Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

66 reviews

sierrabowers's review against another edition

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

2.5

This book was disgusting and filled with gore. I honestly was not prepared for the amount of gore that was given. I was disappointed at the plot. It was not interesting at all, and was just a horrible person murdering people. Why would I want to read that? Toward the end, the author was alluding to the fact that the main character may have been hallucinating the entire time and never actually murdered anyone? And also switched from 1st to 3rd person point of view during an episode. That could have been a metaphor for his dissociation. Overall, I do not recommend, and it was a waste of my time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Child death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Blood, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Vomit, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Abortion

weirdodari's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I think the very first line of this novel “Abandon all hope ye who enter here” perfectly describes what you’re about to experience in this story. It truly feels like every page is one step deeper into hell. But it’s absolutely brilliant. A twisted, dark, hellish story that I think will reward anyone brave enough to read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual violence, Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Vomit, Drug use, Racism, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

ashleykarime's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Rape, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual harassment, Torture, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Islamophobia, and Violence

molly_tuck's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

in my patrick bateman era truly

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Gun violence, Gore, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Racism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Child death, Blood, Antisemitism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Addiction, Vomit, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking

bethkr'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

2.0

i have no idea how i'm meant to just carry on with my life after this. what the actual fuck was that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Death, Racism, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual violence

teleportsbehindyou's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, War, Abortion, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

chassidysteve's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

4.25

An interesting take and perspective from the dark mind of a white, upper-class, privileged male in the big apple. Disgustingly gory, hilariously out of touch at times, but also really slow and at other times, just boring. If you do not want to be deeply disturbed, I would not recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death, Excrement, Violence, Abortion, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, and Sexual violence

ashleigh_nicole's review

challenging dark fast-paced

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

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Abortion, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Violence, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ru_th's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

3.5

… there is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there. It is hard for me to make sense on any given level. Myself is fabricated, an aberration. I am an noncontingent human being. My personality is sketchy and unformed, my heartlessness goes deep and is persistent. My conscience, my pity, my hopes disappeared a long time ago (probably at Harvard) if they ever did exist. There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it, I have now surpassed. I still, though, hold on to one single bleak truth: no one is safe, nothing is redeemed. Yet I am blameless. Each model of human behavior must be assumed to have some validity. Is evil something you are? Or is it something you do? My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape. But even after admitting this — and I have, countless times, in about every act I’ve committed — and coming face-to-face with these truths, there is no catharsis. I gain no deeper knowledge about myself, no new understanding can be extracted from my telling. There has been no reason for me to tell you any of this. This confession has meant nothing …

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, and Racial slurs

Minor: Abortion and Panic attacks/disorders

cxmeron's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective 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

3.75

Some people find the 5 page, 10 page even, rants Patrick goes on to be a downfall of this book or makes it boring and tedious. However, as a neurodivergent person, the way he forms his thoughts and the correlation between each topic (not to mention his hyperfixation of expensive clothing brands) I find very similar to how I also form thoughts which personally made it very easy to read though. Not to mention how funny some of these part of the book are. 

If you want a book that is the definition of having an unreliable narrator, this is the book - I'm pretty sure even Patrick doesn't know what's happening most of the time. Although this may come across confusing and messy, Ellis writes in such a way that this mess and inconsistencies draw you in. All the characters are flawed and basically no growth happen to them because they are just pawns to Bateman, nothing more than insects, which comes across perfectly. To the point where when supporting characters do get growth it paints the illusion that Patrick is changing, growing, but there truely is no hope for this man. 

Finally, as a person who reads a lot of gore-filled and violent books, the violent scenes are truely some of the most disturbing I've ever read. Bateman's intense descriptions of these acts have the same attention to detail as if he was talking about his designer brands which makes apparent how much joy he takes in these tendencies. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture