I just finished the novel tonight. While I think the story was brilliant (the idea of it, the events of the plot), I think it was a rather poorly executed novel. Wilde seemed much more interested in describing the extravagances that Dorian collected than the sins that actually corrupted his soul. His sins were merely alluded to, never described. It surely must have been because of the time in which Wilde lived - explicit descriptions of the actions missing in the story would have been considered too vulgar to print. However, (and perhaps it is because of time time in which this reader lives) I would be much more interested in the down and dirty details of Dorian's corruption (which could be elegantly and classily described with enough art) than the rather lengthy and boring descriptions of the jewels and tapestries which fascinated him.
I have to say, I absolutely loved the character of Lord Henry (Harry). The quotes of his I found interesting are far too numerous to list and explore here, but suffice it to say that his sardonic, sarcastic, cynical view of society and humanity to be amusing and, sometimes, quite insightful.
The overall message I took away from the novel is that Dorian Gray was an empty page, a blank canvas; it was not from within that he was corrupted, but from the influences of those without - Basil and Harry. Much like the portrait took the brunt of the corruption of age and sin for Dorian, Dorian himself was the visual representation of Basil's and Harry's own sins.
Long story short - loved the story, the plot, the characters, but not Wilde's style of writing nor the topics he chose to emphasize.
