Jamie's #22: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

This book was a more difficult read for me. In short, it's a story about Dorian Gray, a beautiful young man who does not age while a painting of him grows old and shows the signs of the many sins he commits. Basil is the friend of Dorian's who paints the portrait, and Lord Henry is a friend of Basil's whose world view helps corrupt Dorian. This is not a book you can just pick up and be swept away with. Even so, I was fascinated by the plot and had high hopes. Several early passages struck me, such as:

"When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them."

"I always like to know everything about my new friends, and nothing about my old ones."

"There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."

"When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance."

"Nothing is ever quite true."

"Women ... inspire us with the desire to do masterpieces, and always prevent us from carrying them out."

It was captivating to see the world through Lord Henry's words; so cynical, yet eerily honest. Though, as Basil pointed out about Lord Henry, ""You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing."

However, as the book progressed, I began to lose interest. Wilde goes on long tangents that I found myself skimming through, and in the end,  I never really got the shock I was anticipating. I think this is because Wilde ended up censoring much of the more controversial passages for publication.

Overall: 6.5/10