The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)

'A picture is worth a thousand words', as they say, and the subject of this book is no exception. The story centres on a good looking but naive boy who, realising his beauty will one day fade, makes a narcissistic trade - his soul for eternal youth. As his life goes on, Dorian Gray becomes obsessed with pleasure and lives without limits, carrying many secrets with him but still remaining youthful. Of course, as in any novel, things take a turn for the worse and people around him start to suffer.

I would suggest you begin this book with an open mind. It may seem quite a ludicrous, immoral idea but then, as Wilde states in the preface: “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”

This novel is definitely well written. It’s filled to the brim with succulent, decadent ideas and words that flow like honey; all very typical of the Aesthetic movement. Sometimes, one is confronted with the content but on the whole, one can note that Wilde is playing with an idea: does art imitate life or does life strive to recreate perfect art? The plot is just a means of exploring this.

 I don’t see this novel as a story with a plot. In fact, it’s not straightforward in any sense. To get the most from Wilde’s work, I would recommend paying attention to the language (almost a kind of poetic prose) and the symbolic references to art and life scattered throughout.

The ending (don’t worry, I won’t spoil it) is one that will stay with you for a long time. Even if you have difficulty with the 19^th Century language (some sexism is present but do keep in mind the date of publication), I would suggest sticking with this novel.

On the other hand, if essays on life and the way the mind works is not your cup of tea, perhaps this book isn’t the right thing to pick up. It’s a deep book, heavy in an emotional sense, and some who aren’t familiar with 19^th Century texts may find it boring or too confronting.


- Steph

Read if you liked: Wuthering Heights (Bronte); Great Expectations (Dickens); Vile Bodies (Waugh).