Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

101 reviews

sarahmalopia's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug abuse, Murder, Rape, Cannibalism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Body horror, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Drug use, Dysphoria, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Child death, Classism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Excrement, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Racism

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, and Ableism

dwsampson's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

Great writing and a lot to unpack and consider, but this was not pleasant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Body horror, Child death, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Murder, Violence, Rape, Blood, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Torture

Trigger warning: quite literally almost everything

momoqtz's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

"American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis is such a twisted satire of the American Dream and a superficial culture of the 1980s that i LOVE it. it tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a handsome and successful Wall Street executive who seems to have it all. but underneath his handsome face and friendly smile, lies a cold-blooded serial killer who takes pleasure in murdering his victims in gruesome ways.

the novel is narrated in first-person by Patrick, who describes his daily routine in excruciating detail before delving into his disturbing thoughts and actions. almost making you feel his exact emotions as if you were him. the book is often graphic and violent, and it can be difficult to read at times if you get grossed out by gore.

"American Psycho" is a dark and disturbing commentary on consumerism, corporate culture, and the emptiness of 80s yuppie culture. it also explores the isolation and alienation that can result from living in a society that values wealth and status above everything else. (which Patrick obvi experiences)

overall, "American Psycho" is a thought-provoking and challenging read that will leave you questioning the nature of masculinity, capitalism, and the human condition. though it's a controversial novel that has sparked debate and discussion for decades, it remains a classic of contemporary literature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gore, Violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Blood

chickenstripped's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Xenophobia

jasmin1808's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Cannibalism, Child death, Animal death, Murder, and Death

emzella's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Excrement, Infidelity, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, Violence, Cannibalism, Gore, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexism, and Sexual assault

wednesdayboy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Murder, Vomit, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Blood, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Death, and Drug abuse

gorpcrust's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I’m hesitant to say I liked this book due to the graphic nature of it. Simultaneously well-written while also being some of the most degenerate shit I’ve read in my life 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Rape, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Misogyny, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Alcohol, Racial slurs, and Racism

jayvdw's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• 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

2.5

This book is gross, slow, dark and twisted. 

First off, the book is very slow, especially in the beginning. It fits the theme and sets the book's tone, but it doesn't read nicely. The book has some big themes and criticisms about 1980s America, which is very interesting and insightful. Patricks focus on clothing, brand, music and materialism really sets a mood whilst reading and depth to the characters. BUT IT'S FUCKING BORING.  Personally, I skipped most of these, the long lists, I understand why they are there and that Bret intentionally puts them in the book to be boring and bore the reader. 

The book is super super gross and not at all for the faint of heart. The book goes into detail about the murders and sex. It is very unsettling and I sometimes strayed away from reading for a few hours after certain chapters.

My favorite part of the book is clearly a few chapters near the end.

In these chapters we start the get clear indications that Patrick and thus the narration can't be trusted. I loved Chase, Manhatten chapter. The sudden switch from first person to third person in this chapter really showed me how psychotic Patrick is. This combined with the absurdity of the chapter really made me realize that Patrick is untrustworthy and made me question a lot of the things that happened in the book. This was supported by the idea that Patrick often says things about murder or rape, that the people around him just ignore. His trustworthiness is confirmed when his lawyer says to has had lunch with one of Patrick's victims.

Overall, I think this book is very interesting and learnful. Even in the modern day a lot of the themes are still present or even worse.  The book is however a very boring read or very gross most of the time, due to this I gave it a low rating, simply because I did not enjoy reading it for most of the book, I also feel like the book could have been half the size. The ending was a let down in my opinion and a bit too vague. It would have been better if the ending focussed more on the trustworthiness of Patrick.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gore, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Infidelity, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Cannibalism, Grief, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Child death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

This book is gross and very very explicit with sex, murder, rape and torture. Not only to men and women, but also animals and children.

phibs's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

3.5

Bret Easton Ellis constructs a completely believable world in which characters blindly and vapidly consider their wants first, regardless of circumstance. Characters are made interchangeable, all entirely selfish, two-dimensional yuppies in a grim satire of 1980s Wall Street consumerism. 

Although Ellis manages to deftly weave grim comedy throughout, his postmodernist critique remains explicitly crude and vile, leading the reader to question how necessary Ellis’ innumerable graphic depictions of wanton violence against women were to the narrative at large. 

Director Mary Harron certainly cherrypicks the best of Ellis’ novel to adapt for cinema, leaving the novel little more than a compendium of desensitised butchery and $300 ceviches.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Child death, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Sexual violence, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Blood, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Classism, Violence, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, and Vomit