Commentaires client les plus utiles
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4 internautes sur 4 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
4.0étoiles sur 5
Every picture tells a story, Fév 28 2004
Rod Stewert once sang that "every picture tells a story", and in no case is this more true than of one Dorian Gray. By now everyone knows that young Dorian makes a childish wish that a beautiful portrait of his should age in his stead, and that he should remain forever young and vibrant, and somehow this wish is granted. What follows is a tale of increasing debauchery and depravity that poison a man's soul, while leaving no visible clue upon his face.This is not the most entertaining or gripping novel that you will ever read. Far from it, in fact, but the real merits of the novel come not from the action and plot, but from the extremely clever dialogue and the shredding social commentary. (not surprisingly, this novel took a long time to get published, and was later used as evidence against Wilde during his trial for indecency) Wilde takes several shots at the aristocracy, especially their values, as well as art itself, hedonism, and the very concept of morality. Perhaps the finest aspect of the novel are Wilde's quotes, often through his favorite mouthpiece: Lord Henry Wotton. Henry serves as a goad to Dorian through all of his excesses, and he waxes philosophical upon almost any subject that he can get anyone to listen to. He's wonderful and horrible all at once, and best of all, he doesn't even believe half of what he says. This is definitely a 'classic' novel, and well worth the read. Again, if you're expecting high paced action you'd probably best look elsewhere, but if you're in the mood to think a bit, then chances are you'll enjoy "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
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6 internautes sur 7 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
5.0étoiles sur 5
Dorian Gray, Jui 10 2004
This book, which I read quite some time ago but will never cease to love, is a beautiful horror story. The language, the surroundings, even the characters, are gorgeous, but at the same time, everything about them is frightening, and even a little grotesque. Lord Henry is utterly cynical, continually saying things one can never be quite sure he means or is only saying. Dorian is corrupted and horrible, and yet at the same time, one almost thinks he may suddenly stop and try to turn back. Basil is one of the only pure characters in the book, and his devotion to Dorian is sweet, but at the same time, one just /knows/ it will will cause something bad to happen to him--as, ultimately, it does.This book is a very satisfying read, although some people might be disturbed by the content, which is rather mature. Besides that, the homosexual subtext runs rampant waving a Dorian's picture. This may bother some people, although not yours truly. :) Personally, I think it's excellent. If you liked Victor Hugo's style, but would rather not hear historic digressions; if you liked Crime and Punishment's moral conflicts, but were highly irritated by the happy ending; if you enjoyed The Invisible Man's supernatural circumstances but would have been satisfied without the scientific explanations, then go forth ye and read Picture of Dorian Gray. (...)
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3 internautes sur 3 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
4.0étoiles sur 5
A Must Read., Jui 4 2004
The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is set in London, England. This story is about a young man who grows to be a sinful and terribly vain man driven by love, beauty and art.
The Main character, Dorian Gray, at the beginning of the book is a beautiful and youthful man. Dorian was a man everyone wanted to be around just because he had innocence and he was different. "He has a simple and beautiful nature." Says Basil Hallward. This innocence and beauty changes as he becomes friends with Lord Henry and his values of life change him. Because Dorian was so naïve, Lord Henry lured Dorian into a whole new life and new philosophies about love, beauty and selfishness. This is not the only deep friendship that is developed in this book. Dorian also becomes friends with Basil Hallward and Basil paints a portrait of Dorian and Basil puts his whole heart into this painting for it to ultimately destroy himself and Dorian. Anyway, Dorian wishes that he could stay young all his life and always be beautiful. As he grows older Dorian does many terrible and shocking things but he still remains beautiful and untouched while his painting of himself shows the real nasty, terrible, and corrupted Dorian.
One part of the book that really captivated me is when Dorian murder's one of his good friends. I think this is one of the turning points in the book because I believe Dorian realizes that life shouldn't be based on the appearance of things but more about quality and spirit. Dorian understands that his lifestyle of upscale parties with London's elite, and his friendship with Lord Henry is not all that it seems to be. You can see that after Dorian murders someone he questions himself and the painting because he realizes what the painting has done to him. During the last pages of the book we can see how Dorian self-destructs and finds away to restore the painting of exquisite and youth.
This book was very different from anything I read and I loved it. I like how Oscar Wilde wrapped me into this book with many compelling and interesting thoughts. The main lessons I learned from this book is question your role models and to value your life. Another lesson I learned is to not worry about beauty because if we only pick things that are beautiful we miss the wonderful and mysterious things that don't look pretty but deep inside they are.
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