An extraordinarily beautiful young man in Victorian England has his portrait painted, and makes an ardent wish that he never have to age. His wish is granted - his body remains ever young and beautiful, and his portrait shows the evidence of age and misdeeds - but at a price...

Oscar Wilde is always good for the quotes in his writing, and Dorian Gray is no exception. Particularly Henry Wotton, the aesthete who lures Dorian onto a hedonistic path, tears his fellow characters to pieces with witty epigrams and observations of society. There were chapters in the middle, though, where it seemed that Wilde let this tendency get in the way of actually telling his story about Dorian. This is a terrible shame because Dorian's life goes from bright and innocent to creepy and dark, a very Gothic tone to the story creeps in.

There is plenty of moral turpitude, fog, death, and paranoia to go around, which made this an excellent quick read curled up during a London winter. I was always drawn back to the text (though there are some boring parts where Wilde shows off his knowledge of fabrics and such), and although I knew the basic premise, I couldn't help but tear through the story to see how exactly it ended. I loved the small, hideous changes Dorian sees in the portrait and how terrifying it is to see such a record of his sins.

A creepy, fast read in a Gothic vein. A classic well worth reading (especially since it's so short).

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I read an excerpt from this in high school…but had never read the whole story…don’t really know why, but saw a copy of it on Paperback Swap while looking for something else and used one of my credits to “order” it. It’s a classic for a reason. It took longer to read than most books of this length or genre because of the language and era it’s set in. I thoroughly enjoyed it; it’s engaging, poignant, sad, maddening and just plain interesting. I had read (some time ago) the importance of Being Earnest and meant to read more of Wilde’s work…scandalous for the day, I do believe…but seems rather tame for this day and age. If I can find a hardback copy of this or a collection of Wilde’s works (which I’m sure must exist…just have to look), I’ll defiantly add them to my small but always growing personal library. This volume also contained The Happy Prince, The Birthday of the Infanta, and Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime. I really didn’t care for the Birthday of the Infanta, but both of the other stories were interesting, if quite short. ( )

I first read Dorian Gray when I was 13. I haven't stopped re-reading it since. ( )

A Victorian literary masterwork, full of wit, and satire and ultimately a subtle group of philosophical and ethical contradictions, each more intoxicating and seductive then the next. ( )

A great Victorian horror story of a man who makes a faustian deal with himself so that he can indulge every sense and never show it. The master aesthete accomplishes victory on so many levels: he invents a new premise, he expounds his aesthetic movement, and criticizes it at the same time. ( )