Dorian Gray - no.16

Modern Classics Library 2004

Price: NZ$19.99 - approx £6

History: The shop "Scorpio Books" in Christchurch, New Zealand, claims to be 7th heaven for book lovers. They're not lying. There were some of the loveliest things in there. I managed to leave only with numbers 16 and 17 on this list, but it was a strain. They've even cinched stickers on books which peel off easily. Now I recognised this cover - I think it might have been the third copy I restrained myself from buying in Salt Lake City. Ironically enough, I finally did purchase it along with another copy. Such is life...this morning, I picked it up and read it. I've rarely felt so much sympathy for Basil...

Look: It's another soft, floppy, readable one. The cover colours are muted and quite lovely. And the image, if you can't quite see it, is an eye. The more I look at it, I think it may be the author's eye, but I can't be sure. Hang on...*checks inside cover etc* nope, no concrete detail. Oh well. Love this copy. Love love love it...The Modern Library Classics ones are all wuvvy.

Introduction/Appendices: Jeffrey Eugenides, bless you...not only is he brave enough to criticise the novel (unusual for introductions) but he just says great stuff: “Oscar Wilde says Dorian Gray was “poisoned by a book”, a claim I am ready to believe seeing as I was poisoned by The Picture of Dorian Gray” he begins. The angel! So he’s not a random professor, he’s actually a convert too. He understands. Yes! And he ends: “TpoDG remains a poisonous book, for the old as well as the young, if for different reasons. This warning serves also as a recommendation”. Couldn't have put it better myself...