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e_forrester's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
xoxojillzian's review
dark
fast-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
4.75
Leave it to me to love a book about a psychopath
leoberenson's review against another edition
dark
fast-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
tierneyspence's review against another edition
dark
medium-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
3.0
tadiwa_e's review against another edition
I can see why people enjoy this book. However for me personally I couldn’t stomach the themes of the book, I understand it’s meant to be satirical or even social commentary. But I just personally felt sick reading it and I’m not someone who does not finish a book regularly.. I’m just sad I didn’t like it at all and found myself putting off reading it and would often check how far I have left to go…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Cursing, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
3.0
When AFRICAN PSYCHO by Alain Mabanckou arrived in my book stack, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I've finished it now and I'm still not sure what I got. But I do remember it!
Gregoire is a neglected child - an ugly child - an anonymous child - abandoned by his parents - he's raised in an increasingly haphazard manner really by himself mostly. He vows he will be different. He will be remembered. He vows to escape his humdrum reality and commit a spectacular murder. Just like his idol - the serial killer Angoualima. Angoualima is Gregoire's guide, his mentor, his hero. He's dead, but that doesn't mean that Gregoire is separated from him, often sharing his plans when sitting on Angoualima's grave.
Told in Gregoire's own voice, AFRICAN PSYCHO is a journey into the macabre, the funny, the sad, the desperate and the disturbing. At the same time, there are great sweeping vistas of the absurd - not the least because the author uses the most bizarre names for places - "He-Who-Drinks-Water-Is-An-Idiot" is where Gregoire lives. The novel isn't set in a real place, just as Gregoire's life is somehow not quite real.
AFRICAN PSYCHO isn't a book that fits into any "category" that's for sure. It's frequently weird, it's often confusing, but at the same time it's compelling, intriguing and just a little sad. Gregoire's an unreliable narrator in some ways, not by artifice or to manipulate. He's fragile. He's very damaged. The world he lives in isn't anywhere near where the rest of us lead our lives.
It's not an easy book to read, partially because it doesn't fit into any particular pattern or mould. It's also not an easy book to read as Gregoire's somebody who despite everything, that you could very well find yourself caring about - a lot.
Gregoire is a neglected child - an ugly child - an anonymous child - abandoned by his parents - he's raised in an increasingly haphazard manner really by himself mostly. He vows he will be different. He will be remembered. He vows to escape his humdrum reality and commit a spectacular murder. Just like his idol - the serial killer Angoualima. Angoualima is Gregoire's guide, his mentor, his hero. He's dead, but that doesn't mean that Gregoire is separated from him, often sharing his plans when sitting on Angoualima's grave.
Told in Gregoire's own voice, AFRICAN PSYCHO is a journey into the macabre, the funny, the sad, the desperate and the disturbing. At the same time, there are great sweeping vistas of the absurd - not the least because the author uses the most bizarre names for places - "He-Who-Drinks-Water-Is-An-Idiot" is where Gregoire lives. The novel isn't set in a real place, just as Gregoire's life is somehow not quite real.
AFRICAN PSYCHO isn't a book that fits into any "category" that's for sure. It's frequently weird, it's often confusing, but at the same time it's compelling, intriguing and just a little sad. Gregoire's an unreliable narrator in some ways, not by artifice or to manipulate. He's fragile. He's very damaged. The world he lives in isn't anywhere near where the rest of us lead our lives.
It's not an easy book to read, partially because it doesn't fit into any particular pattern or mould. It's also not an easy book to read as Gregoire's somebody who despite everything, that you could very well find yourself caring about - a lot.
gianluigib75's review against another edition
http://senzaudio.it/alain-mabanckou-african-psycho/
booksnpunks's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I did like this book, but I also expected a lot more from it. I think in naming it after Ellis's [b:American Psycho|28676|American Psycho|Bret Easton Ellis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436934349s/28676.jpg|2270060] and having it compared to Beckett, Dostoevsky, Camus and even Salinger (who are basically all my favourite authors) meant Mabanckou's book was under a lot of pressure from me to be just as amazing.
It follows Gregoire Nakobomayo who, under the influence of a dead killer by the name of Angoualima, decides he wants to become, too, a famous killer. Like a lot of other reviewers have said, the internal monologue reminded me more of Dostoevsky and Camus's prose than Ellis's, as this novel I found was more about his internal psychosis and his growing urge to perform a horrific act that he can't physically manifest. Rather than it being a comment on society, African Psycho turns inwards to it's protagonist's head to the point where even Greg can't see past his own swelling anxiety and gradual disintegration.
It is fascinating from a psychological and existential point of view which is why it has more in common with classic existential authors - the prose was extremely reminiscent of the prose in [b:Crime and Punishment|7144|Crime and Punishment|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382846449s/7144.jpg|3393917] a lot of the time. The writing really means it secures it's place with-in a canon of murderous narrator fiction such as Patrick Suskind's [b:Perfume: The Story of a Murderer|343|Perfume The Story of a Murderer|Patrick Süskind|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1409112276s/343.jpg|2977727] which this also reminded me of. But at the same time it was a coming-of-age story, albeit one that goes horribly wrong, but still shows Greg's adolescent struggles. These themes put together make African Psycho an extremely unique but outstanding book.
On rereading or perhaps after writing an academic article on this book I believe I'll give it a higher rating, but for the time being I was slightly let down on my first read just because of it's monumental comparisons to the majority of my favourite authors. I would definitely recommend it though as I know I'm going to return to this book at some point, as it is extremely entertaining (in a dark humour sort of way) and cleverly written.
It follows Gregoire Nakobomayo who, under the influence of a dead killer by the name of Angoualima, decides he wants to become, too, a famous killer. Like a lot of other reviewers have said, the internal monologue reminded me more of Dostoevsky and Camus's prose than Ellis's, as this novel I found was more about his internal psychosis and his growing urge to perform a horrific act that he can't physically manifest. Rather than it being a comment on society, African Psycho turns inwards to it's protagonist's head to the point where even Greg can't see past his own swelling anxiety and gradual disintegration.
It is fascinating from a psychological and existential point of view which is why it has more in common with classic existential authors - the prose was extremely reminiscent of the prose in [b:Crime and Punishment|7144|Crime and Punishment|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382846449s/7144.jpg|3393917] a lot of the time. The writing really means it secures it's place with-in a canon of murderous narrator fiction such as Patrick Suskind's [b:Perfume: The Story of a Murderer|343|Perfume The Story of a Murderer|Patrick Süskind|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1409112276s/343.jpg|2977727] which this also reminded me of. But at the same time it was a coming-of-age story, albeit one that goes horribly wrong, but still shows Greg's adolescent struggles. These themes put together make African Psycho an extremely unique but outstanding book.
On rereading or perhaps after writing an academic article on this book I believe I'll give it a higher rating, but for the time being I was slightly let down on my first read just because of it's monumental comparisons to the majority of my favourite authors. I would definitely recommend it though as I know I'm going to return to this book at some point, as it is extremely entertaining (in a dark humour sort of way) and cleverly written.
sophiedavenport's review against another edition
3.0
If I knew when I bought it that this was a post modernist style, stream of consciousness text, I may not have picked it up. However, I'm glad I did as the ideas in the book were really different from other books I've read that center arround crime. It was genuinely funny, which I wasn't expecting. ***