Oscar Wilde is known, first and foremost, for his scandalous lifestyle and his brief stint in prison for 'homosexual practices'. After that, his noteriety stems from his brilliant and witty theatrical pieces. Everyone knows of 'The Importance of Being Ernest' and the wonderful crafting of dialogue therein. I knew that he had at least one novel to his credit and that it was deemed by so many bookworms as a classic but I had not yet experienced his flavor through the medium of the novel.
'The Picture of Dorian Gray' received scathing reviews in its time and I am not suprised by this in the least. It certainly leans towards vulgarity, if only in suggestion, but as all books seem to do, it corrects the balance of good and evil in the end. Is Dorian Gray a bad person? Is Dorian Gray just a man who didn't know what he should be? I would be more inclined to think the latter.
We watch Dorian start off with all that is good in the world; innocence, beauty and faith in humanity. As the influence of Lord Harry takes hold over him he devolves into a satisfaction seeking hedonist. This is, in part, enjoyable for the reader as he protagonist does things that so many of us imagine doing but never step beyond the bounds of acceptability to attempt.
We see and feel his inner turmoil as he literally sees the effect these actions have on his soul and we are left, in the end, knowing that he lived, and was punished for, an immoral life.
From Oscar Wilde, I would have expected more scandal. Why can't the evil doer be free from conscience and survive, unscathed, as those well principled persons around him fall by the wayside. I'm sure if it had been written this way, in it's time, he would have been hung for encouraging depravity. Perhaps I am simply overwhelming myself with books from the wrong era. It sounds like a french author, referenced in this book showed a lack of consequence for immorality. I may need to move to a different genre for a while.
Oscar Wilde=Brilliant!
Friday, August 19, 2011
'Vanity Fair' by William Makepeace Thackeray
What a name!!!
And a pretty great book. With a storyline that has be milked by hundreds of plays, movies and television shows over the past 200 hundred years, it comes as no suprise that this novel seems almost predictable. However, without a lifetime of knockoffs, a reader would be completely enthralled by this story.
Even WITH a lifetime of knockoffs I found myself devouring page after page of this book. With a few weeks of slow, meandering I still finished the majority of this 800 page book in about one week. It gets good and stays good.
With two main protagonists, Amelia Selby and Rebecca Sharp, the plot shows the ups and downs of two women who lead nearly opposite lives. One which starts at the bottom of society and peaks as high as any well bred woman could ever hope to, and another who seems destined for greatness but has a downfall that is unmatched in literature. Karma seemingly rights the wrongs as the novel concludes but it is a marvel at how Thackeray crafted such complex, likeable and opposite women.
The men remain, as it should be, mostly secondary or tertiary characters throughout and we see the best and the worst of behaviours from them as well. One can see a very christian bias in this writing.
Thackeray said that he learned how to write through the penning of this book and boy can he. You would be hard pressed to find an unsettling word or an unnecessary scene between these covers.
Yet again, a classic that belongs in that category.
And a pretty great book. With a storyline that has be milked by hundreds of plays, movies and television shows over the past 200 hundred years, it comes as no suprise that this novel seems almost predictable. However, without a lifetime of knockoffs, a reader would be completely enthralled by this story.
Even WITH a lifetime of knockoffs I found myself devouring page after page of this book. With a few weeks of slow, meandering I still finished the majority of this 800 page book in about one week. It gets good and stays good.
With two main protagonists, Amelia Selby and Rebecca Sharp, the plot shows the ups and downs of two women who lead nearly opposite lives. One which starts at the bottom of society and peaks as high as any well bred woman could ever hope to, and another who seems destined for greatness but has a downfall that is unmatched in literature. Karma seemingly rights the wrongs as the novel concludes but it is a marvel at how Thackeray crafted such complex, likeable and opposite women.
The men remain, as it should be, mostly secondary or tertiary characters throughout and we see the best and the worst of behaviours from them as well. One can see a very christian bias in this writing.
Thackeray said that he learned how to write through the penning of this book and boy can he. You would be hard pressed to find an unsettling word or an unnecessary scene between these covers.
Yet again, a classic that belongs in that category.
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