The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

The seemingly perfect Dorian Grey wishes that a portrait of himself ages and is tainted by sin , whilst he remains pure. To Dorian's shock, his wish comes true. Lord Henry teaches Dorian his philosophy of the world and Dorian's life starts to fall apart, the portrait becoming more and more damaged, a representation of Dorian's soul.
At the start of the novel, Dorian is obsessed with aestheticism and maintaining his natural beauty. When his wish comes true, he ends up hating it.

This book was a joy to read. The start didn't intrigue me particularly, but it grew. The tension rose, and watching Dorian's transformation was incredibly interesting.

The idea of never ageing has been used in modern culture many times, but Oscar Wilde was probably quite original at the time. And it shows. The idea feels fresh and unique, even though it is dated.
Wilde is an incredible writer. every line seems perfectly moulded. I am becoming very interested in his work.

Disturbing, fascinating, unique.

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"To be good is to be in harmony with one’s self"
"Art has no influence upon action... The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."

A Flea in Her Ear

Farcical comedy can be absolutely fantastic. I've always thought it incredible how by the end of the first half, the characters have found himself in the most impossible and ridiculous situation, and by the end, everything is resolved. It really is clever. Unfortunately, whilst funny, this production didn't put me into hysterics in the way I thought it should. Yes, the plot was clever and the timing was great, but something was missing. I believe the actors were not quite up to the job, as I saw nothing wrong with the script, albeit slightly predictable.

The Rivals - Sheridan

Brilliant theatre director Peter Hall takes on Sheridan's classic comedy The Rivals from 1775. This play contains some very funny characters. In particular, Penelope Keith as Mrs Malaprop, a character who jumbles her words to marvellous effect and Peter Bowles as Sir Anthony, an stereotypical over-powering father with some rather non-stereotypical quirks. These characters find themselves in some unbelievable situations, but that is often the nature of comedy and farce. I found it thoroughly entertaining, if perhaps not my cup of tea.

“Suicide, parricide and salivation!”

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy.

This wonderful book explores the complexities of human emotion and how one's fortune can change so dramatically. It remains true to the traditional form of storytelling, with no flashbacks or unreliable narrators. Ttue story telling in its simplest form. Each section has vivid descriptions of the setting that add a layer of richness to the text, without slowing down the plot too much. It is never tedious.

Michael Henchard sells his wife under the influence of alcohol, and regrets it for the rest of his life. He becomes the highly successful Mayor of Casterbridge, but when his family return, his life will be turned upside down. A true tragedy of human life.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reading more novels by Hardy.