#40 The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde (Vintage)

It may have been his only novel, but The Picture of Dorian Gray is, as Irvine Welsh writes in an introduction to the copy I read, only rivalled by The Importance of Being Earnest in Wildean fame. I have to admit I finished the novel slightly disappointed, however.

The concept is wonderful. Dorian Gray has such youthful beauty, when he sees this through the eyes of a painter for whom he has posed, he prays that he will be granted eternal youth and that his image in the painting will age - and show the physical consequences of his life's decisions - instead of his own visage.

Gray's descent into decadence, prompted in part by a frivolous friend who has no idea of the ramifications of his devil-may-care attitude and its effect on Gray, is deftly handled. The murder of the painter is as shocking as it should be. Gray's deceit, his need to hide away the painting but keep checking whether there have been any changes, his narcissism, his self-indulgent behaviour balanced against his guilt and fear that some of those he has wronged may seek revenge, is powerful. And the end, which comes quite suddenly, is a neat resolution.

Wilde wrote Dorian Gray five years before he was sent to Reading Gaol for 'gross indecency' and the language Wilde uses throughout, particularly when describing Gray, is very homoerotic (although there aren't actually any homosexual acts). Having recently been reading some Bret Easton Ellis, I also noted some common themes, with Wilde keen to reference items a la mode, as Ellis does in his novels, notably American Psycho.

Much to appreciate then, but, for wont of a better word, there was plenty of waffle as well (and I know that's almost a blasphemous statement when directed at Wilde). Tremendously witty in parts, the to and fro of discussion between Lord Henry Wotton and artist Basil Hallward and Gray in particular can be hard to follow and is occasionally obtuse. Much of it seems like badinage for badinage's sake, and while some comments hit the right note, others are discordant. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I thought I would.

So, rating time:

#40 The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde (Vintage) - 7/10

Next up: The Beautiful Game, by Claire Challis and Fabulous (Headline Review)

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