** spoiler alert ** 
 I finished The Picture of Dorian Gray today and enjoyed the book very much. I give the book 4/5. 
 This is an intriguing book that brings home the adage, "be careful what you wish for" in a compelling way. Part 
 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror and part Faustian legend, the story is about what happens when life becomes out of balance. Dorian Gray starts out as a beautiful and charming young man whose wish to remain outwardly beautiful is granted. But the ugliness of his soul is still visible in a painting that he hides away from view. Simple plot: he looks the same, while his portrait grows hideous. The questions raised are more complicated. 
 Lord Henry tempts Dorian to explore philosophies and decadent behavior, which Dorian takes to extremes. It is unclear how much Lord Henry really believes what he says - he likes to be "shocking" at parties and seems to live a fairly conventional lifestyle. If I had to guess, it would be that he likes to provoke but is something of a skeptic about the actual beliefs. 
 Dorian, on the other hand, becomes a true believer and not only relishes pleasure, but is actively courting more extreme behaviors. Fueled by a desire for sex and drugs and other hinted-at adventures, Dorian becomes obsessed with this lifestyle. But, he also becomes afraid that he will be discovered and wonders whether there is ever a way to reconcile who is is on the outside with who he is on the inside. His gift of beauty starts to become a burden in some ways. 
 The story is book-ended by the Vane siblings - Sibyl at the beginning and Jim at the end. The guilt he feels over Sibyl is part of what pushes him into chaos and the death of James seems to be part of what allows him to move to redemption. It is interesting that two characters that occupy relatively few pages seem to move the plot.