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quinnsometimesreadsbooks'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
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Torture, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Animal death, Classism, Death, Homophobia, Outing, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Cursing, and Sexual violence
suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
though i understand that ellis deliberately makes it so that this book is satirically exaggerated to emphasize bateman's character (as a reflection of our own), the oversaturation of these moments (which he constantly relies on throughout the text, even at moments when it is not needed) come across as if a 12-year-old is telling the same joke over and over again until it just becomes the same. mindless. punchline. on top of that, the overuse of slurs when ellis actually didn't need to use them at all comes across as lazy character-building (and this is only emphasized by his explicit statement that he doesn't care if he's "canceled" for using the slurs when interviewers brought it up). you can always show a bad character is a bad person without depicting him beating up the homeless over and over, using slurs when not needed, and adding in filler scenes of overt antisemitism that could have been easily erased and made the same points (and made the book more powerful, in my opinion).
though the gore seemed to draw on society's fascination with gore and all things horror (as well as sex), 400 pages of this very particular fascination in the kind of "rinse and repeat" style results in something that loses its significance, dulling and eating in on itself as it goes on.
frankly, i do not know whether i recommend this book. though the ending was actually quite good (and guess what? it did it WITHOUT 4 paragraphs of intense misogyny and hate crimes every five pages! wow- shocker) the oversaturation with which ellis relies on obscures the meaning entirely, almost watering the point down in places where it could have been a memorable text. however, if you want to read it, please take the trigger warnings seriously— and i suggest an audiobook as an aid from pages 60-360, since the middle really isn't worth your time or really worth any meaningful pen-to-page analytical thoughts.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Sexual assault, Child death, Sexism, Physical abuse, Blood, Racial slurs, Grief, Death, Alcohol, Vomit, Abortion, Outing, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Animal death, Violence, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Racism, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Torture, Addiction, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Hate crime, Gore, Drug use, Cursing, Child abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism
teleportsbehindyou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, War, Abortion, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
emipov's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
nofunerals'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
2.75
overall, there was nothing going on, and while i think that was the point, it doesn‘t make it good.
it wasn‘t so much disgusting as it was a joke.
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child death, Child abuse, Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, and Cursing
Minor: Miscarriage