A book review of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

'So It's been a while I knew I shouldn't of kept you waiting but I'm here now' (Britney Spears Break the Ice.)

Only Britney Spears herself can do that anyone it's like bladdy ell get over yourself. 

So this is my introduction it's been about three months since my last blog post and for the past couple of days I've been thinking that I should write a blog again ah just when you thought it was all over I'm back baby!

I've just finished reading Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and I finished it thinking is that it? It was a strange book if truth be told I'm not sure what to think to be honest I really enjoyed it at first and I enjoyed his flowery way of writing until it wilted but for me it fell short and I'm like what's wrong with me? What am I messing? But I kept going into Gen Z mode of everything like why isn't everything explained to me explicitly where there's no room for flowery symbolism but then I went back and thought no I'm not going to do Oscar like this he's been through enough he doesn't need me shitting on his book so I went back and I thought about it and I wrote it in a flowery way to way to I do love his flowery ways and the events I didn't original like I have a new understanding of them now. 

This is what I wrote when I first read it Dorian Gray makes me think of our vanity with life and how life in our own essence is vain we ceased to truly explore both the material and spiritual elements of life plainly we love a good illusion a mask a warped painting running with vibrant colour staining our black canvas. We love debate the art of living and yet we only know one song. We think we are artists stunted by the cruel nature of life but I am afraid we are the cruel nature of life and art if we choose it depends upon the very nature of our indentity in turn our understanding of this we call a dream. 

This is what I wrote when I first read it Dorian Gray makes me think of our vanity with life and how life in our own essence is vain we ceased to truly explore both the material and spiritual elements of life plainly we love a good illusion a mask a warped painting running with vibrant colours staining our black canvas. We love to debate the art of living and yet we only know one song. We think we are artists stunted by the cruel nature life but I am afraid we are the cruel nature of life and art if we choose it depends upon the very nature of our indentity in turn our understanding of this life we call a dream. 

No one truly wants to be awakened as we fear the wokeness of life. Can we be present and awake or must we always have to escape our hollow shells find true understanding what is our true discolouration of this world, a mere fantasy hm fantasy and reason heart and believing understanding and dreaming. 

All we know of this life is what we have been shown and all we'll believe is what has been echoed. We orbit around our same principles of understanding and yet we do not truly understand. We seem to ripple in radical rhymes spun out on a line dangling over the edge dancing in our death which makes us so alive. 

Our stark beauty think we contrast with life and yet life is so simple and we keeping asking ourselves why? 

We attach simplicity to our wants and needs and not with the true mechanics of life. What we want and we need is more often blind as easiness in essence is what we fight against in the shadows even though we want it most. I feel as though our intuitive understanding whispers these nuances and yet we exclaim for action in a world of inaction our frameworks are forced upon us until we break away we'll just continue to roll like a penny in a spiral machine. 

After reading my thoughts I thought of some twat going 'yeah but do you actually want to tell me what it's about?

Alright unruly twat you can read the blurb and get it from there no I won't be awkward. 

For me The Picture of Dorian Gray echoes the vanity of 21st Century life and how these egotistical things we shun away from but latch onto us was always around and always has been around. Dorian Gray orbits is a world that is catered to him and everyone love him at first his egotistical ways are echoed through all the characters and it's only until he shuns these egotistical ways do they turn to him and his world collapses as he realises that he can't latch onto his beauty and vanity and his fear of fading away he hid his portrait in turn hid himself and the self hatred bleed through in very odd ways (I felt at first) but it was the deaths of his illusions our illusions everything was so fickle and paramount everything was written on the wall and yet it was painted over. I also loved the illusion to Basil's love for Dorian being spoken about at the at himself I thought that was brave of him to allude to love in this way he was always outspoken about love meaning what it means as the true meaning was rewritten with the writing of society. Overall I really enjoyed it although I do feel as though the passing in time wasn't explore more. 

Thank you for reading. I wish you all best and I hope you have a great day! 

Written by Zebbie Ann Perry.