Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray BOOK REVIEW

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[@JuanReads]

I love hearing what first-time readers of The Picture of Dorian Gray make of it. It's never too late to read great books. I envy people who haven't read some of the greatest books I love because I know what they can look forward to. And that is also why I'm excited to discover those classics I haven't had the chance to read yet.

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

A lot of those old Victorian novels exude a certain repressed homoeroticism, but yeah Dorian Gray cranked it up to 11. 😂 Really nifty book though; one might could even argue it's a perfect or near perfect specimen. It's straightforward, concise, and executes its intents with great aplomb. The only thing I've ever read by Wilde, but I definitely enjoyed it. 🙂

[@HaterTot28]

Believe it or not, the original novella that was initially published as a periodical had even more overt homoeroticism (with 500 words edited out for indecency)

[@joni1405]

I don't know if it's really 'repressed' when Oscar Wilde was as openly gay as you could possibly be in the late 1800s

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

@@joni1405 Wilde himself was flamboyantly gay, yes, but the literature of the time could not be. Books that were pornographic or openly gay in nature generally did not receive professional, large scale publication. It's highly implied that Dorian is bisexual, but the book couldn't just come right out and say that.

[@rhysholdaway]

I wish Oscar Wilde had written more novels like this. Not really a great fan of his plays but this book was a joy to read.

[@sciencefantastic]

Oh hell yea it’s so gay. Currently going through it and it is quite homoerotic

[@Nuriengo]

One of my all time favorite novels. Full of quotable aphorisms. I never get tired of re-reading it.

[@jonathanmelendez7489]

The Picture of Dorian Gray was my first literary obsession (I may have re-read the book more than 6 times during my adolescence) and still remains one of the few truly transformative experiences in my life.

[@v.cackerman8749]

Reading The Picture of Dorian Gray was much more entertaining that I thought it would be when I first picked it up. I wish he had written more than he did. Oscar Wilde is a great author.

[@timkjazz]

Another insightful review from sublime master of book reviews, Mr. Cliff Sargent, cogent, humorous and always welcome, especially during a week as rough as this one. Thank you, Cliff.

[@ree9487]

Finally! One of my favorite books of all time! Thanks Mr. Cliff.

[@allesvergaengliche]

read it when i was 16 or so, loved it. read it again last year and loved it even more. definitely a book that rewards rereading. glad you liked it Cliff.

[@amirahkhan7909]

This video made me so happy! I can't beleive you hadn't read TPDG until now. I would imagine one would start with it then venture into Huysmans and Baudelaire as was the case for me-TPDG was my gateway drug. Intrigued by the decadents and aesthetes, I wrote an extended essay in high school exploring how the motif of degeneration is explored in TPDG and A Rebours and stumbled upon your reveiw of A Rebours, the very few ones out there. I adored how you raved about the book like a fanboy! I have been following your stuff ever since. I read TPDG at 14 and it initiated my love for literature. I remember trying to piece together my thoughts after reading it, so I highly resonate with the phenomenon of 'not understanding what I had just read but loving it thoroughly.' I am a self-proclaimed Oscar Wilde aficionado yet I learnt so much from this! I'm in such a terrible reading slump at the moment and this video rekindled my love for literature. Thank you so much! I can't wait for your re-review of A Rebours if you chose to make one!

[@AVastShimmer]

Congrats on getting sponsored. You deserve it!

[@leifnelson9643]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Also, the second half of this review was extremely interesting. I really appreciate the research you did

[@ElizabethW62]

I read this book decades ago, and I loved it! If you've never watched the 1945 film version, starring the charismatic and inimitable George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield (who plays Dorian), and Angela Lansbury, I highly recommend it. I have the dvd, which includes the commentary with Lansbury; she stated that the director insisted Hatfield move his facial muscles as infrequently as possible. Presumably, this was to ensure Hatfield's expressions were those of apathy. Thank you for the review! 😊

[@greggoat6570]

Great review, been waiting on this one without realizing it. This was one of my favorite books in high school, still adore it, so much fun to read. And wow, what a synchronicity! I just finally got a copy of Against Nature. Very excited to tear into it especially now that I am aware of its connections to this book. I had completely forgotten about the book Dorian is given in the story, I think that’s so neat.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Many thanks to the sponsor of today's video BetterHelp - Get 10% off your first month by following this link: betterhelp.com/btf

[@shelveswithstories13]

My first Oscar Wilde was when I was around 12. We had to study The Selfish Giant in school that year. Fast forward 6 years, I read Canterville Ghost for my A levels (like all CBSE students from India do). My love for this writer kept brewing slow. I am 21+ now. In the last 2 years I read The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Ernest. He is one of my favourite authors now. What a genius

[@MrPROJECTSyNc]

Loved this review. And in regards to Melmoth the Wanderer, it’s well worth your time but extremely convoluted. You can tell it inspired Dorian Gray as much as À Rebours did.

[@mad6582]

Fantastic review as always - cheers!

[@alaskanrockvodka9622]

What a fab review. Thanks for this. DG is chaotic. You've captured it so well.

[@kevinlong3603]

Thanks Cliff, great review as always - have been waiting for ages for you to cover a Victorian classic. Hope that you'll review a Dickens novel at some point.

[@Ozgipsy]

Really enjoyed this, thanks 👍

[@mpushify]

Just finished my first Oscar Wilde book, De Profundis, which I really loved, especially the second part of it. Next this then. Thanks for the heads up.

[@Ozgipsy]

Mate, the Against Nature review was really good 👍

[@marcelhidalgo1076]

my cousin loves this book. I read it when I was a teenager, but not as an adult. on another note, I hope you continue reviewing the My Struggle series. I'm finishing up My Struggle Vol 2 now. I'm not finding the theme of love to be as interesting as father's death in the first volume. I do plan on continuing reading the series though.

[@degsbabe]

I really enjoyed the review. I've always loved the works of Wilde. Just like the artist in the novel, he put alot of himself into his work. Winston Churchill was once asked who he would most like to meet in the afterlife . Without hesitation he replied...Oscar Wilde. Apart from his writing Wilde was a renowned conversationalist and could entrance a room. The 'wallpaper duel' story is so funny..What a line to go out on.

[@juanharo5291]

Big fan of your reviews. Im wondering, did you notice the parallel between the character you described in Against Nature with his ‘obsession’ for art, how Dorian is similar, and how you then went on to excitedly describe connections between artworks in your collection? I thought it inretesting because I find myself to be similar, collecting and analyzing books. But I read Picture of Dorian Gray as an influenceable college student

[@Tracydot3]

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I love the theme of excess and decadence which reminds me of a refined version of a Marquis de Sade novel. I reread this book ever few years. The last time I read it, I realized it was a horror novel but I have not heard very many people refer to it as such. Oscar Wilde was brilliant. I have read all of his writing, including his collection of fairy tales. He was probably the wittiest writer ever. It sucks he was so mistreated and abused by society just for being gay (bi?.)

[@joni1405]

Oscar Wilde molested children. The idea that he was just 'gay' is a falsehood. He had sex with underage male prostitutes (who were underage according to the laws of the time) and he went on sex tourism romps with Andre Gide around the Mediterranean where they had sex with kids. Gide admitted this in a book he wrote a few decades later. Gide himself was a pedophile and admitted this openly but he was French so no one really cared. Wilde would have gotten a harsher sentence today for his child molestation than he got in the 1890s. We would have put him in jail for 20 years for all the kids he abused

[@joekiddyshaw5757]

A Fan's Notes Plzzzz . . . Love you're reviews btw !

[@billyalarie929]

“Foppish” is such an incredible word, and it makes me laugh uncontrollably, every time I hear or see it.

[@fuzzydunlop4513]

I prefer fappish

[@stevelambert10]

You are my favourite book reviewer

[@kainzol1638]

Great review as usual! It's interesting, I expected heavier homoeroticism for it's fame. Parents at my highschool years ago complained when a teacher had the students read it so I thought it was more provocative, but it was very far from it, even for his time I believe it was quite collected and only somewhat suggestive. Anyway, a great book and I highly recommend his "De Profundis", written when he was encarcerated. It's more personal but his style shines through and it is the cherry on top of his work alongside with The Ballad of Reading Gaol since they were published right before his passing.

[@realrohitdebnath]

The book had been on the shelf for quite a while. When I saw you had uploaded this vid I picked it up. Dorian's ideologies about beauty and aging oppose with Seneca's famous quote, "Let us cherish and love old age; for it is full of pleasure if one knows how to use it. Fruits are most welcome when almost over; youth is most charming at its close; the last drink delights the toper, the glass which souses him and puts the finishing touch on his drunkenness." The book is quite purplish. Lord Henry's "truths about everything" will annoy sometimes. Must say, it was not just the book that Henry (Harry) gave to Dorian but it was also Harry himself that spoilt and corrupt Dorian. "Devil feeds on innocent souls." To me personally that devil was Lord Henry.

[@Ryan_Ek2]

Thanks for the shout out, Cliff!

[@mariaaldea1039]

Sometimes I enjoy your review more than I think I would enjoy the book

[@bobhopper609]

Interesting comment about the transmutation of things being what we call time.

[@arblankenship54]

I know you’ve done Pynchon before with gravity’s rainbow, but would love to hear you review his second novel Crying of Lot 49

[@thejamesbrothersband5491]

Im surprised you haven’t read it. It’s so good. I bought it from Walmart when I was a kid lol one of my favorites for sure

[@marinavianna8754]

I would looooove to see a video about The Devil to Pay in the Backlands (Grande Sertão Veredas). It’s a shame a lot of the magic of the writing gets lost in translation, but still really worth it.

[@therealignotus7549]

Its Ferenc Liszt on the cover, pretty strange

[@midorilove07]

One of my favorites. Every page is loaded.

[@eduardobossardi]

I was thinking about your channel AND about this book last week. Some coincidences are just weird.

[@bulwarkjm2]

The best part of that book in my opinion was the witty banter of Lord Henry. So many truths.

[@ellelala39]

Cliff, you might want to look up The Yellow Book.

[@pabloibarra9874]

Anyone else skip that whole part? Of Dorians life post book? It was like 4-5 pages of just speaking of jewels and fabrics and I don’t even know but I skipped it. Lmao too much detail of colored jewels that It bored me 😅

[@HalfBloodOtter]

Totally

[@onfaerystories]

I personally loved that book enough to read it three times. That last time, I read it out loud to my husband and my god did he hate this book 😂 Couldn't stand the purple prose and all those homoerotic undertones. He missed the important themes completely. 🥴 I personally think the ending of the book was brilliant as I came to understand that the portrait represented Dorian's conscience. The only thing my husband and I agree about is that Lord Henry is a very fascinating character, and so he did enjoy his twisted dialogues. We often reference that character, actually. So our marriage is still going strong. 😂

[@thomaskittock2866]

I've read every single piece from Wilde, this novella is always sublime. I think it warrants a reread from me soon.

[@OrvilsYouthProductions]

Hey, I've got a suggestion. If you like Wilde and aestheticism etc. one of my favourite books is 'In Youth Is Pleasure' by Denton Welch. It's a very simple story of a peculiar teenage boy named Orvil who goes on holiday to the English countryside. It focuses heavily on themes of the senses with very detailed descriptions of food, clothes, and old antiques he's obsessed with collecting (kind of like 'Against Nature'). One of the main themes of the book is a kind of sexual awakening but there's also this idea of the implicit sadomasochism of everyday human behavior (one scene he locks himself in a cupboard on purpose). Though he is by no means the most widely celebrated author of his day, tons of figures have sung his praises. John Waters once said that 'maybe there is no better novel in the world better than 'In Youth Is Pleasure', William Burroughs claimed that he was the writer who had the biggest influence on his work, and many others including John Updike, Richard Hell, and Edmund White to name a few, are big fans. He's even been called Britain's Marcel Proust. His life is also the stuff of legend, dying young in his thirties from complications revolving around being hit by a car when falling off of his bike years prior. Prior to this he was a painter, and you can definitely tell this in his vivid descriptions. He spent his brief literary career writing in bed, much like Proust. Anyway, hope you check it out.

[@KALLIERSKAVEMOTHERFUCKA]

Few works of literature are as effervescent as Dorian Gray and just as few are as utterly pessimistic; that it is capable of fusing remarkably disparate parts into a whole that is absolutely cohesive is a superior example of its author’s gifts. Like Wilde’s Salome, Dorian Gray is as colorful as it is bleak, and even its weaknesses, in context, seem like strengths. Seldom is an artist’s most famous work also his most erudite and brilliant: this is one of those works. I have approached it perhaps six or seven times in the last five years, and each reading has left me more enraptured than the last-which is high praise for a novel that relies a great deal on suspense and aesthetic splendor. I consider it one of the finest things I have ever read-daring, sultry, venomous, eloquent, and radiant in its own decay.

[@archaeologydad3761]

If you're a fan of Wilde, I highly highly recommend the movie The Happy Prince. It's a great biopic about his life after he was released from prison.

[@kieran_forster_artist]

Great mention of Better Health…..sooo essential in these days of out of control mental illness.

[@mihaelaalexia2079]

please read a book by haruki murakami ,or mieko ,they are so good ,and if you read the myth of sisyphus please review that book too .

[@BFF854]

Keep up the great work Cliff. 👍👌🙏☠️👽😁👻💀

[@yura2424]

Nice thumbnail!

[@alexiusboshoff7337]

Hello, would you mind reviewing 1982 Janine?

[@zachsmith3376]

I would like you to read "The Sympathizer" by Viet Thangh Nguyen. One of funnier books I've ever chanced to read.

[@lotoadd]

i recommend you all to read the uncensored version

[@thJune-ze7dn]

This book never gets old...

[@jojohairee9987]

How do you remember things from the books you've read? Do you annotate your books?

[@armstrongchanambam1136]

@Better Than Food Review Farabeuf by Salvador Elizondo next

[@palomalacerda97]

This is a great book.

[@brendonross5774]

Recently read a great book length exploration of Morrissey's lyrical genius, both in the Smiths and solo 'The Patent of his Bleeding Heart's by Gavin Hopps... could be right up your alley (I just have to add an "Ooh! I am naughty" followed by a saucy giggle). Right up your alley makes me think 'Prick Up Your Ears', which could also be your kinda thing (Prick Up Your Rear... subtle huh!) and the works of Joe Orton, Swinging London's own Oscar Wilde.... our boy almost got to write a film script for the Beatles! Which would have been wild, in a very Wilde way one suspects. Against Nature... are you flirting with me sir? Finally... are you aware of newish UFC fighter Jordan Leavitt? Guy kicks ass, then hilariously jiggles his ass in a wonderfully homoerotic dance of victory... which is obviously totally out of place because UFC is the most macho straight dude shit ever right! But then he gets on KZbin and chats about his fave books... Bx

[@rennanpoeta]

Um dos meus livros preferidos da vida. Li na minha adolescência e ainda lembro do impacto que senti à época. Oscar Wilde é um deus!

[@moiraclegg3380]

Someone once asked me how my best friend and I kept out of serious trouble as kids in a pretty loose town. I said we had read 'Dorian Gray'. Oscar shows teenagers (the right age to read the book!) the difference between minor delinquency and real corruption, I thought.

[@bobcabot]

...you should make a video on Napoleon Hill ( "Outwitting the Devil" ) and hollywood should make a movie about!

[@user-qr2ch3ht9b]

Sir, is there a possible way to contact you?

[@Zorak_97]

You said Huysmans's _Against Nature_ is in your Top 10 books of all time. I assume Bataille's _Story Of The Eye_ is still in the top of the list. So what are the other 8 books?

[@montanagal6958]

...tragic life, love this book

[@zigzigzig]

treat yourself to the audiobook. just that one line from lord henry wotton is worth it. "oh, so you have discovered....that"

[@juanandresosorio7166]

I am sorry, but publishing a book by one of the most important aesthetes in history and giving it such an ugly cover is an outright sin. Great review though.

[@davidnorris166]

This comment made me laugh.

[@strikerpaty]

Hi, I also just finished the book for the first time at 30y old. It was very difficult to digest, to be honest. The implicit exaggerated love affair at the beginning, the whole deification of hedonism and I must confess that I almost gave up when Dorien threw herself on the sofa like a true Disney drama queen. But I was determined to finish it and I felt vindicated in the end after having endured it. However, from the beginning, the painter describes Dorian as having the highest ego and content in causing him pain. So please, Dorian, forgive me if I can't believe you when you blame Harry, Basil, or the book for your own decline. “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”

[@ufomechanic11]

Are you a real life “Joe” from the Netflix series “You?” Or maybe I’m just wishing you were lol JK. Loved the video.

[@Vishal._vp]

Apart from chapter 11 it was great.

[@TequilaMockingBird91]

WHY DOES THE SKULL IN THE BACKGROUND KEEP SHIFTING?!

[@tamarabucska1941]

I just finished the book, i agree it was amazing, i think it is my new favorite. I really recommend the non censored version. I am Hungarian, i had to look for the non censored version everywhere... But it gives a lot 😍 like Basil romantic love for Dorina, actually it makes a lot of sense for me, his actions his words get to the place. If any of u guys read the censored verison and like it, i wanna say u should definitely read the non censored one ❤️

[@joyartdesign]

It’s over 3mins and I’m still waiting on the actual review

[@SteveJones379]

Who is or what is "Resmond?"

[@timer7779]

book review

[@itsmyytaccount8498]

What was the name of the poet you have made unlisted? You read a brilliant poem by him but I can't remember his name. I just remember some of the lines: "More wicked than rum.... He killed a n222a for stealing his shit.... He made a lot of men b@stards... Guts like midnight milk... Throwing shades at the grave..." I really want to read this poem again and explore the poets other works. I just can't remember his name. You read his work on your channel but its now been removed. Can you please remind me of who he was please? thank you.

[@katlamb4606]

This book to me isn't just better than book. It's better than sleep too!❤

[@MG-ng2ze]

3:53 book review starts

[@abidababu9088]

Same here😅

[@MrEcted]

Maybe the most quotable book ever. I particularly love: "for there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about"

[@beyourowncatalyst]

12:00

[@dsattari29]

My main issue with this book is how boring and almost unnoticeable the moment Dorian sells his soul is. I always imagined it to be this grand moment and it’s really just something he blandly mentions in the middle of conversation. Either that or I’m illiterate.

[@Provocateur991]

You describe books like a wine taster

[@antonnovo695]

Reminds me of American Psycho

[@Jerraleon]

Respectfully sir, you look a bit pale the video colorgrading needs some adjusting hahah

[@beyourowncatalyst]

13:14

[@joejs7659]

I am at the third chapter and fuck this guy could write.

[@taka-taktak]

This book is brilliant, Oscar Wilde's wit is unmatched.

[@etchosts8162]

My name is Dorian.

[@cometcourse381]

why is franz liszt on the cover?

[@mrschiquitita6664]

Just finished the book and immediately watched your review. Well, I know it's all very subjective but this book was kind of a big flop in my opinion. There are undoubtedly some brilliant phrases here and there, and there is some velvety beauty in the writing, but as much as I tried I just couldn't love it. The dark sides of the story are not deep and not as gripping as in Edgar Poe's stories, and the psychological side of it delving into regrets and inner monologues is also pretty shallow. Maybe it's one of those books you need to read before you turn 20.

[@ionlyemergeafterdark]

After having seen the fairly recent film on Wilde's life, I think that his conversion to Catholicism was not voluntary. He was weak and helpless in bed and his friends, apparently, paid a priest to come and give him the last rites. I think Wilde was too weak to fight back. Having read two of Wilde's essays, The Soul of Man under Socialism and De Profundis, I can't believe that Wilde would have converted voluntarily to Catholicism. Wilde knew that Catholicsm is despotic and he valued the freedom of the individual highly. I just cannot imagine Wilde giving up on his ideals to such an extent of his own volition.

[@ixmix]

Read this one 15 years ago… but not inspired. ( Although Wild is one of the great writers)

[@jeremyking3986]

I’m 51 and I’ve never read any Wilde

[@SAYBOW69]

He says 33? Didn’t know reading ages ya that much. Looks much older. 😉

[@busraberber]

You look ilke Van Gogh.

[@sloppytony]

I feel like maybe I'm too stupid for Oscar Wilde because this book hasn't really gripped me. The concept of the story and much of the plot is interesting but there are these moments of philosophical prose composed of flowery an ornate speech in which a lot is said but nothing of any discernable substance. Maybe that's the point I'm not sure. I'm only halfway through the book and hoping it gets better. Also, as a side note, Dorian is supposed to be a compelling, interesting and captivating figure that people are instinctively drawn to but only because Oscar Wilde says so. He never displays any trait of the sort. It's truly the epitome of tell don't show.

[@danilkopaskudnik3002]

..can you do like other bits like Will Self, Martin Amis, and such ,, poohlease ..

[@alexmacdonald9182]

damn you're 33? thought you were 35-36

[@nozecone]

I thought he was 30-31.