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erislaroy's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lucieeleanor101's review against another edition
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
2.5
clivesay's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
grassgoat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Toxic relationship, Gore, Homophobia, Vomit, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Hate crime, Gun violence, Alcohol, Abortion, Torture, Sexism, Murder, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Cursing, Classism, and Rape
sydrry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
3.5
jesssicaa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
4.25
frankikaos's review against another edition
5.0
At times, American Psycho is a hard book to read, mostly because of the extremely in-depth descriptions throughout the book (i.e. every item of clothing and apartment/restaurant is described in painstaking details) but also occasionally because of the mindless and extremely violent acts of Patrick Bateman.
Although there is no doubt in the fact that Bateman is, indeed, psychopathic, at times I did find myself feeling sorry for him- when he tries to reach out to the people around him, admitting his crimes or just trying to find a proper connection, and they, in their materialistic ideals, either ignore him or brush him off as having a joke with them. I also found the part in which he was toying with the idea of killing his secretary, Jean, and then spent the afternoon imagining them running through the park, holding hands, buying balloons and letting them go quite poignant as it shows that, at times, he does toy with the idea of living a "normal existence"... He's just come too far down the wrong path to find it now.
After seeing the film, I thought I would be prepared for his murderous torture sessions with women, homeless people and even on one occasion a child, but Bret Easton Ellis describes every act in gory detail and I admit that, occasionally, I had to put the book down.
I will definitely revisit this book in the future but its not the sort of thing I could read over and over again as it's extremely dark and twisted and certainly won't be to everyone's tastes but it is also a masterpiece.
It shows that sometimes there can be evil right in front of our faces but we either choose not to notice or we are simply blinded by our own selfish ends that we find it impossible to see.
Although there is no doubt in the fact that Bateman is, indeed, psychopathic, at times I did find myself feeling sorry for him- when he tries to reach out to the people around him, admitting his crimes or just trying to find a proper connection, and they, in their materialistic ideals, either ignore him or brush him off as having a joke with them. I also found the part in which he was toying with the idea of killing his secretary, Jean, and then spent the afternoon imagining them running through the park, holding hands, buying balloons and letting them go quite poignant as it shows that, at times, he does toy with the idea of living a "normal existence"... He's just come too far down the wrong path to find it now.
After seeing the film, I thought I would be prepared for his murderous torture sessions with women, homeless people and even on one occasion a child, but Bret Easton Ellis describes every act in gory detail and I admit that, occasionally, I had to put the book down.
I will definitely revisit this book in the future but its not the sort of thing I could read over and over again as it's extremely dark and twisted and certainly won't be to everyone's tastes but it is also a masterpiece.
It shows that sometimes there can be evil right in front of our faces but we either choose not to notice or we are simply blinded by our own selfish ends that we find it impossible to see.
knoxinsocks's review against another edition
I think the premise is kind of interesting, but it's just not my style. The pace was a bit slow, the violence was a little much for me, and I kind of got tired of the misogyny. I get that the narrator is intentionally unlikable, but it just wasn't for me.
exorcismemily's review against another edition
4.0
I don't even know what to say about this book. I gasped out loud multiple times while reading this haha. It was incredibly dark and fucked up, but it was creative. It is obnoxiously detailed, so some parts of the book were difficult to get through. I think this translated better in the movie than in the book. This book was also super disgusting, so I would not recommend it to someone who doesn't frequently read and/or watch gory horror. This is my third Ellis book, and I didn't think it would be more disturbing than Less Than Zero (it was).