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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
What killed this book for me was that as it went on, the content became increasingly graphic and violent, and the non-violent scenes became too repetitive and slow-paced.
I will note that I believe this to be an intentional choice on the author's part: the contrast of the protagonist's mundane, superficial social life with his murderous, sexual deviancy, which he uses as an outlet for his frustrations.
In the end though, I found my interest slipping away as I skipped over more and more graphic rapes/murders and then snoozed through yet another dinner scene, the story far past the threshold of "making a point." It's a well-written book, but overall too slow and violent for me.
I will note that I believe this to be an intentional choice on the author's part: the contrast of the protagonist's mundane, superficial social life with his murderous, sexual deviancy, which he uses as an outlet for his frustrations.
In the end though, I found my interest slipping away as I skipped over more and more graphic rapes/murders and then snoozed through yet another dinner scene, the story far past the threshold of "making a point." It's a well-written book, but overall too slow and violent for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism
what an…interesting book.
this one’s very hard to judge.
pretentious, annoying, disgusting characters, but that’s what makes this book. you can’t get mad at ellis for what he was purposefully writing.
sure, brutally murder someone. go ahead. but torture is what really gets me, and sometimes this book would disgust and anger me so far that i wanted nothing more than to hate it. but then patrick would say something so funny and i couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
hopefully people don’t think i’m insane when i mark this as “makes you laugh” for my 2023 barnes and noble reading challenge.
does this book hate women? no, i don’t think so. homeless people? obviously.
no doubt this book was written in a genius way, but that doesn’t mean i thoroughly enjoyed it. there’s a reason why it took me about 4 months, despite being 400 pages.
also, the beginning and ending sentences are SO CLEVER.
*edit, changing my rating to 4-stars because patrick bateman is such an interestingly crafted character
this one’s very hard to judge.
pretentious, annoying, disgusting characters, but that’s what makes this book. you can’t get mad at ellis for what he was purposefully writing.
sure, brutally murder someone. go ahead. but torture is what really gets me, and sometimes this book would disgust and anger me so far that i wanted nothing more than to hate it. but then patrick would say something so funny and i couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
hopefully people don’t think i’m insane when i mark this as “makes you laugh” for my 2023 barnes and noble reading challenge.
does this book hate women? no, i don’t think so. homeless people? obviously.
no doubt this book was written in a genius way, but that doesn’t mean i thoroughly enjoyed it. there’s a reason why it took me about 4 months, despite being 400 pages.
also, the beginning and ending sentences are SO CLEVER.
*edit, changing my rating to 4-stars because patrick bateman is such an interestingly crafted character
challenging
dark
tense
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
dark
funny
medium-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
This book is too upsetting for me to read right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Murder, Classism
Minor: Rape
challenging
dark
tense
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
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
dark
tense
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
As the book goes on you realize how much of an unliked guy Bateman is, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. One thing that I will never forgive is the movie adaptation causing a large group of young men to think he’s cool. Bateman is not what he wants you to think he is.
I think the thing that sold me on this book being one of my top favorites is Batemans character, and how when he describes an event your left to wonder whether that’s actually the way it happened or if it’s just his unreliable narration. I feel nothing but sympathy for his character for trying his hardest to look impressive in front of his peers while they humor him and silently laugh.
This is one of those books for me where it was a 5 star book in my opinion, but I wouldn’t read it again anytime soon, if ever. Certain parts of the book were so gory that it was hard to get through. But despite that Batemans character will always hold a special place in my heart.
I think the thing that sold me on this book being one of my top favorites is Batemans character, and how when he describes an event your left to wonder whether that’s actually the way it happened or if it’s just his unreliable narration. I feel nothing but sympathy for his character for trying his hardest to look impressive in front of his peers while they humor him and silently laugh.
This is one of those books for me where it was a 5 star book in my opinion, but I wouldn’t read it again anytime soon, if ever. Certain parts of the book were so gory that it was hard to get through. But despite that Batemans character will always hold a special place in my heart.