Reviews with content warning for Sexism - American Psycho

TLDR; really REALLY graphic but also really funny and well-done. Very slow and stream-of-consciousness. Great book!

Ummm...wow. I'm not even sure where to begin. For context, I've never seen the movie, and I thought 'what the hey, I should read the book first'. Surprisingly, somehow, I really enjoyed it. This book is a really interesting satire of consumerism and elitism in such a capitalistic place as NYC, while also being a fascinating stream-of-consciousness look at the mind of an incredibly mentally ill individual. As a book, the narrative voice is far more interesting and important than the actual plot itself. That being said, I knew that this book was going to be dark and gross, but I was not prepared for HOW dark and gross. Most of the book is fine, but there are a handful of chapters that are extremely descriptive in the gore, and horrifically 'creative'. I have a pretty strong stomach, and multiple times I needed to take breathers from chapters being too intense for me. *If you choose to read the book and want to try and dodge the worst of it, the chapters titled 'Girl' or 'Girls' contain the worst of the worst*. Other than that, I thought it was a brilliant read and for the most part, incredibly well written. It would have had 5 stars from me if it weren't for a few things: 1) while some of the gore was appropriate, a good chunk of it was a bit too gratuitous, although it could be argued that it was necessary for the reader's understanding of the character, 2) it's a VERY slow read, and doesn't pick up much until the halfway point, 3) some motifs were very well-played, while others were a bit overused and overdone, 4) gonna be honest, not a fan of the ending. I somewhat understand what the point of the ending was supposed to mean, but I just think it fell a bit flat in its efficacy compared to the rest of the book. But other than that, if you're looking for a genuinely funny, dark, and macabre character study, I would recommend this book.

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elsmith09's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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venusdapoopiehead's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-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

5.0

TLDR: american psycho is a book with vivid and descriptive writing, intriguing characters, and an important message about society. it is not just a book about a serial killer-it is about the cruelty of capitalism and the intricacies of identity and mankind. it is, however, very slow paced and there’s sometimes chapters where there isn’t much plot and sometimes it’s just patrick info-dumping, and there are a lot of triggering and upsetting scenes, know yourself and your limitations.

this is, in my honest opinion, one of the greatest yet most misunderstood books ever. it’s not a book meant to idolize patrick bateman or people similar to him-you’re not supposed to like any of the characters in this book. the book is meant to criticize yuppies and capitalists, and discusses how those of a lower status in society are viewed and treated by higher ups. it’s ultimately about the cruel and dangerous affects capitalism has on society and the complexities of mankind. while this book may be fictional, the violence inflicted upon marginalized people and those in general who do not have the upper hand in society-are not fictitious and is very much a real aspect of our society that we choose to ignore or push to the sidelines because we try to make ourselves believe that mankind can’t truly be that horrible and cruel to our own kind, but as bateman said (and i hate to quote a literal serial killer but in this instance he is unfortunately right) appearances can be very deceiving, we are not as innocent as we like to believe we are. it’s a depressing but very necessary message about how our society operates.

aside from that, despite how slow this book is, the fact that there’s so many unnecessary details or chapters that i think ultimately can be skipped, and how long it’s taken me to finish it, i still absolutely loved it and i found the writing to be impeccable. even though there weren’t any likable characters, it didn’t deter me from the book because they were still so fascinating and interesting, mainly patrick bateman. he absolutely sucks, but he is written so well, and he feels REAL, and dare i say at times he is unfortunately kind of relatable (not the killing part, mainly him being extremely mentally ill is what i’m referring to when i mean he’s relatable). i will say though, if you want to read this-know your limitations, there’s a lot of horrible and grotesque scenes and topics in this book and if there’s a chance you might be triggered by it, don’t read the book, i added content warnings to this review for a reason. it’s a book meant for a select few of people-this book isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay.

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ervinrex's review against another edition

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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

2.75

Wanting to read this every night but being demotivated by how truly gruesome some scenes are, is a me problem to be honest. Anyways, boy oh boy does this book read faster when you skip the long winded explanations of unimportant things such as detailing a band or literally describing every outfit everyone is wearing. I was getting super frustrated that I just wanted to see the story progress, something new to happen but it just kept going in circles. When something looked like might happen, Patrick just falls back into what he does best, being crazy on a level I still don’t understand.

I will say though, his perpetual fall in trying to understand himself is one that anyone in their 20s could empathise with…just maybe not in terms of killing people for fun.

Overtime, I just disliked the main character more and more, yes it’s fictional, yes I went in thinking I wanted to hear the crazy shit, but slowly it just got harder and harder to read. I didn’t care anymore about his thoughts, I didn’t care about anyone around him either but then I deeped that’s pretty much what the author wants me to feel (I hope). These people are pricks, everyone is fake and the only time you feel for anyone is the innocents that have no “character”. As in, they’re just random homeless people or escorts.

If that was the point, which again I assume it is, yeah, the author did a great job making me dislike everyone.

Anyways, 3 stars because when the story isn’t being slowed down by “lemme check my hair” or “this guy is wearing an Armani suit with…etc etc”, the feeling of a downward spiral does become clearer, and of course I am always going to love the detective scene and the lawyer scene at the end.

Otherwise, I think I am being a little generous with 3 stars, maybe the film is influencing that but either way. Good book, don’t recommend if you easily get bored or you don’t wanna read some actually horrifying shit.

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