Goodreads Ireland discussion

I finished this morning. I really enjoyed my reread. Its a wonderful dark moral tale. Even though I knew where it was going part of me was still on edge for the parts where Sybils brother is lurking in the background.
The language and turn of phrase though is what makes this.Henry's dialogue is worth the read alone

Ah the Sybil section was great. The tension and the emotion. Such an amazing book. It really packs a punch for what is a relatively short read.

Its amazing how easily Henry imprints his world view on Dorian as well. Dorian pretty much moulds himself to Henrys philisophy.

Dorian, for all his bravado, is very impressionable. I think that's part of what drives his vanity. He cares what people think of him and he tries to be the best version of Henry and others expectations which of course is ironic.

Emma wrote: "I think Henry is probably my favourite character in it. He strikes me as the one Wilde put the most of himself into with his rather droll comments on life and art.

As everyone has said it is of c..."

Thanks, Emma, for putting in better words what I was about to say.

When I read this book, it felt not really like a proper novel, but as an brillant way to broadcast Wilde's ideas, to expose the hypocrisy of Victorian's high society. Sometimes, it sounded to me more like an essay than a tale really.

Moreover, I couldn't help myself but to believe that Wilde knew so much about it because he was part of it, or at least, he had many rich and poshy people in his circles.

Still, I am aware I don't know much about Irish literature and its authors, and even less about Victorian society.

Also, I wonder, was this book meant to be a theatre play? It seems so easy to imagine it on a stage that one could say it was intentional.

The stage comment is probably correct as most of Wildes other famous works were plays. This is his only novel but it is easily imagined in a stage as you read

I read Dorian Grey in school and remember hating it so much. I'm so glad I reread it as an adult I got so much more out of it now.

I'd say it wouldnt be fun to micro analyse as a school kid . The curse of many a classic is a bad teacher

That's true .I wonder how many other classic/novels I had to read for school that I would appreciate more as an adult...

There can always be a big difference between reading a book for study and for pleasure.

Finally getting around to commenting.

So it appears that I'm the only one in the group that didn't totally love this book. When I was about a third of the way through the book I wrote, "I'm finding the degree of antisemitism in this super frustrating, especially given how keen an observer of society Wilde is otherwise..." and that "Also many of his characters are very misogynistic. I am generally of the opinion that when an author is having his characters make prejudiced statements, that it's incumbent on the author to be rather clear about whether he (or she) shares those prejudices or is commenting on them. I also give authors some degree of latitude for the time in which they were writing. I'll wait until I finish the whole book, but right now, the misogyny and anti-Semitic elements are what may drag down an otherwise 4 star read to 3 stars."

While there were other aspects of the books I loved (including the style, and ending), I couldn't get over the aforementioned aspects.

The style reminds me of Brideshead Revisited. Has anyone else read that?

I havent read that Sara but quick look at the blurb I probably should.

Sounds like I should read it too