Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson

8 reviews

jelkebooks's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

3.0

This was an incredibly interesting read, and I did quite like the author's narrative voice. It was a really quick, and relatively easy read. I even chuckled a little bit while reading this. However, I felt like the actual book was very disorganised and unfocussed. By the end I still didn't fully understand what Jon Ronson was trying to do with this book.

Content Warnings

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative slow-paced

1.75

This book can be summed up as "I learned a symptom checklist, went out psycho-spotting, and you can too!" He spends the entire book armchair diagnosing people, especially those for whom he wonders if the psychologists got it wrong (all of which were men). He talks about a few other individuals but they get a few paragraphs in comparison to the men. He interviewed more Scientologists than psychologists and I found that a bit troubling. There is very little to this book besides interviews and biased conclusions.
He trivializes symptoms in the DSM even though it is accepted that these symptoms are to have significant impact on the individual's life.
I was expecting a more nuanced discussion of the failings of the system. Perhaps how it isn't really built for anyone who is not male or Caucasian.
The attempts at humor fell flat and actively detracted whatever points the author was dancing around. The author was also not very focused on his own points and jumped all over the place at times. This felt like directionless info-dump.
If you are familiar with this author you might enjoy this book. I did not.

Content Warnings

wandering_recorder's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

This is one of my favorite novels of all time. Read on recommendation of a teacher years ago, I have since reread it two more times because of how amazing it is. In this book we follow Jon Ronson himself, our anxious yet determined journalist, as he dives into the dangerous world of psychopaths. As he explores this concept he touches on many great questions such as how we define psychopaths, the complex history of psychopathy, how the legal and medical systems view this condition, how the common person and media perceive it, and the effects this condition has on individuals along with the world. While those questions may seem clear cut, Ronson provides us with such a great wealth of information that it makes the reader think twice. With a comedic and dry delivery throughout, this is one of my top recommendations to other readers, especially those who are interested in psychology itself.

Content Warnings