Book Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

It has been a while since I have entertained myself with a good dystopia. Contrary to popular belief--and my apparently outgoing personality--I have always enjoyed the "dark and twisty" found in any dystopia. Understand that I don't necessarily classify Dorian Gray as dystopian, but is is certainly dark and twisty. 

The story is about a beautiful man--Dorian Gray--and his friend, Basil, paints and exquisite picture of him early on in the story. Dorian is made aware of his beauty and innocence (thereby losing the latter) by a friend--Lord Henry. From this point on, Wilde takes his reader on a journey through the soul of a man slowly being lost to evil desires and fleshly gain. I speak in nebulous terms because there is nothing worse that someone else spoiling a story for you. So, if you fancy reading it--you'll still be surprised. 

In any case, the "twist" in the story is centered around the unusual (dare I say, magical?) portrait painted, that gives Dorian a bit of an immortal existence or beauty for an extended amount of time. A love, a murder, and natural greedy aims are all thrown in for good measure, making this a book I wish I had read earlier so I could have taught it in the high school classroom. Delightful--well, for a dark and twisty novel, that is. :o)