The 306 Greatest Books #86 - The Picture of Dorian Gray

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This book can be found on the Sybervision, Observer, and My Book Lists.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a rather enjoyable book about a man who (unintentionally) sells his soul so that he may remain the Adonis that he is forever. Dorian Gray starts out pretty naive until he is told by a painter that he is the most beautiful person he has ever seen. After the portrait that he paints is complete, Dorian sees it and realizes that the painter is correct. At the same time he meets another man, Lord Henry, who says that it is a pity that he will lose his beauty at such a young age, prompting Dorian to sell his soul to maintain his current appearance.. Since that time Lord Henry had steadily corrupted Dorian, acting as a Satan character, leading him down a dark path. Fantastic book. The ending is perfect and unexpected. I recommend it to anyone interested in a fairly short, enjoyable read. Wilde does go off on some tangents at times and some of Lord Henry's speeches are difficult to follow, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The 306 Greatest Books #74 - The Importance of Being Earnest

Note - This review was originally published on my other site "The Geology P.A.G.E." but due to the content I have moved it here and backdated the post.

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. This book can be found on the Sybervision and My Book Lists.

While reading through all of these 100 Greatest Books, there are many which are quick reads and the one consistent thing among the plays is that they are all very fast to get through. You get the introduction, the conflict, and the resolution all within about two hours. The Importance of Being Earnest was even one of the shorter ones, always a highlight for me, and I found it rather funny and enjoyable to boot. The story is about a made-up person named Earnest and two men who pretend to be him. Both of these men end up getting engaged to different women and as you can imagine, hilarity ensues (I had to say that). The play has a very fast paced narrative and the situations are not altogether unbelievable. I rather enjoyed it and will place it on my recommended reading list.