Scan barcode
brennach'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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, 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, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Antisemitism
Minor: Dementia, Abortion, and Pregnancy
diken'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
though i understand that ellis deliberately makes it so that this book is satirically exaggerated to emphasize bateman's character (as a reflection of our own), the oversaturation of these moments (which he constantly relies on throughout the text, even at moments when it is not needed) come across as if a 12-year-old is telling the same joke over and over again until it just becomes the same. mindless. punchline. on top of that, the overuse of slurs when ellis actually didn't need to use them at all comes across as lazy character-building (and this is only emphasized by his explicit statement that he doesn't care if he's "canceled" for using the slurs when interviewers brought it up). you can always show a bad character is a bad person without depicting him beating up the homeless over and over, using slurs when not needed, and adding in filler scenes of overt antisemitism that could have been easily erased and made the same points (and made the book more powerful, in my opinion).
though the gore seemed to draw on society's fascination with gore and all things horror (as well as sex), 400 pages of this very particular fascination in the kind of "rinse and repeat" style results in something that loses its significance, dulling and eating in on itself as it goes on.
frankly, i do not know whether i recommend this book. though the ending was actually quite good (and guess what? it did it WITHOUT 4 paragraphs of intense misogyny and hate crimes every five pages! wow- shocker) the oversaturation with which ellis relies on obscures the meaning entirely, almost watering the point down in places where it could have been a memorable text. however, if you want to read it, please take the trigger warnings seriously— and i suggest an audiobook as an aid from pages 60-360, since the middle really isn't worth your time or really worth any meaningful pen-to-page analytical thoughts.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
milenski'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
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Antisemitism, and Abortion
astrono9's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Genocide, Dementia, and Death of parent
_kaylinconn'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
3.25
But I don’t feel as though I could rate this higher then a 3-3.5, because it’s content is so foul. Which I know I signed up for, but none of this was enjoyable.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Be careful. Take breaks, don’t force yourself into anythingcrypticapricorn'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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, and Murder
hale_bopp'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
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sea_raider'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
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Sexual harassment