Oscar Wilde's depiction of life is all glamorous effluence during the 1890's. The characters you encounter are elegant in appearance and cynical in temperament. Their greatest foe is ennui, and their deepest fear is wrinkled, aged, quiet death. The book is stuffed full of witticisms and memorializations that summarize the world and its experiences into pithy epiphanies. They entertain one another so as not to let true emotion touch their unbothering hearts. Fear, I suspect, is what drives them through their carefree days. Fear of loving keeps each distant and happy and young.
And then, one day, a wish is granted to one, lovely Dorian Gray, who will never age another day of his life. Instead, he watches this experiences paint the face of his likeness, which he keeps secretly hidden. At first, it is his microscope, with which to observe with scientific detachment the changes that do not touch his soul. Drawn deeper daily are the lines and wrinkles of worry and regret that otherwise would be etched along his perfect face. But as this turns into an unfortunate obsession, we witness the price that Dorian pays to retain his youth and isolated, underdeveloped joy. Wilde writes for us a picture of how the soul, ripped form the body, leaves humanity to perform unspeakable deeds. When we are swept into the darkness of imagination, we can momentarily experience this contaminated mind before returning safely home. This philosophical fiction offers an enchanting and speculative metaphor to remind us of the preciousness of the soul and the Gothic horrors of our own destructive capabilities.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is entertaining and frequently quotable. However, only right at the very end does it become fascinating and compelling.
