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aliclare's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Abortion, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Child death, Torture, Excrement, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Extreme violence.serenspace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, Torture, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Misogyny, and Pedophilia
clowningaround's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Tldr: he is really an american psycho.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Cursing, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, Child death, Death, Rape, Classism, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Animal death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Antisemitism, and Pedophilia
zoemaeboonz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was a hard one to get through; by page 80 I was already considering whether this would be too gory for me to finish reading. I am glad I got through this book though and whilst I would not recommend it to anyone or read it again I do think that it is a good work of fiction. The way in which Ellis portrays a character with such realistic psychopathic qualities and depersonalisation - a very manic sense of mind is really well written. I don’t think I will ever read a novel where such mental illness is portrayed with such unapologetic truth. It is clear that Ellis got his inspiration for most of the very graphic murders from psychopaths such as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. I found myself actually skimming through some parts or even having to put the book down at points because of how intense these scenes were (most notably the rat one because wtaf). Bateman is not being romanticised in this novel nor is he being portrayed as a likeable character by the author. The way it is written is through this very manic first point of view and in times when Bateman depersonalised from himself we saw the passages being written in third point of view. This book will probably sit with me for a bit and I find myself having to write about it because of this - most notably the amount of Xenophobia and slurs that were in this book was definitely hard to read and the fact that the term ‘yuppie’ was the least derogatory term put in the book says it all. The quote that probably sums up this book for the reader in a way that can make you understand the bigger picture in this novel is probably this: “…and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I am simply not there.”. This is not an easy read because it is not meant to be an easy read; Bateman is a psychopath and a horrible person and all the things written affirm this about the character and who he is. Though I disagree with the back of my book saying it’s ‘one of the greatest novels of our time’ I can agree that it is a good work of literature that I will gracefully never lay eyes on again.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, Cannibalism, Death, Dementia, Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Cursing, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Abortion, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Infidelity, Torture, Homophobia, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit
sparky63's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Cannibalism, Classism, Murder, Vomit, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Child death, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Drug use, Gaslighting, Animal death, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Addiction
amessina3399's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Ummm...wow. I'm not even sure where to begin. For context, I've never seen the movie, and I thought 'what the hey, I should read the book first'. Surprisingly, somehow, I really enjoyed it. This book is a really interesting satire of consumerism and elitism in such a capitalistic place as NYC, while also being a fascinating stream-of-consciousness look at the mind of an incredibly mentally ill individual. As a book, the narrative voice is far more interesting and important than the actual plot itself. That being said, I knew that this book was going to be dark and gross, but I was not prepared for HOW dark and gross. Most of the book is fine, but there are a handful of chapters that are extremely descriptive in the gore, and horrifically 'creative'. I have a pretty strong stomach, and multiple times I needed to take breathers from chapters being too intense for me. *If you choose to read the book and want to try and dodge the worst of it, the chapters titled 'Girl' or 'Girls' contain the worst of the worst*. Other than that, I thought it was a brilliant read and for the most part, incredibly well written. It would have had 5 stars from me if it weren't for a few things: 1) while some of the gore was appropriate, a good chunk of it was a bit too gratuitous, although it could be argued that it was necessary for the reader's understanding of the character, 2) it's a VERY slow read, and doesn't pick up much until the halfway point, 3) some motifs were very well-played, while others were a bit overused and overdone, 4) gonna be honest, not a fan of the ending. I somewhat understand what the point of the ending was supposed to mean, but I just think it fell a bit flat in its efficacy compared to the rest of the book. But other than that, if you're looking for a genuinely funny, dark, and macabre character study, I would recommend this book.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Vomit, Animal death, Racism, Blood, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Body horror, Death, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Murder, Alcohol, Body shaming, Ableism, Fatphobia, Abortion, Antisemitism, Addiction, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
clare2772's review
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Violence, Death, Racism, Addiction, Blood, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cursing, Child death, Infidelity, Murder, Misogyny, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Vomit, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Classism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
menderash's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Mass/school shootings, Sexism, Racism, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Car accident, Drug use, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Sexual violence, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Fatphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
levitatingnumeral's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Let’s start from what I loved most: Bateman’s vapid monologues. I see many reviews saying they made the book incredibly dull, but I actually found them to be unbelievably valuable in showing just how superficial and self-obsessed Bateman is. It’s clear he is completely unaware of the utter indifference anyone else would show towards his obsession with himself, and Bret’s narration is flawless. It truly felt like I was hearing a narcissist talking, 100% immersion.
On the other hand, I must admit I struggled a bit to keep track of the level of Bateman’s unreliability. Since the characters were (purposefully) so similar, at times I would catch myself wondering if it truly was Bateman unreliably reporting the actions of his peers or if it was me mixing up the characters. I will give Bret the benefit of the doubt, though, because maybe this was the very effect he wanted to create. He has talked about how the core of the plot is something he himself is unsure of and left open for interpretation, so perhaps it was his intent to make us readers wonder at all times whether we were misremembering or if it was a lie. It would make perfect sense, in the context of Bateman’s constant manipulation.
What I definitely wanted more of, though, was… a certain kind of consistency in two specific aspects:
1. The effect of drugs on Bateman. We see him, at one point, break down and practically black out. But after the worst occurrence, it seems like this aspect was just left out.
2. The ending. It felt so abrupt I was completely lost. I wanted maybe a few more threads to be pulled tighter. I don’t want answers, but maybe I would’ve enjoyed if I had relevant, confusing points being weaved into a torn, fuzzy, mismatching fabric to drive home just how unsure I should be.
Graphic: Vomit, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Body horror, Gore, Rape, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Hate crime, Homophobia, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Classism, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Racism, Antisemitism, Drug use, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racial slurs, Eating disorder, and Biphobia
chitti's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Classism, Cursing, Rape, Xenophobia, Bullying, Body shaming, Child death, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, Body horror, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Drug use
Moderate: Gun violence and Antisemitism
Minor: Animal death
TW for like everything bruh