Even though I still have quite the list of books to pick from, it feels like I have no choices. I'm beginning to feel trapped by the fact that I already know which books I'll be reading throughout the year. To remedy this, I've begun to read graphic novels during the times that I just can't bring myself to read the books before me. Sure, it's extra reading, and may cause me to lag behind schedule at times, but not more so than being at a point that I just plain don't want to read. Anyway, I picked up a copy of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman from the library. I had previously seen the movie and, although I didn't always follow what was going on, I thought the concept of mixing literary characters into the same story was a fun idea. That's why I decided to read my next book: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Actually, it's the reason I bought the book in the first place. However, I was extremely disappointed. It was not the book that disappointed me. It was that, in reading the entire first volume of the graphic novel, I discovered that my anti-hero didn't actually make an appearance. He may have merely been added through the consent of creative licensing for the movie, or maybe he shows up in the second volume. I don't know. But I was still sad, because I wanted to read about the same character in different contexts concurrently. I would have been better off choosing Moby Dick to start.
Anyway, the actual book, to me, was quite refreshing. I love villainous protagonists, but I love even more seeing how they got there. (The Ashleys and I just finished watching Heroes, and as the seasons went by, I grew to love Sylar and his penchant for committing atrocities). So, as the book starts, Dorian Gray is a handsome young boy, maybe in his early twenties, full of innocence and a love of life. Everyone praises his beauty, but none more so than his painter friend Basil Hallward. A portrait that he paints as a gift for the boy is so exquisite that it awakens in Dorian a long dormant vanity and a life long quest of retaining youth and beauty at any cost.
This whole concept is intriguing. What would one do for eternal youth? The idea isn't new, but it is ever present... from stories of the Fountain of Youth to modern day attempts through medical procedures. No matter what era we're from, we seem to always wish to hold on to this time in our lives, even if it wasn't particularly pleasant while we've had it. I think we're afraid. Dorian says it best when he says "I have no terror of death. It is the coming of death that terrifies me." And this is true, as far as I'm concerned. Everything we do to make ourselves appear youthful doesn't change the fact that we are not that which we would like to present ourselves as. We're not afraid of death...we're afraid of deterioration. But if our bodies did not deteriorate, it would only leave our souls, or our essences, to do so in its place.
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