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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
challenging
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
Normally I only write witty one-line reviews, but I am making an exception for what is (very surprisingly) my new favorite book.
I will start by saying the first 200+ pages are painfully slow. I had seen the movie first so knew a bit of what to expect from the plot and social commentary, and I think that really helped me keep it off my DNF list (along with the fact that I am an aggravatingly stubborn completionist). It does not get a full five stars from me because the first half of the book is so incredibly BORING. Until I finished it I was convinced it was the first book I could say was worse than the movie.
BUT, getting to the end, and gleaning a bit more into Patrick Bateman’s psychology through, for example, his conversation with Jean made me understand why the first half HAD to be so boring. The reader has to be immersed in the banality of the consumerist culture Bateman, our American psycho, represents.
So by the time I got to the killing sprees at the latter half, once I could settle my stomach through the excruciating gore and misogyny, I realized how much I’d been looking forward to something rousing me from the Halcion and Xanax fueled sedation of Bateman’s reality. Murder plot to murder plot awakened something in me that I hated and could not get enough of. Something I had to question, look away from with one eye squinting open, only to be lulled back inevitably into the futility of Bateman’s rants on Armani, Dorsia, and 80’s synth-rock. And truly, there was no exit - neither satisfying nor unsatisfying.
Whatever this book is, I think it’s done a brilliant job of forcing questions on the world we live in, like any good social commentary sets out to do.
So anyway, my one-liner would have been: Wow, totally get why he killed all those people.
I will start by saying the first 200+ pages are painfully slow. I had seen the movie first so knew a bit of what to expect from the plot and social commentary, and I think that really helped me keep it off my DNF list (along with the fact that I am an aggravatingly stubborn completionist). It does not get a full five stars from me because the first half of the book is so incredibly BORING. Until I finished it I was convinced it was the first book I could say was worse than the movie.
BUT, getting to the end, and gleaning a bit more into Patrick Bateman’s psychology through, for example, his conversation with Jean made me understand why the first half HAD to be so boring. The reader has to be immersed in the banality of the consumerist culture Bateman, our American psycho, represents.
So by the time I got to the killing sprees at the latter half, once I could settle my stomach through the excruciating gore and misogyny, I realized how much I’d been looking forward to something rousing me from the Halcion and Xanax fueled sedation of Bateman’s reality. Murder plot to murder plot awakened something in me that I hated and could not get enough of. Something I had to question, look away from with one eye squinting open, only to be lulled back inevitably into the futility of Bateman’s rants on Armani, Dorsia, and 80’s synth-rock. And truly, there was no exit - neither satisfying nor unsatisfying.
Whatever this book is, I think it’s done a brilliant job of forcing questions on the world we live in, like any good social commentary sets out to do.
So anyway, my one-liner would have been: Wow, totally get why he killed all those people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Rape, Antisemitism, Abortion
challenging
dark
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
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Yes
challenging
dark
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
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
Jesus. I’ll start by saying I went into this blind- I’ve never even seen the movie. Patrick Bateman is a serial killer, a psychopath, and OCD to the EXTREME. The book was basically the main characters stream of consciousness. It was so detailed, that probably only 20% of the whole book mattered. It was like reading the thoughts of someone high on an upper, but make it a sociopath. I did NOT enjoy this. I should’ve DNF’d but I thought something groundbreaking ought to happen at some point. I was wrong
Overall a great book. Patrick Bateman is a great satire on male behavior. I haven’t figure out if the author is a total asshole or not , the internet has told me different things, I do know that the prose of the book is hilarious once you realize that Bateman is total loser and no pays real attention to him. If any thing is happening in the book, I think it’s him rambling in some sort fantasy of him being an important serial killer which he is isn’t, he isn’t important to anyone, and he was a killer than the people found him simply don’t care and they are just as evil as him, or he is idiot who is stuck in a fantasy. The book isn’t easy to read though as the gore is pretty rough but what disturbed me the most is the random drops of fucked up information; plus he drones on about almost every piece of clothing which I get is he sees people as material objects and by value it just gets really old. Also I hated being mansplained music for three different chapters. Overall, fun and rewarding read.
dark
reflective
tense
A truly uncomfortable and disturbing read. It managed to make me nauseous multiple times. I may never read another character as unredeemable as Bateman. Truly disturbed and deranged at moment, artfully articulating the problems within society and the 'elite' the next. Bateman's waffling and self gratifying commentary makes the book difficult to read both in spirit and in the technical style of the writing. While I am glad I read it, I doubt I will ever read it again.
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:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
begbie if he had generational wealth and lived in the states