Wow. That was a really good book. It is beautifully written, and was extremely captivating while also being perhaps the most philosophical book I have ever read. I began this book because it was a requirement to read a 19th century (or older) novel for my Honors Humanities class, but this is the kind of book that I would have been enthralled by on my own time. The ending was definitely not what I expected, as you can probably guess from the image shown on the right. Throughout the book, I never really knew what to think, and after some of the thoughts that he had during the final pages of the book, I came to a simple conclusion: he was the epitome of beauty, but a vile and wicked person. If you're wondering, just for closure, James Vane was killed accidentally during a hunting trip by the brother of a friend of Dorian's (James was planning on murdering him), Alan Campbell, Dorian's chemist friend that decomposed Basil's body, committed |
suicide, and Dorian never confessed to the murder of Basil to anyone before his death. If you have read any of the blog posts, then I apologize for the massive spoilers that they contain. Even so, I urge you to pick up this book anyway and give it a shot. It is an incredible piece of work, and I am sure that it will still be riveting even if you know what is going to happen.
Like The House on Mango Street, The Fault in our Stars, and Harry Potter, The Picture of Dorian Gray now joins the extremely exclusive list of books that I plan to read again (in the case of Harry Potter for an eighth time) in the distant future, because while what they made me experience the first reading was incredible, I know they will seem like totally different works when I return to them.
I have a "Note" list on my phone entitled "Books I have read waiting for The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire Book Six)," and while The Picture of Dorian Gray will go onto that list, I think it is the first book that is on there that I will view as more than just a placeholder.
Like The House on Mango Street, The Fault in our Stars, and Harry Potter, The Picture of Dorian Gray now joins the extremely exclusive list of books that I plan to read again (in the case of Harry Potter for an eighth time) in the distant future, because while what they made me experience the first reading was incredible, I know they will seem like totally different works when I return to them.
I have a "Note" list on my phone entitled "Books I have read waiting for The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire Book Six)," and while The Picture of Dorian Gray will go onto that list, I think it is the first book that is on there that I will view as more than just a placeholder.