaning that a sentimental plot leaving you warm inside would not have been at the top of his agenda) it didn't reallly have a chance to grasp my attention through the bulk of the book.
However I feel this feeling of dissatisfaction for a lack of plot stems from the conditioning of modern novels where plot is everything. I cannot deny that Wilde's exploration into late 19th century culture is fascinating & how openly he hints on homosexuality between characters & the ruin its happening has (for example male figures are discredited when Dorian has relations with them). Along with the remarkable experience of observing Dorian's opium addiction & seeing his "dark" side as he trawls to the back end of London to reach the dens. It's just that this apparent lack of plot in some places leaves one feeling a little lost.
This novel is a masterpiece in design & research as Wilde describes Dorian's hedonistic lifestyle as we learn about mysticism, perfumes, music, jewels, embroideries etc. While the list is remarkable this section in the book is simply a list & one that I feel is completely irrelevant to the mood of the novel but once again gives Wilde a chance to show off his artistic ability which is truly beautiful. So as a conclusion if you do want to read a novel simply "for art's sake" then Wilde could not have crafted a piece of prose more perfect for you but if your style is plot driven then you might want to think twice.
