The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray wishes his painted portrait would age instead of him. He gets his wish. He keeps his looks while the canvas, hidden in a locked room, takes on the marks of every cruel and corrupt thing he does. The story is simple and you can see the ending coming, but that is not really the point. The book is mostly conversation, and the talk is the reason to read it. Wilde packs Lord Henry full of polished, poisonous one-liners that sound clever until you notice they are excuses for doing nothing and caring about no one. The standard text is the expanded 1891 edition with the preface.