Have you ever had one of those friends who is really obsessed with skincare and how they look? Well, in today’s entry we’re going to see what can happen when the newest skincare trend is murder!

In case you hadn’t guessed by now, the book we’re talking about today is ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. This book is the only published novel by author Oscar Wilde.

This novel relates the story of a young man, Dorian Gray, who meets the artist Basil Howard and lets him paint his portrait.

Everything changes when Howard introduces him to his friend; Lord Henry (or Harry) Wotton. Henry is the kind of man who believes that being youthful and beautiful is the best thing in life (Besides alcohol and sex) and Dorian quickly becomes obsessed with the idea of youth.

After his portrait is finished he resents it for the beauty and youth it will hold while he ages so he wishes that the picture grow old instead of him. Lucky (or maybe not?) for Dorian, his wish comes true and he will stop at nothing to protect his secret (Yes he kills people).

Until I read this book I only recognized Wilde for his playwrights but this story truly shows the talent he possessed. Even though his writing explores dark themes with suspense and tension, the dialogue and characters remain witty and humorous. He builds complex and interesting characters with intricate wants and motivations, the events and dialogues flow with a solid rhythm, and the language used, even if it was written in 1891, is not too difficult to get through.

The concept that this book explores is extremely interesting to me as we see a character descend into madness in the search for eternal, not life, but beauty. Dorian had no particular desire of living forever, his obsession was with the beauty that youth ensures, and while that might seem incredibly frivolous when we see the lengths he goes to preserve it I think it showcases a much larger issue that our society has.

It appears that since this book was written the world truly has not changed; we are still obsessed with being young and beautiful. Though individuals don’t attempt and commit murder for it in real life I would argue that’s just because it’s not as effective as plastic surgery. Since childhood, we are exposed to the desire that people have to remain as they once were and at some point in our lives, we start to share that belief. I would argue that ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is a cautionary tale of the insanity that is wanting to hold on to the past.

Now, there are plenty of adaptations of this book but I have to admit that my favorite one is the 2009 film ‘Dorian Gray‘. This movie stars Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray, Colin Firth as Lord Henry, and Ben Chaplin as Basil Howard. Objectively, it is not the best adaptation as it skips over some events and characters. Nevertheless, I would say that my favoritism comes from its aesthetic so if you are not really interested in reading the entire novel I definitely recommend you watch this film to enjoy both the story and the visuals.