Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

21 reviews

solspringsreads's review against another edition

dark tense 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

1.75

I get why this book is like this, I just don’t care. (I even get how my “not caring” relates to the themes of desensitization to violence!) I can see why people have been so inspired creatively by this narrative and why people find value amidst the repeated violence and listing of brands; but I feel like it topples over the line between social commentary and reveling in the societal aspects on which it’s supposedly commenting, perhaps moreso than other interpretations/adaptations of this work, like the 2000 film. Even so, I can understand the value in reading this book and why its impact has lasted for so long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Death, Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Excrement, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Stalking, Cursing, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Alcoholism, Child death, Classism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, and Sexism

zoemaeboonz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense 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

3.75

This book was a hard one to get through; by page 80 I was already considering whether this would be too gory for me to finish reading. I am glad I got through this book though and whilst I would not recommend it to anyone or read it again I do think that it is a good work of fiction. The way in which Ellis portrays a character with such realistic psychopathic qualities and depersonalisation - a very manic sense of mind is really well written. I don’t think I will ever read a novel where such mental illness is portrayed with such unapologetic truth. It is clear that Ellis got his inspiration for most of the very graphic murders from psychopaths such as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. I found myself actually skimming through some parts or even having to put the book down at points because of how intense these scenes were (most notably the rat one because wtaf). Bateman is not being romanticised in this novel nor is he being portrayed as a likeable character by the author. The way it is written is through this very manic first point of view and in times when Bateman depersonalised from himself we saw the passages being written in third point of view. This book will probably sit with me for a bit and I find myself having to write about it because of this - most notably the amount of Xenophobia and slurs that were in this book was definitely hard to read and the fact that the term ‘yuppie’ was the least derogatory term put in the book says it all. The quote that probably sums up this book for the reader in a way that can make you understand the bigger picture in this novel is probably this: “…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 am simply not there.”. This is not an easy read because it is not meant to be an easy read; Bateman is a psychopath and a horrible person and all the things written affirm this about the character and who he is. Though I disagree with the back of my book saying it’s ‘one of the greatest novels of our time’ I can agree that it is a good work of literature that I will gracefully never lay eyes on again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, Cannibalism, Death, Dementia, Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Cursing, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Rape, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Abortion, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Infidelity, Torture, Homophobia, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual violence

Minor: Vomit

ervinrex's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Vomit, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Gore, Murder, Torture, Gun violence, and Misogyny

roseaboveyou's review against another edition

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

4.0

Yeah. So. Don’t do the audiobook. Or do the front half of the audiobook, and once you get through the first Events (you’ll know when you’re there), switch to text. 

It’s a lot of people’s favorite book and I get why. I have the strongest positive opinions on the writing style. The satire is hilarious (my favorite running gag is the bizarre food and fusion restaurants). But. This book needs every content warning under the sun. No reader should go into this book blind, and it’s widely known for the extremely graphic content, which is sexual, violent, and gory. There’s a type of person who finishes this book, and if you aren’t that person, do not force your way to the end. You’re going to have a terrible time.

I read this book fifteen years ago or something when I was an edgy teenager, and at first I was shocked at remembering mostly the Wall Street Guy stuff and not a lot about The Other Stuff, but I realized it must have been a hell of a lot easier to have a text and skim the super gross stuff.  That’s just not possible with the audiobook. There’s also random stuff dropped throughout, so even if you skip sections, you’re still not really going to be able to avoid it. It’s often very abrupt, and hearing the words out loud makes me feel voyeuristic about stuff I don’t want to be voyeuristic about. 

I’m not squeamish; I read plenty of things that are gross and gory and violent, and I watch plenty of movies and television in the same category. And I’d even argue that the amount of detail supports the consistency and structure of the text, and that it’s supposed to be there. But jfc. 

It’s a love it or hate it situation, and to be clear, I love it. There’s obviously a lot of content in the book that isn’t, well, that. Some of which makes me literally laugh out loud. But yeah. Don’t listen to it. It’s excruciating. Honestly, you miss some of the best details about the book, but the movie is fine, and I don’t feel nearly as gross when I finish it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Violence, Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Animal death, Sexual violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Cursing, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Torture, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Classism, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Gun violence

zoehakim's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

what?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Antisemitism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Rape, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexism, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Eating disorder

belladonnashrike's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

well that's the MOST disturbing book i've ever read! and probably will ever read!

content warning for literally everything but also for excessive mentions of donald trump

ramble incoming:

something that started to bug me about 3/4 of the way through was how gratuitous the murders of women were...i don't typically read anything that depicts such brutal treatment of women but i read this because i love the film and because i know that at its core, this is a satire, so i ignored my discomfort for most of the book. bateman doesn't necessarily target women and i would say that to generalize his killing patterns, he's mostly opportunistic. he kills easy targets - the unhoused, sex workers, random women he meets at bars, random kids and animals who aren't with a guardian/owner, etc. occasionally he does kill someone he knows personally (such as his ex from college and paul owen), but i wouldn't say he just operates on misogyny. but the only murders that are memorable are those of women. this surprised me because i didn't feel this way when watching the movie and i would say that it's mostly because of the treatment of paul owen/allen: in the film, his death is a spectacle. it's such an iconic scene and is just as over-the-top and lengthy as the rest of bateman's murders. in the book, it's over and done with within a page or two and isn't as memorable as what he did to, say, christie. the only murders (and by association, rapes) that are lengthy and disgustingly descriptive are of women. at first this didn't feel like any bias on the author's part but the more i read the more uncomfortable i became because it just feels like the author was sort of playing out fantasies with some of those heinous acts. maybe it's just because i am automatically suspicious of any man who writes about gender violence in general, but it just felt so off to me at that 3/4 point. in the film, we see him kill men and it doesn't seem like he simply enjoys killing women - the messaging there is that he enjoys murdering people in general. if paul's book death was as gory and over-the-top (and just, so fucking disgusting) like his female victims, i wouldn't think this. if the deaths of other men, such as the homeless man with the dog, were just as descriptive, again, i wouldn't think this. but when the only murders that are written in such a way are that of women victims... it makes one think. the fact that i can't really tell if this is commentary on misogyny or not troubles me.

i think that the book depicts bateman's descent into madness, along with his excessive drug usage (which certainly contributes to his hallucinations and skewed view of reality), much better than the film does. it is also obvious from the first twenty or so pages that these men are constantly being mistaken for someone else, when in the film it's not really blatant until the end scene where bateman is confessing face-to-face with his lawyer discussing paul. i do enjoy the added humor in the film, which i will mostly attribute to christian bale -- he was perfect for this role. so perfect that i did read the book in his voice. 

also, i've heard that people think this book is really boring and complain about it but i think it's obvious that that's the point. bateman and his colleagues live an incredibly boring life, so boring that the specifics of his work are never mentioned. everything is superficial. it's the same reason why everyone is described based on what they're wearing. even when describing attractive women, the most bateman says is "nice tits" and "blonde." everything is pointless! everything is meaningless! the critique that is given on businessmen in the 80s, as well as american consumerism, is perfect. just absolutely on the nose. it's supposed to be a little boring!

i did like this and i am glad i read the source material for the film. i need to think about it some more. but i am uncomfortable with the treatment of women because i just can't decipher the tone there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Gore, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Murder, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Drug use, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

edelstein's review against another edition

dark funny slow-paced

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

3.0

Ellis has a colorful command of language, especially when it comes to the description of mutilated bodies, much to the displeasure of my stomach. As the novel went on I would spend more time scanning through pages with a grimace on my face as he described

the charred, oozing, grafted, gaping holes of the corpses left in Bateman's wake

.  The violence bordered on gratuitous at times but in the world Ellis paints it was never out of place.

The book delivered it's core message well, but was willing to sacrifice the reader's enjoyment for this. No character entered a scene without a handful of paragraphs describing their type of cuffs, tie, coat, the way it was set, and the brands it hailed from, emphasizing Bateman's worldview. Long after the message was delivered, this pattern stayed strong. For the entire novel. It was effective, but again, a  prime culprit of what dragged this novel out to near 400 pages.

All in all, to see where the movie adaptation drew from adds a lot to the viewing experience, but not enough to recommend this to others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Gun violence, Death, Animal death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Misogyny, Hate crime, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Classism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Blood, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, and Addiction

farheenfarheen's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Murder, Vomit, Sexism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

sheila_the_glasser's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Addiction, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Blood, Drug use, Torture, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Bullying, and Death

darwynne's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Disturbing, but necessary. Makes you reflect on real life examples of Patrick Bateman and where they could be (closer than you may think), giving you a very introspective insight into the mind of a psycho in power, made all the more disturbing by others’ lack of care towards the visible red flags throughout the novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Antisemitism, Classism, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Xenophobia, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Stalking, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Body horror, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Torture, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment