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zoemaeboonz's review against another edition
- 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
This book was a hard one to get through; by page 80 I was already considering whether this would be too gory for me to finish reading. I am glad I got through this book though and whilst I would not recommend it to anyone or read it again I do think that it is a good work of fiction. The way in which Ellis portrays a character with such realistic psychopathic qualities and depersonalisation - a very manic sense of mind is really well written. I don’t think I will ever read a novel where such mental illness is portrayed with such unapologetic truth. It is clear that Ellis got his inspiration for most of the very graphic murders from psychopaths such as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. I found myself actually skimming through some parts or even having to put the book down at points because of how intense these scenes were (most notably the rat one because wtaf). Bateman is not being romanticised in this novel nor is he being portrayed as a likeable character by the author. The way it is written is through this very manic first point of view and in times when Bateman depersonalised from himself we saw the passages being written in third point of view. This book will probably sit with me for a bit and I find myself having to write about it because of this - most notably the amount of Xenophobia and slurs that were in this book was definitely hard to read and the fact that the term ‘yuppie’ was the least derogatory term put in the book says it all. The quote that probably sums up this book for the reader in a way that can make you understand the bigger picture in this novel is probably this: “…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 am simply not there.”. This is not an easy read because it is not meant to be an easy read; Bateman is a psychopath and a horrible person and all the things written affirm this about the character and who he is. Though I disagree with the back of my book saying it’s ‘one of the greatest novels of our time’ I can agree that it is a good work of literature that I will gracefully never lay eyes on again.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
Moderate: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
nessages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
kaylo88's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Antisemitism, and Murder
imnotmillied's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, and Antisemitism
pagesforwings's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
amessina3399's review against another edition
- 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
Ummm...wow. I'm not even sure where to begin. For context, I've never seen the movie, and I thought 'what the hey, I should read the book first'. Surprisingly, somehow, I really enjoyed it. This book is a really interesting satire of consumerism and elitism in such a capitalistic place as NYC, while also being a fascinating stream-of-consciousness look at the mind of an incredibly mentally ill individual. As a book, the narrative voice is far more interesting and important than the actual plot itself. That being said, I knew that this book was going to be dark and gross, but I was not prepared for HOW dark and gross. Most of the book is fine, but there are a handful of chapters that are extremely descriptive in the gore, and horrifically 'creative'. I have a pretty strong stomach, and multiple times I needed to take breathers from chapters being too intense for me. *If you choose to read the book and want to try and dodge the worst of it, the chapters titled 'Girl' or 'Girls' contain the worst of the worst*. Other than that, I thought it was a brilliant read and for the most part, incredibly well written. It would have had 5 stars from me if it weren't for a few things: 1) while some of the gore was appropriate, a good chunk of it was a bit too gratuitous, although it could be argued that it was necessary for the reader's understanding of the character, 2) it's a VERY slow read, and doesn't pick up much until the halfway point, 3) some motifs were very well-played, while others were a bit overused and overdone, 4) gonna be honest, not a fan of the ending. I somewhat understand what the point of the ending was supposed to mean, but I just think it fell a bit flat in its efficacy compared to the rest of the book. But other than that, if you're looking for a genuinely funny, dark, and macabre character study, I would recommend this book.
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, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
venusdapoopiehead's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
here’s the thing: american psycho is not meant for you to idolize bateman or any other characters in the book, you are not meant to like anyone; the whole point of american psycho is meant to criticize yuppies, capitalists, and in general just rich people who derive pleasure from viscously punching down on those who are less fortunate. notice how each of bateman’s victims (excluding paul owen) were people from marginalized groups or just people that he thought were “lesser than”, ie women, queer people, poor people and/or anyone who wasn’t white, and even at times kills small helpless animals, again because he views them as lesser than. his rampant killing of people from these groups are meant to symbolize the sheer violence of capitalism and how minorities are treated because of it, and that point is further proven by the fact that the author is a queer man, literally someone part of a marginalized group. the fact that people lack the critical thinking skills to understand that this book is meant to CRITICIZE people like bateman rather than IDOLIZE him is both disappointing yet not surprising unfortunately, it’s almost like you gotta spell it out for people who’s brain is smaller than an atom. if you don’t like reading books where there’s no likable characters and it takes more than 2 brain cells to understand the theme and message of the book, then american psycho isn’t for you.
with that said, it’s a very slow paced book, with chapters that ultimately can be skipped (sometimes it’s literally just bateman ranting about his fav music), and it’s extremely violent and gory, something that not everyone is a fan of. despite that, the writing’s spectacular, with it being so vivid and descriptive (mainly in the gory parts) that it’s sure to make you want to shit yourself in pure fear and terror, and i loved delving into the mind of patrick bateman and the idea about society and its functions that he, along with the other characters, are meant to represent.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Cannibalism, and Classism
Minor: Antisemitism
nmarieguidroz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, and Murder
kyleighwhitsell's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion
menderash's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism