The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Jill Nevile (Adaptor), Oscar Wilde (Creator)

Oxford Bookworms offer students at all levels the opportunity to extend their reading and appreciation of English. There are six stages, taking students from elementary to advanced level. At the lower stages, many of the texts have been specially written for the series, to provide elementary and lower-intermediate students with an introduction to real reading in English. At the higher stages, most of the books have been adapted from works originally published for native speakers.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Audiobook, School, Literature

59 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[Parissa Ahmadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d like to read the original version.

[Nazanin · Rating 5 out of 5]

تصویر دوریان گری
یا چهره درون یک انسان
چه جالب و شاید چه ترسناک می شد اگر هر فرد تابلویی از سیرت خود آویخته در کُنجی می داشت و هر روز پرده را از روی آن تصویر به کناری می زد و احوال خویش را مرور می کرد و
مگر غیر از این است که این پرتره، همان وجدان، سیرت، نهاد و ...‌هست؟ (اگرچه که هریک از این واژگان مفهوم و معنای خود را دارند اما به طور کلی تصویرگر اندیشه و افکار و امیال و نیات آدمی هستند)
دوریان گری جوانی زیبا و برازنده ست که وقتی نقاشی چهره ی خویش را (اثر دوست نقاشش بازیل) می بیند (به تحریک لُرد هنری) آرزو میکند که خود همیشه همینطور جوان و زیبا و محبوب بماند و پرتره اش به جای او تغییر کند والبته که آرزویش تحقق می یابد

من اینطور برداشت کردم (نمیدانم درست یا خیر) که شاید نقاش را بتوان در جایگاه نفس سرزنشگر (یا به تعبیری وجدان) قرار داد و لُرد هنری را نمادی از نفس اماره یا غرایز و امیال دون، قلمداد نمود
دوریان گری جوان، کم کم تحت تاثیر تحریکات لرد، تبدیل به فردی دیگر می شود و به قول سعدی در باب هفتم گلستان " فی الجمله نماند از سایر معاصی منکری که نکرد و مسکری که نخورد" در این بین تابلوی نقاشی برخلاف چهره دوریان، رفته رفته تغییر میکند و جالب اینجاست که خود وی ازدیدن آن تصویر به وحشت می افتد تا جاییکه روی آن را با پرده ای می پوشاند و در اتاقی مخفی میکند و هرگز اجازه نمی دهد چشمی دیگر بر آن تصویر بیفتد (آیا اگر انسان سیرت خویش را همینطور بی پرده ببیند از خود بی خود می شود؟) تا اینکه پس از سالها او تصمیم می گیرد به اصل خویش بازگردد
و اتفاقاتی که از این جا به بعد می افتد هم به نظرم بسیار قابل تامل هست....

آیا وجدان می میرد؟ یا نه ممکن است در اثر غفلت به خواب رود و به تلنگری باز می تواند بیدار شود؟ آیا پیوسته فرصت برای بازگشت فراهم است؟

دوریان گری قصه جوانی به نام دوریان گری نیست قصه ی انسان و کشاکش تاریخی او میان خیر و شر هست
که اسکار وایلد زیبا و بدیع آن را پرداخته است
داستان این بیت معروف مولانا را هم تداعی می کند که
این جهان کوهست و فعل ما ندا
سوی ما آید نداها را صدا
افعالی که پژواکش در درون انسان به تدریج ضبط می شود



کتاب از مجموعه کتب
oxford bookworms library
هست که ظاهرا داستانهای کلاسیک و مدرن دنیا را با متن اصلی یا تلخیص شده به همراه سی دی صوتی ارائه می کند
چند روز پیش اتفاقی چشمم به این کتاب افتاد و چه قدر دلنشین هست اتفاق هایی از این دست

[Vahid 22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان جوانی است که در زمانِ اوجِ جوانی و پاکی تصویرش توسطِ نقاشی کشیده می شود
بعدتر کسی به او می گوید این جوانیِ تو دیری نمی پاید و او آرزو می کند که کا تصویرِ داخل نقاشی پیر شود به جایِ او
و آرزویِ او به حقیقت می پیوندد و او چهره اش سالها و سالها تغییر نمی کند و در عوض تصویرِ داخلِ نقاشی پیرتر و پیرتر می شود
اما در عوض روحِ او هرروز کثیف تر و آلوده تر می گردد تا جایی که دستش به خونِ آدمها الوده می شود و ... و در نهایت به خونِ خودش

متنِ کاملِ داستان رو نخوندم و همین کتاب رو به زبانِ انگلیسی و خلاصه شده خوندم ولی از خوندنش لذت بردم هرچند اوایل داستان کششِ زیادی برایِ دنبال کردن نداشت ولی آخرهایِ کار خوب بود

[Nhi Nguyễn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scary story, with thought-provoking theme and a moral lesson to be taught about. I wish I could read the original, full length novel to really get lost into the details and process of the story. But overall, Oxford Bookworms did a really good job by shortly retelling this classic story but still manage to transfer its tragic/thought-provoking spirit to readers.

[Benedikt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a retold version by Jill Nevile, it's a lot shorter than the original. I liked the main story, i'm interested to read the full lenghted story. To be continued...

[Feebe Brees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book “The picture of Dorian Grey” written by Oscar Wilde. The story is about a painting of Dorian, made by his friend Basil Hallward. Dorian was scared that the picture would stay young forever and that he would grow old. That’s why he said this while he cried: "I wish that I could always stay young and that the picture could grow old". His wish came true, he looked forever young. The portrait looked so ugly and evil, how could it be Dorian? Dorian started to hate Basil because he knew the secret of the portrait. The hate inside Dorian exploded, so he killed Basil. He wanted to destroy the picture so he took the knife he killed Basil with and dug it into the painting. There was a terrible cry and a loud crash. On the floor laid the dead body of Dorian Gray: his face was old, ugly and yellow with disease, with a knife in his heart. On the wall they saw a fine portrait of a young and beautiful Dorian.

I really enjoyed the story of the book even though I don’t like reading and it was hard sometimes. Some pages I read two or three times because I didn’t understand everything. In the beginning I switched the names and the persons. The writing style was hard sometimes and the language had some words I didn't understand so I had to search for them on the internet. This made it difficult for me to understand every detail of the book. There was also a plot twist at the end when Dorian wanted to destroy the portrait, but ended up killing himself. I liked the plot twist so that was positive for me.

I would recommend it to a lot of people, because it is a really good and deep book. At the end I kept reading, because I wanted to know how it would end and I’m not disappointed about it. It’s a book about murder so if you like thriller books, you should read it.

[Ana Catarina Dias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estava na biblioteca sem fazer nada e fui buscar este livro à prateleira e comecei a ler, para praticar inglês. Do alto da minha ingenuidade comecei a pensar: "Oscar Wilde, um escritor tão importante da literatura inglesa, não deve escrever de forma tão simples e rudimentar." Por isso investiguei e nas últimas páginas (SIM, nas últimas páginas) estavam outros títulos da coleção por baixo dos quais estava "Retold by". E foi com muita desilusão que percebi que afinal não estava a ler o verdadeiro livro mas sim uma mera adaptação e que afinal não sou assim tão "master" a inglês.
Bem, foi uma leitora agridoce: adorei a história, a reflexão e a crítica, mas por outro lado acabou muito depressa e, pior de tudo, já sei como acabou a história quando, eventualmente, ler o verdadeiro livro, o que é uma coisa que sempre me irrita profundamente.
No entanto, esta leitura também serviu para uma apresentação/preparação para o original "The picture of Dorian Gray", de Oscar Wilde.
E só por estar tão irritada por ter sido enganada, tiro-lhe uma estrela ;)

[Chari Escudero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo leí en español y me encantó. Lo he vuelto a leer en inglés en esta versión adaptada para estudiantes y me sigue encantando. Me parece una genialidad la forma en la que el autor habló de temas tan profundos mediante una historia de terror. Además, siempre he pensado que una buena historia es aquella que nos hace reflexionar, y ésta lo consigue con creces. Hay muchos clásicos que, en mi opinión están sobrevalorados, esto no ocurre en absoluto con El Retrato de Dorian Gray.

[Mina Van]

The book is about a famous artist who felt in love with man. He painted a portrait about that man but he would’nt sell the painting because it says to much about his feelings for the man. And he don’t want that the other people know about his feelings. But suddenly the artist hears everywhere weird stories about this man and he would’nt believe they were true so he asked him. But the stories were true and the landed in a discussion, Basil( the artist) made Dorian really mad so Dorian took a knife and murderd him. But if you want to know whats next you should read the book.

What I don’t like about the book is that the names of the chapters are very complicated. They have weird names that does’nt really matches the stories. I think that the book is boring because I don’t like to read romantic stories and stories about painters. But I thought it was also a good book because there was tension so that made the book fun.
I would recommand it to you if you want to read it because actuallly it’s a great book and it’s not to difficult. And it’s a great story.

[Shaho · Rating 4 out of 5]

این یه کتاب لول بندی شده بود، و فقط چون داشتمش خوندمش. به خودم قول دادم فقط متنهای اصلی رو بخونم و این کتاب یه توفیق اجباری بود. احتمالا اگر متن اصلی رو بخونم 5 ستاره رو به کتاب بدم. کتاب زیبا و لذت بخشیه و تاریک.

[Rina Bakhtiiarova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Oxford version of this book, and I’m crazy about it.
Some new quotes and new things I learn
And Now I want to buy whole book

[Amal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the WRONG version

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. a lovely edition and very easy to read.

[rina dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf on page 42 I just can't! I love Oscar Wilde but this is seriously dull!

[cassandre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story’s good, but novel’s too short :(

[Delbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was very amazing.

[Sofie De · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Picture Of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde, is about a young and beautiful man Dorian Gray. The artist Basil Hallward saw this man as a perfect inspiration for his art. So he makes a portrait of him and it was wonderful. He fell in love with him. Dorian looked at it and he said that he wished that he could always stay young and that the picture could grow old. A while later the young man Dorian fell in love with an actress. Lord Henry, a friend of Basil and the one where Dorian stayed, told him that he couldn’t marry her. This woman disappeared from their lives. Later he saw that the portrait had changed. It looked like what Dorian looked like inside because of all his mistakes. Throughout the story it gets worse and worse.


First and foremost, the writing style of the book is very good, I was swept up in the story from the first chapter I read. It’s also dearly clearly told in detail, this way you can empathize better. The plot is very beautiful because you can learn from it. Dorian fell in love and you learn how he deals with it. Sometimes the book shows what not to do in situations such as killing people and letting people decide on your love choices, what Dorian did. What I do find quite unfortunate is that the characters of the book are a bit predictable. You have a beautiful, young man, Dorian Gray, who is very successful and popular. In addition, you have a painter, Basil Hallward who does not stand out that much, but who is popular because of his work. And finally there is a friend of the painter, Lord Henry, with money, contacts and good advice. What I also like about this book are the drawings. They are very nicely drawn and under each drawing there is also what is being said at that moment. This also makes the story clearer.


To conclude I recommend you read this book, especially if you like exciting and at the same time beautiful stories. The reason why it’s worth reading is because it is a wonderful and educational story. It’s also short so you can finish this book in a day. It’s definitely worth it.

[3cia · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first few pages are quite interesting, and then as i kept on reading it, the story gets creepier and it gets much more interesting. I was curious why a lot of people recommended this book and so i bought it from the bookstore, and i guess i know now why a lot of people loved this book! And i know that this is the shorten version of it and it was actually really great: it was a quick read. And another thing i love about the story is that: its disturbingly beautiful. Like each words that lord henry says is extremely beautiful and very classic! Im currently reading the longer version of this story and as it is: it is written beautifully, I loved this book!

[PKA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in a few hours to prepare questions for someone who's learning English. I've never read the original but plan to do it after reading this easier version (and I am a little sad that I've spoiled the experience of the original by knowing the story already). The novel has wonderful themes, is quite dark and has quite a lot of homoerotic subtext. Exactly what I like to read. This version is an easy read for someone who is fluent in English and challenging enough for someone still learning the language, without losing the key elements of the themes, characters and story.

[maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gostei do livro, leitura da escola, curto e bom. O único problema dele ser curto é q cortam muito da história, ent uma hora ele ta com 20 e pouco anos e donada com 30 e pouco. Achei o Dorian uma pessoa muito arrogante, mas é a proposta dele né, achei ele inteligente qnd falou para o james vane para botar ele na luz e ver o rosto youth and beautiful dele, para “””””””provar”””””” q n foi ele qm matou a irmã dele, e achei ele burro no final

[Rikko215 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The picture of Dorian Gray is perhaps the prominent story for English learners. However, this has been excellent plot with beautiful boy with youth and his portrait. The painter Basil put too much feeling into his portrait, thereby giving it mysterious feature that allowed Dorian to remain youth. The finale was relatively expectable, but it was overall satisfying novel.

[Charles Dionne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a shortened version, it’s very easy to read. I enjoyed reading it. It was a scary story, with thought-provoking theme and a moral lesson to be taught about. Overall, Oxford Bookworms did a really good job by shortly retelling this classic story but still manage to transfer its tragic/thought-provoking spirit to readers.

[Sleeptheysaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book it was short and sweet and ever so quotable I really look forward to reading the original book.
If I could choose a quote to summarise this book I would choose this.

A face without a heart.

[Refa]

damn ..
Dorian was evil sure , but has anyone considered lord Henry (harry) ??

[Mayte Medel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well 3.5 :)
It made me want to read the original.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An accessible adaptation to an interesting, creepy story that I've been wanting to read for ages.

[Erika]

D

[Aibhla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in a charity shop in Mallorca but once I got back to the flat I realised it wasn’t the original so now I wanna read the og. This was good tho I just feel a bit stupid

[Shanaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

did not realise the original book is a lot longer. My bad. Still loved the story though.

[alejandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

three stars cause im saving the higher rating for my review of the full length text :) thank u to my english teacher for lending me this copy i can't wait to read the original