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levitatingnumeral'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? It's complicated
4.0
Let’s start from what I loved most: Bateman’s vapid monologues. I see many reviews saying they made the book incredibly dull, but I actually found them to be unbelievably valuable in showing just how superficial and self-obsessed Bateman is. It’s clear he is completely unaware of the utter indifference anyone else would show towards his obsession with himself, and Bret’s narration is flawless. It truly felt like I was hearing a narcissist talking, 100% immersion.
On the other hand, I must admit I struggled a bit to keep track of the level of Bateman’s unreliability. Since the characters were (purposefully) so similar, at times I would catch myself wondering if it truly was Bateman unreliably reporting the actions of his peers or if it was me mixing up the characters. I will give Bret the benefit of the doubt, though, because maybe this was the very effect he wanted to create. He has talked about how the core of the plot is something he himself is unsure of and left open for interpretation, so perhaps it was his intent to make us readers wonder at all times whether we were misremembering or if it was a lie. It would make perfect sense, in the context of Bateman’s constant manipulation.
What I definitely wanted more of, though, was… a certain kind of consistency in two specific aspects:
1. The effect of drugs on Bateman. We see him, at one point, break down and practically black out. But after the worst occurrence, it seems like this aspect was just left out.
2. The ending. It felt so abrupt I was completely lost. I wanted maybe a few more threads to be pulled tighter. I don’t want answers, but maybe I would’ve enjoyed if I had relevant, confusing points being weaved into a torn, fuzzy, mismatching fabric to drive home just how unsure I should be.
Graphic: Vomit, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Body horror, Gore, Rape, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Hate crime, Homophobia, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Classism, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Racism, Antisemitism, Drug use, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racial slurs, Eating disorder, and Biphobia
lord_cookie'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
3.0
American Psycho is not a book I’d recommend easily to many people. It’s hostile and our main character Patrick Bateman is a misogynist, racist, superficial prick who spends far too much money and thoughts on clothes and beauty products. And as many critics, readers and Ellis said: It’s somewhat boring. There are many chapters simply listing which clothes people wear or what his beauty routine is. Further in it’s more and more violent gory depictions of torture often starting with hardcore pornography. Still I liked the book. FThe movie adaptation is my second favourite movie and I was pleased how many scenes were in the movie. Also Ellis himself said he wrote the book at a time when he lived this lifestyle and grew alienated and this book comes from anger and even though I’m really far from the lifestyle the anger here deeply resonated with me. Some moments are so absurd they are definitely funny. The big difference to the movie is the amount of violence and gore. Towards the end it grows more heavy. I’ve read a lot of horror books these last 3 months but this was the first that made me grimace because there are some really disgusting things happening. To top this all I’m a sucker for unreliable narrators and when something is left open like here. We never truly know if Patrick committed these crimes. There are hints but in the end it’s the reader who decides what happened.
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Classism, Gore, Hate crime, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Gun violence, Self harm, Abortion, and Animal death
michaelion'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
1.75
A book is bad when I have to question what purpose it served humanity. I am a person who fundamentally believes that all art can be made with no reason or goal in mind; art for art's sake; art because the person who made it felt something, felt they had to get it out, felt they had something to share with the world. I read this book because I wanted to watch the movie, yes I'm that kind of person, and I wish I could unread it. What purpose did this book serve to the greater good of humanity? Fuck the greater good, what contribution to humanity does this book give? It has no analysis, no deeper introspection into the era, the mindset of the people. There's no meat on the bone that is this book.
It has its moments and its beauty, for sure. I love the stream of consciousness and unreliable narration, I love the speaking to the audience, the break rom reality and seeing things in the perspective of a movie, sure. Those elements are great. But as a whole? I never question why art is made. There's art I like and art I don't like. It's easy for me to spot art I like, It's easy for me to spot art I don't like, and there are definitely things that lie in a middle grey area, but for all three of those things I almost never question why it was made. It's an inherently fascist idea to say art should have a purpose else it is a waste of time or attention but this is one of the few exceptions I've encountered. The movie better be good after the shit I just read.
And to be clear, I'm not just mad at the content of the book. It was very upsetting sure, but
I tried to find it in my heart to give it a higher rating, I really did, but I can't lie to my future self who will reread this review and go "damn, the book was that bad?" Hi, future self. To answer your question: No. The book was much worse.
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Homophobia, Torture, Misogyny, Sexism, Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Animal death, Addiction, Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Ableism, Death, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Drug use, Blood, Classism, Gore, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Bullying, Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug abuse, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
ashsparrow'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
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Rape, Misogyny, Hate crime, Gore, Alcohol, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Violence, Child death, Sexism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Classism, Cursing, Death, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Vomit
emamno'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
0.25
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Body horror, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual content, Racism, Drug use, Ableism, Abortion, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexism, Car accident, Racial slurs, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Child death, Fatphobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Addiction, Dysphoria, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Antisemitism, and Eating disorder
I almost threw up reading itkittiesss'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: Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body shaming, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Death, Ableism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Violence
greenan26's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Eating disorder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Mental illness, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity
sarahmalopia'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, Misogyny, Murder, Bullying, Classism, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Racial slurs, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Rape, Child death, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Hate crime, Excrement, Homophobia, Sexism, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, and Alcoholism
krispiefries'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
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
jayvdw'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
First off, the book is very slow, especially in the beginning. It fits the theme and sets the book's tone, but it doesn't read nicely. The book has some big themes and criticisms about 1980s America, which is very interesting and insightful. Patricks focus on clothing, brand, music and materialism really sets a mood whilst reading and depth to the characters. BUT IT'S FUCKING BORING. Personally, I skipped most of these, the long lists, I understand why they are there and that Bret intentionally puts them in the book to be boring and bore the reader.
The book is super super gross and not at all for the faint of heart. The book goes into detail about the murders and sex. It is very unsettling and I sometimes strayed away from reading for a few hours after certain chapters.
My favorite part of the book is clearly a few chapters near the end.
Overall, I think this book is very interesting and learnful. Even in the modern day a lot of the themes are still present or even worse. The book is however a very boring read or very gross most of the time, due to this I gave it a low rating, simply because I did not enjoy reading it for most of the book, I also feel like the book could have been half the size. The ending was a let down in my opinion and a bit too vague. It would have been better if the ending focussed more on the trustworthiness of Patrick.
Graphic: Drug use, Gore, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Infidelity, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Cannibalism, Grief, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Child death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
This book is gross and very very explicit with sex, murder, rape and torture. Not only to men and women, but also animals and children.