Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

114 reviews

hydecircus's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

I mean obviously it's hard to rate a book like this without either sounding completely insane or completely ignoring its cultural impact and message. Trying to rate it on a technical level, it's a genuinely great read, but a very difficult one. One of the only books I've ever read to leave me genuinely sick to my stomach in some scenes. A lot of reading it is just going "oh I understand why that wasn't in the film", either because its so graphic it would just be completely impossible film/get approved for film, or because its just so downright boring. You don't go into this book expecting just how many clothing and product and music descriptions there are going to be. And the weird part is -- it really does work! Get through the endless brand names and pages of graphically described rape and you come to an ending that punches you directly in the gut, somehow everything that came before leading up to it perfectly. I don't mean the actual, last scene (which in the flim serves as one of the first scenes), I mean around page 349 (in my copy), when

the tense changes from first person to third. You've known Patrick was an unreliable narrator basically all along, but nothing cements it quite like him completely dissociatibg from himself, in the worst moment of his life, becoming another character rather than the protagonist, and then, when he recovers, shifting seamlessly back into first person.

It's not a book I'd recommend without reading the content warnings, and even then I might suggest watching the film first considering just how much nastier the book is. Even so, I'm glad I read it and I think if you can handle the subject matter you should give it a go, especially if you enjoy unreliable narrators.
EDIT: ok honestly after reflecting a bit i think its just one scene that is like. really bad and i probably just shouldve have read it while eating and you guys would probably be fine 👍 i think its better than the film but maybe the film makes the message more accessible also. still rotating this book around in my head maybe ill change my mind on this later

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Excrement, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Animal death, Cannibalism, Classism, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, and Sexual violence

Minor: Abortion and Suicidal thoughts

sennaje's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• 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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Gore, Violence, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Addiction, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Vomit

binaryenigma's review against another edition

dark sad 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

1.25

It's a waste of time, with the occasional torture and murder scene in between.
In concept, it's not bad, a satirical commentary on American society, but reading through it, I couldn't even be interested in it, just too boring.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, and Rape

It's just boring, then more boring, then more boring, then there's a murder scene, then even more boring, and boring again, then a murder scene, etc The book does not have any ending really, it just cuts off on a boring part, the main character doesn't even get caught for anything, even though he's extremely sloppy

zazzerpans's review against another edition

dark funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Blood, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Drug use, Lesbophobia, and Antisemitism

Minor: Abortion

annilikesbooks's review against another edition

emotional tense 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

3.75

It's a wild read. The first hundred pages are a bit dull but after that it's a crazy ride. Like some pages were so graphic I had to skip them but it's so gripping that you had to finish the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Body horror, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Addiction, Violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Murder, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Mental illness, Gore, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Eating disorder, Animal death, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Car accident, and Antisemitism

mimimamamoomimimamamoo's review against another edition

dark 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

Okay this book… is not for the faint of heart. It really is just a book about guy who’s crazy and loves to kill people, mixed with some cannibalism and horrific sexual encounters. I loved slowly seeing Bateman lose his sanity more and more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Abortion, Body shaming, Sexism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Ableism, Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault

alxjasper's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Racial slurs, Gore, Child death, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Hate crime, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Classism, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Racism, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Body horror, Ableism, Cannibalism, and Antisemitism

chickennoodlesoup's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

disgusting. absolutely gut wrenching while also horrifically boring. you read through way too much about “hardbodies” and designer brand names just to get to disturbing, sickening sex scenes followed by extremely detailed violence. the writer is amazing but i’d never want to meet him in my life. i don’t believe someone can just write this, so well in the mind of a murderer and phycopath without some insight. writing is amazing but the book is only for those who can stomach the utmost horrific events. never in my life would i recommend this book. i am so torn between giving kudos to this author while also being disgusted by him, which feels like the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Sexism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Rape, and Transphobia

knmed's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

Well I finished it. This is the definition of torture porn so be aware of that if you want to pick it up. It has very descriptive intense violence, sex, and sexual assault. It is also filled with bigotry towards all different kids of people, especially LGBTQ+ and POC.  This book has two sides of it. The first being endless lists of how to look good, luxury goods, and where everyone is going to go out to. The second is the detailed descriptions of violence and sex. Imagine being in the mind of Tom Buchanan in a cocaine fueled 80s New York, but he’s also a serial killer. At first I liked the satire of the super rich that was juxtaposed with a sick inner mind and a serial killer. But to be honest this book is a little over detailed and a little long. It started to feel like the author enjoyed writing the extreme violence and sex scenes to an extent that made me uncomfortable. I looked into the authors commentary on the book and it didn’t make me feel any better about him. It was worth reading once for me, but isn’t something I think I’ll return to. For me, I’m glad I listened to the audiobook. I don’t think I would have made it through reading through the mundane parts of Bateman’s mind. On the other side it may have made the violence worse though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Classism, Hate crime, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Sexism, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Racism, Rape, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death and Body shaming

khoystoboy's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Gore, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cannibalism, Classism, Racism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Addiction

Minor: Abortion