>Is he worth reading at all?
No, he's a retarded anarchist.

But then again, "retarded anarchist" is a tautology.

>>7353207
It's a very appreciated work from young adults and teenagers that actually read but that's it, in general he is taught in schools so that's why most people get interested in him IF they get interested in him, mainly because they will be transitioning from kids to angsty faggots so seeing that special snowflake of a faggot of Wilde turns them on, other than that he is pretty forgettable.

>>7353231
this.

>>7353227
Anarchist or not, Wilde was one of the most aestheticist writers in the western canon, Dorian Gray is hardly propaganda, and you seem extremely mad.

What's the matter, some smelly crustie stole your gf?

I recently got around to reading this as well.
I thought is was interesting that the book is essentially a philosophical discourse about beauty thinly masked by a fantasy storyline.

I think the question Wilde was trying to work out is: "is it enough to experience beauty to be happy, or must one also be good (and what is goodness, anyway)?" There's a really interesting dilemma as to whether being beautiful is the same as experiencing beauty, and as to whether physical attractiveness is equal to true beauty.

Some of the book is really clever and witty, and some of it is dull and unforgivable (see, for instance, the second half of chapter XI). I think some of the unforgivably dull stuff makes more sense if you read J.K. Huysmans, whos novel Against Nature was a big inspiration to Wilde.

My favorite line in the book was definitely: "The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young." Hit me right in the feels.

What were your reservations about it, OP? What did you like?

Generally a good and well-written novel. I don't get the comments here about how it is for kids and is 'angsty'. I've wanted to check out his other work, but I haven't taken the time to do so.

>>7353235
>>some smelly crustie stole your gf?
Considering the fact that anon hates Wilde I'm guessing his gf was stolen by a nice smelling, well dressed, sharp faced, witty young (-looking) fellow.

I enjoyed it a lot. It has a simple core theme - be wary of the influence of friends - but that doesn't mean it's a simple or unimportant book.

It was a quick read, pretty exciting, the final chapter where Dorian stabs the painting has more going on than the average /lit/izen realizes, and Oscar Wilde's prose is strong and consistently witty.

My favorite part was when Harry and Basil show up to watch Sibyl's performance and she does poorly. That entire sequence of events, the events that follow, and dialogue between the characters, is fucking hilarious.

>>7353263
>has more going on than the average /lit/izen realizes
Such as? I recognize the basic symbolism involved but it doesn't seem to harbour anything most people would miss.

I enjoyed the novel. Wilde crafted some vivid characters that I'm sure where inspired by his life given his well-documented background. I especially liked the epigrams he included on life and society. I specifically like the line, "the value of an idea has nothing to do whatsoever of the sincerity of the man who expresses it."

One word: pederasty.

He could've cut it down to about 2/3 of its fucking length by not going into excruciating detail about exactly what sort of bullshit Dorian did to occupy his time, but other than that pretty good. His ever-witty self insert in this one wasn't a total bore either.

>>7353242
this

>>7353207
How would a modern adaptation of Dorian Gray work? All I can think of is;

>Takes place in California
>Basil is a professional photographer
>Dorian and Henry are both trust-fund babies, Henry a club-hopping, weightlifting dudebro.
>Instead of opium, Dorian gets into cocaine and heroin.

>>7354203
Watch Xavier Dolan's "Les Amours Imaginaires". Kinda has a similar story.

>>7353231
His fairytales are absolutely magnificent though

>>7353242
Good post

>>7353207
books is shit, concept is good. watch a move of it.

What an awful cover