Classics are known as classics for a reason; they’ve made their mark on the literary canon and continue to exist in the minds of many decades upon decades after their publication and heyday. It’s important to engage with them for the sake of understanding the evolution of storytelling and writing — which is well and good — but it’s always nice to find a classic that holds up to the point of remaining a great read in the modern-day.
Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a quick read that stands the test of time. Following the title’s namesake, we find Dorian Gray on a downward, hedonistic spiral after making a Faustian deal for seemingly eternal youth and beauty that may very well cost him his soul.
From a naive young man to the scum of humanity, Dorian Gray’s transformation is a warning against the total indulgence that wealth, power and a self-centered world produce, showing how the common person is caught under the heel of those fueled by apathetic pleasure.
I don’t have many complaints about “The Picture of Dorian Gray” except for a single chapter — unfortunately, one of the longest chapters in the book. Here, and only here, are we told rather than shown: how Dorian Gray learned about weaving; how Dorian Gray learned about gemstones; how Dorian Gray learned that you should always wash your vegetables before cooking. It goes on and on and on and is probably an artifact of a time when authors were paid by the page — Wilde probably had bills to pay that day, but it doesn’t make that chapter any more enjoyable. Otherwise, the rest of the book is great.
Plus, it’s impressive that portions of the book were censored and altered for the homoerotic undertones between Basil and Dorian Gray. You would have loved Wattpad, Wilde. Your time wasn’t ready for you.
“Under the (Hard) Covers is an opinion column by Ethan Reisler — a published author, satirist, and journalist — reviewing modern and classic novels alike for their craft, storytelling, and general enjoyability.”