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sscs's review
1.0
I read a book once that said being a Sociopath is boring because Sociopaths don't care about anything. This book was really boring for the same reason.
It's like this: http://www.theonion.com/articles/sm-couple-wont-stop-droning-on-about-their-fetishe,1462/
But with serial killing.
It's like this: http://www.theonion.com/articles/sm-couple-wont-stop-droning-on-about-their-fetishe,1462/
But with serial killing.
debumere's review
3.0
A book that was intended to shock its readers with brute, gore and the rest.
It contains some brutal scenes but have to admit I found it quite 'meh' at the best of times.
The story starts well, Erica looking after her Granny, who turns out to be dead (bit of 'Psycho' there) and the arrival of Walt, out of the blue, who takes her on a rather odd journey. Walt was a sociopath, without a doubt, but was Erica?
Seemingly invisible to the heinous crimes they commit, no one bats an eyelid when body parts are chucked off a balcony etc, it didn't answer any of the questions I had about WHY did they never get caught? What was it that made them immune to reaction from the normal people......the ending was a let down. The story lost its fizz half way through. The plot was not really there but I persevered in the hope it would pick up.
It didn't.
It wasn't a total waste of time but I won't be raving about it either.
It contains some brutal scenes but have to admit I found it quite 'meh' at the best of times.
The story starts well, Erica looking after her Granny, who turns out to be dead (bit of 'Psycho' there) and the arrival of Walt, out of the blue, who takes her on a rather odd journey. Walt was a sociopath, without a doubt, but was Erica?
Seemingly invisible to the heinous crimes they commit, no one bats an eyelid when body parts are chucked off a balcony etc, it didn't answer any of the questions I had about WHY did they never get caught? What was it that made them immune to reaction from the normal people......the ending was a let down. The story lost its fizz half way through. The plot was not really there but I persevered in the hope it would pick up.
It didn't.
It wasn't a total waste of time but I won't be raving about it either.
chramies's review
4.0
Actually what this reminded me of was not so much "American Psycho" - although the idea that crimes could be committed undetected, possibly because they are all in the criminal's mind, is there. More "Natural Born Criminals" and Ben Elton's "Popcorn" which put forward the idea that oldstyle Hollywood gave poor people escapism but modern films rub their noses in their poverty, with predictable results. The idea of social invisibility is a neat trick but there is invisibility and there is invisibility - the suggestion that older women are actually invisible as social agents, but that older men are not so much invisible as there is an assumption that they are deviants and criminals. The poor and downtrodden may not figure much in present day capitalism but they are not as invisible as all that - just ask any young black man who has been stopped by the police for essentially being black in a public place while minding his own business.
"Sociopaths in Love" is Bizarro fiction: which of course means it doesn't need to make literal sense, as it is clearly a work of fiction anyhow. At what point does the OTT-ness detract from the narrative? Does the ending make sense? If you look at "American Psycho" regardless of whether or not some of the crime actually happens, there is at least one (the supposed shootout on a street in broad daylight) that is clearly fantasy in Patrick Bateman's mind. It's a movie, not reality. And as much as Bateman and AP may represent the frenzied doodling of a class of overpaid rich young men living on unearned wealth, SiL is at the other end of the scale - the frenzied etc. of the poor and disenfranchised. If nobody cares what you do, then what do you do for an encore?
"Sociopaths in Love" is Bizarro fiction: which of course means it doesn't need to make literal sense, as it is clearly a work of fiction anyhow. At what point does the OTT-ness detract from the narrative? Does the ending make sense? If you look at "American Psycho" regardless of whether or not some of the crime actually happens, there is at least one (the supposed shootout on a street in broad daylight) that is clearly fantasy in Patrick Bateman's mind. It's a movie, not reality. And as much as Bateman and AP may represent the frenzied doodling of a class of overpaid rich young men living on unearned wealth, SiL is at the other end of the scale - the frenzied etc. of the poor and disenfranchised. If nobody cares what you do, then what do you do for an encore?
fictionofthefix's review against another edition
5.0
at the beginning of [b:Guts|6395833|Guts|Chuck Palahniuk|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1273235556s/6395833.jpg|6584446], chuck palahniuk's controversial short story, he asks the reader to inhale and take as much air as he or she can. he says the story should last about as long as you can hold your breath, and then just a little bit longer. this book made me think of that, except this feeling lasts for 256 pages.
this was fucking amazing and i'm speechless.
it is structured like a normal relationship, as in, boy meets girl, meeting friends, shared interests, arguments, fights, seeing other people, etc. except the story is anything but normal.
its sheer brilliancy creeped up on me in a similar way walt crept up on erica as she was doing her eyeliner in the very first sentence of the first paragraph.
i really wish the cover was different for obvious reasons.
this was fucking amazing and i'm speechless.
it is structured like a normal relationship, as in, boy meets girl, meeting friends, shared interests, arguments, fights, seeing other people, etc. except the story is anything but normal.
its sheer brilliancy creeped up on me in a similar way walt crept up on erica as she was doing her eyeliner in the very first sentence of the first paragraph.
i really wish the cover was different for obvious reasons.
lauriereadslohf's review
3.0
I don’t know why I pick up books like these. It’s some strange compulsion that I cannot ignore. Some are better than others. This one falls right about in the middle but scores all the points for the gross-out.
An unhinged man enters the home of a young lady caring for her ill granny. He’s not there to make friends and have some tea either! He’s a dude who takes what he wants and walks away. He can do this because he has some sort of power that allows him to remain unseen once he walks away from the scene of his atrocities. I can’t fully wrap my head around that concept but I kept reading to find anyhow. So you can probably guess he is there for rapiness but he ends up finding more. Erica figures she’s not going to fight this guy because it will only be worse for her and she’s a little intrigued by the excitement of it all. After some extremely dubious con sex occurs Walt realizes she shares his super power and they head off into the sunset and live happily ever after doing whatever the heck they want without consequence.
Well, not really.
Love isn’t exactly easy when you’re a murderous sociopath who likes to eat people and glory in your own filth.
What follows is a horribly gross, murderous and twisted road trip filled with wicked turns and cruel acts that were nearly too much even for me. I’m talking poop covered mattresses, a poop filled room, poop piles tinged with blood. There is poop. There is too much poop! Poop isn’t something I like very much. I see enough poop. I raised two kids and currently have five pets. I need no more poop in my life.
Anyhow, what this book is really about is a narcissistic psycho who gets increasingly more depraved page by page. To be honest, I found it a little boring in spots. There was much debauchery but spending time in these peoples heads was sometimes tedious. They weren’t very interesting to me and I’m not quite sure what compelled me to finish so please don’t ask. I do not know what is wrong with me but I do feel like I need my brain scrubbed right now.
If you’re a similar weirdo and think you might want to push your limits this book will mostly likely do that for you!
The copy I listened to was narrated by the author who reads this tale of deviant deeds in a dead tone that suits the monsters inhabiting the story.
An unhinged man enters the home of a young lady caring for her ill granny. He’s not there to make friends and have some tea either! He’s a dude who takes what he wants and walks away. He can do this because he has some sort of power that allows him to remain unseen once he walks away from the scene of his atrocities. I can’t fully wrap my head around that concept but I kept reading to find anyhow. So you can probably guess he is there for rapiness but he ends up finding more. Erica figures she’s not going to fight this guy because it will only be worse for her and she’s a little intrigued by the excitement of it all. After some extremely dubious con sex occurs Walt realizes she shares his super power and they head off into the sunset and live happily ever after doing whatever the heck they want without consequence.
Well, not really.
Love isn’t exactly easy when you’re a murderous sociopath who likes to eat people and glory in your own filth.
What follows is a horribly gross, murderous and twisted road trip filled with wicked turns and cruel acts that were nearly too much even for me. I’m talking poop covered mattresses, a poop filled room, poop piles tinged with blood. There is poop. There is too much poop! Poop isn’t something I like very much. I see enough poop. I raised two kids and currently have five pets. I need no more poop in my life.
Anyhow, what this book is really about is a narcissistic psycho who gets increasingly more depraved page by page. To be honest, I found it a little boring in spots. There was much debauchery but spending time in these peoples heads was sometimes tedious. They weren’t very interesting to me and I’m not quite sure what compelled me to finish so please don’t ask. I do not know what is wrong with me but I do feel like I need my brain scrubbed right now.
If you’re a similar weirdo and think you might want to push your limits this book will mostly likely do that for you!
The copy I listened to was narrated by the author who reads this tale of deviant deeds in a dead tone that suits the monsters inhabiting the story.
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