Il ritratto di Dorian Gray

Oh Dorian. Oh Dorian. When I first read this book in the fruitless years of my youth I was excited, overwhelmed and a blank slate (as Dorian is, upon his first encounter with Lord Henry) easily molded, persuaded, influenced, etc. Certain Wildisms (Wildeisms?) would take my breath away. Would become my Leggi tutto

I finished reading this last night, and afterwards I spent an entire hour staring into space so I could contemplate over the majesty of this work. It left me speechless. This book is exquisite; it is an investigation into the human soul, the power of vanity and the problems of living a life with not Leggi tutto

"The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul." And so b

This book reminded me why I hate classics. Like Frankenstein, it starts out with a great premise: what if a portrait bore the brunt of age and sin, while the person remained in the flush of youth? How would that person feel as they watched a constant reminder of their true nature develop? And like Fr Leggi tutto

2021 - I re-read this for university and loved it even more the second time round... Lord Henry is a paradigmatic sophist and his epigrams are delightful (partly because it's easy to forget that he is more rhetoric than truth). The connection between youthful appearance and character is also so fasc Leggi tutto

Books like this are why I love classics. They may be old as hell, but in another, much more real way, they never get old. We as a society will never outgrow the need for a beautifully written book about being hot and evil. End review. Bottom line: Valiantly resisting the urge to make this book my entir Leggi tutto

Some of u have never damned ur soul to remain forever young and it shows

instantly a new all time favorite