The Picture of Dorian Gray

De: Oscar Wilde

Narrado por: Kate Petrie

The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, written in 1891, is a timeless philosophical classic that is still seen today as an interesting debate on the true meaning of beauty. Basil Hallward, a kind-hearted painter, is inspired by Dorian Grey's unbelievable good looks. While painting a still life of Dorian, Hallward and an acquaintance, Lord Henry Wotton, discuss Dorian's beauty and the idea of perfection. Convinced by their discussion that beauty is the only thing that matters in life, Dorian wishes that he would never age. Instead, he hopes that his painting will age in his stead.

To his pleasure, Dorian's wish comes true, and Dorian's body stops aging. Feeling liberated, Dorian decides to pursue the darker side of life by indulging in his desires of women, drugs, and other scandalous activities. The more sins he commits, the more the painting of himself corrodes. When the artist, Basil, comes to visit, Dorian blames him for the painting's corrosion and murders Basil. He then convinces a friend to get rid of the body. Dorian still clings to the belief that beauty on the outside is more important than beauty on the inside, but eventually his past actions come back to haunt him. Dorian learns first-hand that he can't escape his very own self. This dramatic tale is written skillfully, and the shocking ending will have you on the edge of your seat.

©2015 Take 2 Studios (P)2015 Take 2 Studios

An original

What did you like best about The Picture of Dorian Gray? What did you like least?

I think I liked some of the concept of Dorian Gray, and I liked the dialog (showing that Wilde was as quick witted as any). What didn't work was some of the description (but the description may work well for other listeners)

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The story of Dorian Gray is a well known one. Even before listening to the story, I was aware of its beats, its themes, and some of its characters. As such, I wasn't riveted in place. However, it was worth taking the time to finish.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

There have been numerous film and television adaptations of Dorian Gray, and I might see one of them, if only to see how they treat the famous picture.

Great book, decent performance

I've been meaning to read this for a while, and I'm glad I downloaded it! Such a great book, very dark, somewhat philosophical and entirely entertaining with Wilde's lush writing style. The narration could have been better. Some of the voices she decided on didn't really match the characters - Basil sounds like an old man from the get go, when he's supposed to be fairly young at the beginning of the book. There were also several times when she repeated something, like taking a second take, that was somehow missed and not edited out. It took me out of the experience each time. I still recommend it as it wasn't bad, just decent. But if you can find a better narration, that might be the way to go!

Riveting.

This book was completely enthralling and kept me interested top to bottom. The narrator did a great job and was consistent with voices.

seriously

Ok literally 2 minutes in and the story is ruined by the introduction. That is not proper at all not at all, now the book is just so predictable. Just wow.

The Narrator Lulled me to Sleep!

Would you try another book from Oscar Wilde and/or Kate Petrie?

Probably not! I know this is a classic, but I found the story to be overly verbose and slow moving, while the narrator's soft voice lulled me into sleep often.

Summary at the beginning is a huge spoiler.

Any additional comments?

All is good but the summary at the beginning really spoils it. I realized it cannot be a prologue of the actual book when it recited of Dorian killing the artist. I never read this before and actually am pretty appalled by this right now.