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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
holy shit?? the goriest most disgusting book i’ve ever read. i had to stop reading several times throughout just to stop the nausea. i had secondhand embarrassment repeatedly from this socially awkward main character. very triggering read, be careful
Film is fantastic, book was painful to get through and I gave up. I don’t care what people are wearing.
dark
funny
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
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Classism
challenging
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hilarious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Arthur Schopenhauer once said "Genius lives only one storey above madness..." but Brett Easton-Ellis's "American Psycho" could argue that madness has taken the penthouse and genius is locked somewhere in a dark and damp basement.
Let me start by saying this was one hell of a novel. I had the (mis)fortune of picking it up as part of the aptly named "Sorry in Advance" book club hosted by one of my best friends. Having never seen the movie in full, I was entirely unsure what to expect. And, it is for certain that the movie could not have prepared me for what I did read.
In short, "American Psycho" follows Patrick Bateman as he descends what can only be described as a drug-fueled, murder binge that escalates at the top speed of a garden snail. With excruciating detail spent on Armani ties and lizard skin pumps, you're sure to hit your own psychological limit before Bateman has the chance to share how truly demented he thinks he is.
Despite everything though, I still give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. By the end, I was scrambling to understand the internal machinations of Mr. Bateman. I wanted to know why, and that is the only reason the pages kept turning. Because somewhere in this mess of trauma, gore, and failed conversations, there HAD to be an answer.
I'll be perfectly honest with you. It's hard to love a book like this. Harder still to recommend it especially when there is no set answer to what happens here. But the one thing I do know, is that I'm still thinking about this book months after completing it. And I'll still be thinking about it years down the road.
So, what's it about? All I can say it that madness took the penthouse...
And, for the love of all that is holy, don't trust Bateman to drive you anywhere. There's no exit!
Let me start by saying this was one hell of a novel. I had the (mis)fortune of picking it up as part of the aptly named "Sorry in Advance" book club hosted by one of my best friends. Having never seen the movie in full, I was entirely unsure what to expect. And, it is for certain that the movie could not have prepared me for what I did read.
In short, "American Psycho" follows Patrick Bateman as he descends what can only be described as a drug-fueled, murder binge that escalates at the top speed of a garden snail. With excruciating detail spent on Armani ties and lizard skin pumps, you're sure to hit your own psychological limit before Bateman has the chance to share how truly demented he thinks he is.
Despite everything though, I still give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. By the end, I was scrambling to understand the internal machinations of Mr. Bateman. I wanted to know why, and that is the only reason the pages kept turning. Because somewhere in this mess of trauma, gore, and failed conversations, there HAD to be an answer.
I'll be perfectly honest with you. It's hard to love a book like this. Harder still to recommend it especially when there is no set answer to what happens here. But the one thing I do know, is that I'm still thinking about this book months after completing it. And I'll still be thinking about it years down the road.
So, what's it about? All I can say it that madness took the penthouse...
And, for the love of all that is holy, don't trust Bateman to drive you anywhere. There's no exit!
dark
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:
Complicated
A quarter of the way into this book I told someone that if someone didn’t brutally die soon I was going to DNF this. It does get brutal but the whole describing everyone’s outfits and where they were going got old. And before someone tells me well that was the point I know that doesn’t make it any less annoying. Yes consumerism bad I know. Honestly I wanted Patrick to murder all his “friends” they were absolutely unbearable if I had to interact with those people I would’ve driven a fork into my carotid artery.
Honestly as much as I wanted to continue it and say I had read the book, it just was too graphic for me and when I read the summary only to find out that he gets essentially no comeuppance, the price of reading these passages didn't feel worth it to me. Maybe one day I'll continue it, but I can't currently see myself doing that
Oh god I finally finished the book
This book has made me fall asleep so MANY times I cannot even exaggerate that. I highly underestimated the gore at first, had to skim through or skip portions of those chapters because it was getting way too much.
I get the whole point of the book: Showcasing the dead and boring life of the rich people, Bateman's psychological issues and other such symbolism. But man, finishing this book was a pain in the ass.
Watching the movie was way more fun than reading this (this is the first time where I enjoyed the movie adaptation more than the book)
This book has made me fall asleep so MANY times I cannot even exaggerate that. I highly underestimated the gore at first, had to skim through or skip portions of those chapters because it was getting way too much.
I get the whole point of the book: Showcasing the dead and boring life of the rich people, Bateman's psychological issues and other such symbolism. But man, finishing this book was a pain in the ass.
Watching the movie was way more fun than reading this (this is the first time where I enjoyed the movie adaptation more than the book)
had to dnf this one bc i didn't like being inside batemans head. utterly chilling, incredibly detailed, and disturbing. it's a lot. i realized i was 25% through and nothing had happened. i've seen the movie and that adaptation takes an entirely different approach to the pacing. in the movie the viewer is a witness, in the book the reader is bateman himself. that's what makes it so scary. as he descends into madness you feel like you are too. i think anyone with a degradation kink would love this book.
for once i actually bought this book instead of getting it from a library so now i feel like ill have to finish this later
for once i actually bought this book instead of getting it from a library so now i feel like ill have to finish this later