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Sin Tapujos
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139 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1998
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20 people want to read
About the author
Oscar Wilde
5,626 books39.2k followersOscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 12, 2020
Finalmente lo he conseguido. Uno pensaría que leer un libro de FRASES que encima tiene 156 páginas con una letra gigante me tomaría un día como mucho. Guess what me tomó más de un año.
Obvio que si no te gusta Wilde no vas a disfrutar Sin Tapujos pues es una colección de extractos de su obra prácticamente. A mí me encantó claro está. Aparte de los problemas personales que tuve al empezarlo, me tomó más tiempo del que pensé leerlo porque muchas frases me dejaban pensando demasiado como para seguir leyendo. Así que hacía mis notas en Tumblr y lo charlaba con mi hermano y después de un par de días retomaba. No con todas, claro, porque hice los cálculos y serían 3,42 años de reflexionar sobre las frases de Wilde pero se comprende mi punto.
Como dije, que te guste o no se resume a que estés alineado con la filosofía de vida de Wilde o no. Yo lo amé.
Obvio que si no te gusta Wilde no vas a disfrutar Sin Tapujos pues es una colección de extractos de su obra prácticamente. A mí me encantó claro está. Aparte de los problemas personales que tuve al empezarlo, me tomó más tiempo del que pensé leerlo porque muchas frases me dejaban pensando demasiado como para seguir leyendo. Así que hacía mis notas en Tumblr y lo charlaba con mi hermano y después de un par de días retomaba. No con todas, claro, porque hice los cálculos y serían 3,42 años de reflexionar sobre las frases de Wilde pero se comprende mi punto.
Como dije, que te guste o no se resume a que estés alineado con la filosofía de vida de Wilde o no. Yo lo amé.
October 3, 2013
This small, yet fascinating Spanish-written little book was a real enjoyment to read. Sin Tapujos (Openly Speaking) was published by Errepar, in Argentina, in 1998. The prologue, selections and book organization was done by Virna Köble. Of course, how could it not be fun, since it is the best compilation of Oscar Wilde’s witticisms that I have seen? And why not start by saying that I truly recommend this book? Well, I do indeed!
It took me a couple of months to read this book. Not because it is long. One could easily read it in a few hours, if one wished to do so. However, for me it became like a ritual. It was almost like reading an inspirational witticism of the day. Let me explain.
Early in the mornings, I go to my local town center club to swim. I always made sure I had my swimming gear, an apple, water and of course, this wonderful little book. After having finished swimming more laps than what I care to count, I would lie basking in the sun and begin reading it, while eating an apple, at the same time. Fortunately, not too many people would join me, particularly during work week days, for more often than not I would laugh out loud, by my lonesome self!
Oh, there is also the case of a good friend of mine, Reverend Torres. On several occasions he has picked up the book and often enough, an ensuing belly laugh would follow. And there were even several entries related to religion that were quite enlightening, too.
I loved the way in which Mr. Köble organized the book. Not only is there such a logical progression but it also captures Mr. Wilde’s mood, throughout his life, via his writings. Although, most of Wilde’s outrageous witticisms, epigrams, dialogs, etc. are in and of themselves hilarious or simply outlandish, as we get towards the end of the book we start seeing an Oscar Wilde who becomes more somber and quite poignant.
But for those of you that are not familiar with Wilde’s biography, towards the end of his short life, he spent time in Pentonville Prison and then Wandsworth Prison. This period had a dramatic impact on his life, and Wilde’s writings became more serious.
To give you an idea how difficult it must have been for him, a suave, aesthetic, sophisticated, urbane, decadent and cultured individual who was used to the good refined life of London and Paris, as per Wikipedia: “the transfer itself [to Reading Prison] was the lowest point of his incarceration, as a crowd jeered and spat at him on the railway platform”.
You see, Wilde had reached immense popularity in Britain, continental Europe, and America. Not just because of his masterful work, but because of his, at times, extravagant public persona, as well. He wasn’t accustomed to hard labor and this took a severe toll on his health.
In a way, Wilde’s life is a testament that the path to glory is hard, difficult and often tragic. However, although I am being presumptuous, I suspect that if you were able to ask him, was it all worth it? His answer, and possibly a witty one, would be a resounding yes! Fortunately for us, his body-work lives on, to entertain us, to teach us, to inspire us and certainly to enchant future generations.
Although this book is not meant to be a biography, how better can we get to the soul of a writer, than through his writing? The quotations came from his body work, i.e. poems, short stories, plays and novel. I have a feeling that I will come back to it often. The book is organized into five categories. And since today I am feeling quite cheerful while writing this piece, I will enumerate each of the five sections, throwing a few of Wilde’s sayings, to boot.
ON WOMEN
“Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood”.
“Women treat us just as humanity treats its gods. They worship us and are always bothering us to do something for them”.
“Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship”.
ON MARRIAGE
“The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer”.
“Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance”.
“Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed”.
LIFE AS A SPECTACLE
“To become a spectator of one's own life is to escape the suffering of life”.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all”.
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live”.
ON PLEASURES
“There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them”.
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it ... I can resist everything but temptation”.
“Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes”.
MISCELLANEOUS
“Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer”.
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about”.
“Starvation, and not sin, is the parent of modern crime”.
“I want to get to the point when I shall be able to say quite simply, and without affectation that the two great turning-points in my life were when my father sent me to Oxford, and when society sent me to prison”.
http://balamabello.com/blog
It took me a couple of months to read this book. Not because it is long. One could easily read it in a few hours, if one wished to do so. However, for me it became like a ritual. It was almost like reading an inspirational witticism of the day. Let me explain.
Early in the mornings, I go to my local town center club to swim. I always made sure I had my swimming gear, an apple, water and of course, this wonderful little book. After having finished swimming more laps than what I care to count, I would lie basking in the sun and begin reading it, while eating an apple, at the same time. Fortunately, not too many people would join me, particularly during work week days, for more often than not I would laugh out loud, by my lonesome self!
Oh, there is also the case of a good friend of mine, Reverend Torres. On several occasions he has picked up the book and often enough, an ensuing belly laugh would follow. And there were even several entries related to religion that were quite enlightening, too.
I loved the way in which Mr. Köble organized the book. Not only is there such a logical progression but it also captures Mr. Wilde’s mood, throughout his life, via his writings. Although, most of Wilde’s outrageous witticisms, epigrams, dialogs, etc. are in and of themselves hilarious or simply outlandish, as we get towards the end of the book we start seeing an Oscar Wilde who becomes more somber and quite poignant.
But for those of you that are not familiar with Wilde’s biography, towards the end of his short life, he spent time in Pentonville Prison and then Wandsworth Prison. This period had a dramatic impact on his life, and Wilde’s writings became more serious.
To give you an idea how difficult it must have been for him, a suave, aesthetic, sophisticated, urbane, decadent and cultured individual who was used to the good refined life of London and Paris, as per Wikipedia: “the transfer itself [to Reading Prison] was the lowest point of his incarceration, as a crowd jeered and spat at him on the railway platform”.
You see, Wilde had reached immense popularity in Britain, continental Europe, and America. Not just because of his masterful work, but because of his, at times, extravagant public persona, as well. He wasn’t accustomed to hard labor and this took a severe toll on his health.
In a way, Wilde’s life is a testament that the path to glory is hard, difficult and often tragic. However, although I am being presumptuous, I suspect that if you were able to ask him, was it all worth it? His answer, and possibly a witty one, would be a resounding yes! Fortunately for us, his body-work lives on, to entertain us, to teach us, to inspire us and certainly to enchant future generations.
Although this book is not meant to be a biography, how better can we get to the soul of a writer, than through his writing? The quotations came from his body work, i.e. poems, short stories, plays and novel. I have a feeling that I will come back to it often. The book is organized into five categories. And since today I am feeling quite cheerful while writing this piece, I will enumerate each of the five sections, throwing a few of Wilde’s sayings, to boot.
ON WOMEN
“Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood”.
“Women treat us just as humanity treats its gods. They worship us and are always bothering us to do something for them”.
“Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship”.
ON MARRIAGE
“The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer”.
“Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance”.
“Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed”.
LIFE AS A SPECTACLE
“To become a spectator of one's own life is to escape the suffering of life”.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all”.
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live”.
ON PLEASURES
“There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them”.
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it ... I can resist everything but temptation”.
“Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes”.
MISCELLANEOUS
“Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer”.
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about”.
“Starvation, and not sin, is the parent of modern crime”.
“I want to get to the point when I shall be able to say quite simply, and without affectation that the two great turning-points in my life were when my father sent me to Oxford, and when society sent me to prison”.
http://balamabello.com/blog
May 17, 2022
increíble como escribe wilde estoy FASCINADA lo amo tanto
March 17, 2025
Muy buenas frases y reflexiones. el que más me gusto es el que habla sobre la vida
December 10, 2012
Cuando lo vi no dudé en comprarlo, porque la verdad es que no sabía que existía un libro así.
A través de reflexiones y frases cargadas de ironía (algunas maravillosamente ciertas y otras que personalmente no comparto), esta compilación de observaciones y comentarios que Oscar Wilde realiza en sus distintas obras, se convierte en un perfecto reflejo de su persona, en su retrato.
Hace algunos años atrás, cuando leí El retrato de Dorian Gray, todas las oraciones me parecían tan relevantes, que sentía que debía anotar cada una de ellas. Ahora, Sin Tapujos me ahorró el trabajo.
Para leer despacio, con atención y disfrutarlo.
A través de reflexiones y frases cargadas de ironía (algunas maravillosamente ciertas y otras que personalmente no comparto), esta compilación de observaciones y comentarios que Oscar Wilde realiza en sus distintas obras, se convierte en un perfecto reflejo de su persona, en su retrato.
Hace algunos años atrás, cuando leí El retrato de Dorian Gray, todas las oraciones me parecían tan relevantes, que sentía que debía anotar cada una de ellas. Ahora, Sin Tapujos me ahorró el trabajo.
Para leer despacio, con atención y disfrutarlo.
September 24, 2013
Un libro con una precisa a la par que perfecta recopilación de los pensamientos hechos palabra del controvertido escritor.
Imprescindible para conocerlo más a fondo y sobretodo, para leer algunas de sus geniales (que no todas, y hay con las que no comparto opinión) afirmaciones acerca de la vida, el amor, la amistad y las personas.
Imprescindible para conocerlo más a fondo y sobretodo, para leer algunas de sus geniales (que no todas, y hay con las que no comparto opinión) afirmaciones acerca de la vida, el amor, la amistad y las personas.
March 20, 2018
Puede que mi querido haya estado muy adelantado para su época y puede que algunas de sus frases sean parte de mi filosofía, pero eso no quita el hecho de que este lleno de frases tan sumamente explotadas que me fastidiaban.
August 22, 2015
Excelente compilado de frases y pensamientos, por fin logré apreciar la virtuosidad literaria del gran Oscar Wilde.
A su vez tambien, por fin logré terminar otro libro más.
A su vez tambien, por fin logré terminar otro libro más.
October 4, 2016
Buenas citas, muy de la época en algunos casos y muy avanzado en otros casos. Me gustó su anáisis del arte, la soledad y el aburrimiento.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews