The Picture of Dorian Gray

'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde.

4/10

Maybe I'm too young to appreciate this one.

I bought this book after it was the 2010 choice for "Dublin: One City, One Book". For those of you who don't know, One City, One Book is basically where Dublin City - being one of only four cities in the world with the designation of UNESCO: City of Literature - decided that everyone should read the same book at the same time, and it would be celebrated in various ways around the city. It's a pretty cool thing, really, and they always choose Irish authors. With flags and posters everywhere last April telling people to read good old Dorian Gray, I just had to.

I bought it. And then it sat on my shelf until August. Believe me, that isn't a very long wait at all for a book on my shelves to be read. I have some I bought years ago still waiting patiently.

Anyway, I read it in August because it's a small book (light paper, small print, etc) and it fit tidily into my luggage when the family all went on holiday.

I'm getting side-tracked.

Back to the book.

There were moments in it that I really loved the language and poetic imagery (I know, I know, it was written by Oscar Wilde, I should have seen it coming), but I found my mind drifting more often than not. Sometimes it wandered on a tangent to something I had just read, and sometimes it was because something more interesting was happening outside my window, or on the TV, or in the posh hotel on the other side of the garden... Lets just say the book rambled on a bit with flowery words and countless flourishes of description.

The story is pretty well represented in the latest movie adaption and - this is something you wont hear me say often - I'd say watch the movie rather than read the book. It is a bit tedious. However, if you're looking for a simple (and well known) story all wrapped up in an oversized box with glittery paper and a bow bigger than your head, by all means, read the book.