The plot of The Picture of Dorian Gray is well known to most- the title character is young and beautiful, and realizes (through conversations with Lord Henry) that said beauty is temporary. Basil, Dorian's friend, paints a wonderful portrait of him, and Dorian wishes that the painting would age in his stead. His wish comes true, and as time passes, his beauty remains unblemished; the man in the portrait, however, shows signs of both age and sin. Eventually, Dorian regrets his situation, and decides to destroy the painting. When he attempts to do so, instead it is he who perishes, and the painting reverts back to its original form.
Critically, the book is viewed as fantastic and well-loved; I agree, though I had a few problems with it. The overall theme deals with the place of beauty in life, and its fleeting nature. Dorian idolizes beauty and feels the bad effects of so doing. He (unintentionally, perhaps) isolates himself and causes pain in others. Nothing wrong with that point- it's a good study on the effects of being self-centered in our lives. My problem is with the myriad of other (minor) themes, most of which are introduced by Lord Henry. He speaks with great wit and says outrageous things, with the reader (and other characters in the story) uncertain whether or not he's serious. I found Henry's epigram-a-minute commentary amusing, entertaining, thought-provoking, but occasionally annoying. It's like anything in life, no matter how good- if you're bombarded with it, you tire of it after a while. That's my main fault with the novel- stopping to contemplate each witticism would draw the experience out and break the flow of the story, so for the sake of "getting through it" I felt as though I had to glide through without fully exploring each point. I'm sure there are layers of goodness there that I'm too lazy to unpack and enjoy.
That said, Wilde clearly has a great wit, and it's an enjoyable, recommended story.
Rating: A-
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