Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

69 reviews

art_books_chemistry's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

Holy moly this freaking book. I won't put all the notes I took on my phone into this review but I can tell you there are BOATLOAD of them. I'm also a bit mad. My favorite part of thrillers/mysteries etc is guessing the whodunnit or twist as early as possible. This is why bonus points go to authors that throw me off and actually surprise me at the end. Ellis here (in my opinion) took the lazy way out and didn't actually throw a twist; it's a twist by omission (sort of). -_-  I'll refrain from going into more detail since it would give spoilers. With that being said, I sort of did guess what was going on very very early on though I second guessed myself for most of the rest of the book. Hence the pages of notes, I was throwing out all sorts of crazy theories. 

This was my second attempt at reading this book and I almost DNF'd it again (though that thought came after chapter 2 instead of halfway through chapter 1 this time). But I knew my husband liked the movie and I do my best to read books beforehand when I know a book exists. He had a fun time reading my notes as I went through the book since he knew the whole story already. Which by the way; I will admit that the movie adaptation was one of the best I've ever seen. I believe with maybe a few exceptions the entire dialogue script were quotes from the book. I actually liked some of the edits they made for the movie; like overlapping some of Bateman's monologues into other scenes. I also knew beforehand that Christian Bale was Bateman and visualized him the whole time. Absolutely perfect casting. 

Which brings me to THE MONOLOGUES. These are half the reason I almost DNF'd the book again. We have entire chapters on random subjects. Don't get me wrong, you get me started on a subject I love like beer, whiskey, toxicology, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, tea, baking, whatever I can go on forever but why would you do that in a book? In an interview at the end of my audible version, Ellis talked about how he considers American Psycho a sort of  autobiography (also concerning if you have read or watched it...) so my guess is a decent chunk of this book is straight stream of consciousness writing. If you've never read stream of consciousness it gets weird and very hard to read. I did some back in high school English and psychology classes; it's a great tool for finding ideas or for therapy but not very publishable. 

This also deserves a major content warning: it gets extremely more graphic, gore-y, and sexual the further you get into the book. So definitely don't pick this up if you are in any way squeamish! **Mild spoiler**

Like a rat being inserted into vaginal cavity stuffed with cheese and then cut in half with the woman with a chainsaw to see how far into her it ate.

 

Overall, I do like the social commentary about sociopathy and drug abuse in white collar NYC in the 80s/90s. But so much of the dialogue was repetitive, boring, or tangential which made it hard to keep focus. There really was not major plot either; the book just keeps going as basically a diary for Bateman until it just...ends. I'm also not a huge fan of this lack of closure. Feel free to message me to gripe about this fact if you agree. xD Honestly, I don't recommend this book but I could see it appealing to some audiences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

ashleigh_nicole's review against another edition

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

ru_th's review

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, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

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

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Abortion

issyd23's review against another edition

dark funny 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

4.5

Great book. I want to read Paul Owen’s novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Literally everything in this book is cause for a trigger warming imo

t_c_g_'s review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

prockmatt's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

2.0

This book is vile and hard to read but there’s definitely something in it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Classism

conflictheory's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism

meixi28's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

afroheaux's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

This book is an extremely interesting character study, but not for the faint of heart. I kept thinking to myself, “Why did he include this in such detail?” But I think that’s the point. This is how someone with Patrick’s sick and twisted mind actually acts.
The book is self aware in the way that it’s trying to show you that evil is often found in the places where we’ve been told it doesn’t: behind perfectly trimmed haircuts, handsome smiles, and wealthy apartments. We’ve deconstructed this idea a bit more since the time of this book’s publishing due to shows like SVU and Criminal Minds yet these ideas still linger in the places of power where they matter. 
This book illustrates why so many of the rich and powerful are so indifferent to human suffering. Their lives are vapid and empty, exchanges and people are interchangeable, and everything is a show. Nothing matters.
I believe Patrick is as prolific as he claims to be. The only reason why he hasn’t gotten caught is because his life is an alibi. Most of his victims are homeless or working class people that he has no connection to. Even his world, his victims are forgotten because none of them truly care about each other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism