Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

369 reviews

thechocolatefinger's review against another edition

dark funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Everyone told me this book made them feel sick and it didn’t at all it was perfectly fine to me!

Honestly the part that scared me the most was when it suddenly

switched to third person for a chapter

lol - genuinely freaked me out I wasn’t expecting it at all.

I recommend you read this book very slowly like one chapter a day, because that way you can appreciate the satire and also understand what it’s talking about. I saw in the afterword that Bret said it’s about his loneliness but I prefer focussing on the satirical side of it. When reading I could really tell what Patrick as a character is making fun of, and it was so funny just how stupid he was the entire time. Like the biggest loser on the planet that was really great to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Abortion

There was also necrophilia. Most of the very violent stuff is told in past tense

once Patrick has woke up and is kind of getting an idea of what happened the night before

. So there is a distance from it which really helps with it not being quite so graphic, as it’s written in a disconnected and like observational way.

greenbutler's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A lot of this book is just the narrator and a handful of other characters talking at or trying to get a reservatio at some restaurant. That could've worked, especially with how it's contrasted with all the brutal killings, but the narrative is so hyper-focused on exploring specifically Patrick's psyche, it doesn’t end up being a "I love these characters so much I'd read a whole book of just them talking" situation because the side characters just aren't developed enough for that to be the case.
Also, something to note: Patrick uses the n-word and a certain slur that starts with "f" multiple times throughout the book-- the latter even appears in a chapter title at one point. That might sound like a product- of- its- time scenario until you realize this book was published in 1991 and is set in the 80s. That is just something to keep in mind if you're considering reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs

bookshelfghost's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very interesting book, it's easily the most vile I've ever read. Although I by no means enjoyed all the graphic descriptions of the murders, I found the whole throught process interesting. Definitely worth a read if you can power through the long descriptions of designer fashion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Antisemitism

adrx24's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“ Is evil something you are? Or is it something you do? ”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

chessmart's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

perth_is's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

merle_ma's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

n3verm0r3's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

this book swung violently between boring and the most disgusting thing i’ve ever read. plz just watch the movie

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Cannibalism

spaghetti_noodle's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

There are different interpretations of this book. One suggests that Patrick Bateman is hallcuinating his bouts of violence. While I don't dismiss this interpretation, my first reading of American Psycho was done under the interpretation that this was all happening. Patrick Bateman was able to get away with his murders because of the self-centered perspective of everyone else. He also had a lot more power, wealth, and prestige compared to most of the people he murdered and the people who recognized that he was a killer. 
At first, I found myself confused and bored by Bateman's mind, then I hated it and wanted to get this over with, and then I found it amusing, especially after realizing how pathetic Bateman is. He is obsessed with himself and sees others as inferior, but his need to be better than everyone else reveals a deep insecurity. 
There's a lot that can be taken away from this book: performance of upper-class white masculinity, privilege and power, misogyny and other forms of bigotry, superficiality and consumerism and identity creation... lol I saw a Tumblr post comparing the morning routines of white women doing the "That Girl" trend to Patrick Bateman's morning routine. This is one of those stories that a lot of people take what they want from it. Maybe when I feel like being a smarter person, I'll reread and dissect this book further. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

issymaae's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Animal death, Eating disorder, and Abortion