65. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Stories

by Oscar Wilde (331 pgs)

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Dorian Gray is a young well to do man who has an uncommon beauty. He never seems to age and the marks of a sinful predilection towards pleasure never show on his face. His dark and mysterious secret to seemingly eternal youth lies in a portrait which ages in his stead. What is Mr. Gray willing to do to protect his secret?

I enjoyed the novel but I found the ending abrupt. Once I realized it was intended to be a gothic novel the ending made more sense to me and many of the things which bothered me began to make sense. It's a good novel but I feel I read it out of context.

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime
This short story is about a young man who is prophesied to kill someone. Because of his romantic ideals, he feels he must ensure that this happens before he marries his fiancee. Hilarity ensues. Well after a fashion it does. The whole story is improbable but I found myself reading it with a weird sort of fascination.

The Canterville Ghost
A short story which well deserves its fame. The Canterville Ghost is obviously of the gothic genre and rather unapologetically pokes fun at both Americans and English. I found myself giggling quite a bit while reading this and moralistically speaking, there's a good message. There's a bit of innuendo at the end but I think it would glide right over the head of most kids.

The Sphinx Without a Secret
Cute, sad, and weird. I think Wilde is making a statement about the attitudes of his times but, not being well read on the contemporary history, I can't quite decipher what it is. In any case, worth the read, quite short and makes a point about the nature of love in relation to trust.

The Model Millionaire
A five page story that should be obligatory in every British Literature survey. Wilde couldn't resist a pun at the end but I can forgive that because it's like the punchline to a well told joke.

On the whole, one begins to notice a trend in Wildes work for double identities and strange misunderstandings. I liked the short stories somewhat more than the novel but I liked the novel well enough too. I feel that if I knew more about the period Wilde is writing in, I would have a deeper appreciation for the book.