wednesdayboy's review against another edition
- 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
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
phibs'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
3.5
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.
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
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Classism, Murder, Racism, Sexual violence, Addiction, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Xenophobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Vomit, and War
Minor: Dementia, Genocide, and Death of parent
schlong01'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
2.75
It's a wonderful critique of businessman and capitalism in general with very many details woven into it. But those details often become dreadful as a whole chapter can be just Patrick's opinion on a newly released album or the things he bought yesterday. Although the author is a genius at writing in great detail, this often becomes his downfall, as he does not seem to know when to use said detailism.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Blood, Alcohol, Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Bullying, Addiction, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Xenophobia, Cursing, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Child death, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, Rape, Physical abuse, Islamophobia, Gore, Death, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Alcoholism, and Animal death
belladonnashrike's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
content warning for literally everything but also for excessive mentions of
ramble incoming:
Spoiler
something that started to bug me about 3/4 of the way through was how gratuitous the murders of women were...i don't typically read anything that depicts such brutal treatment of women but i read this because i love the film and because i know that at its core, this is a satire, so i ignored my discomfort for most of the book. bateman doesn't necessarily target women and i would say that to generalize his killing patterns, he's mostly opportunistic. he kills easy targets - the unhoused, sex workers, random women he meets at bars, random kids and animals who aren't with a guardian/owner, etc. occasionally he does kill someone he knows personally (such as his ex from college and paul owen), but i wouldn't say he just operates on misogyny. but the only murders that are memorable are those of women. this surprised me because i didn't feel this way when watching the movie and i would say that it's mostly because of the treatment of paul owen/allen: in the film, his death is a spectacle. it's such an iconic scene and is just as over-the-top and lengthy as the rest of bateman's murders. in the book, it's over and done with within a page or two and isn't as memorable as what he did to, say, christie. the only murders (and by association, rapes) that are lengthy and disgustingly descriptive are of women. at first this didn't feel like any bias on the author's part but the more i read the more uncomfortable i became because it just feels like the author was sort of playing out fantasies with some of those heinous acts. maybe it's just because i am automatically suspicious of any man who writes about gender violence in general, but it just felt so off to me at that 3/4 point. in the film, we see him kill men and it doesn't seem like he simply enjoys killing women - the messaging there is that he enjoys murdering people in general. if paul's book death was as gory and over-the-top (and just, so fucking disgusting) like his female victims, i wouldn't think this. if the deaths of other men, such as the homeless man with the dog, were just as descriptive, again, i wouldn't think this. but when the only murders that are written in such a way are that of women victims... it makes one think. the fact that i can't really tell if this is commentary on misogyny or not troubles me.i think that the book depicts bateman's descent into madness, along with his excessive drug usage (which certainly contributes to his hallucinations and skewed view of reality), much better than the film does. it is also obvious from the first twenty or so pages that these men are constantly being mistaken for someone else, when in the film it's not really blatant until the end scene where bateman is confessing face-to-face with his lawyer discussing paul. i do enjoy the added humor in the film, which i will mostly attribute to christian bale -- he was perfect for this role. so perfect that i did read the book in his voice.
also, i've heard that people think this book is really boring and complain about it but i think it's obvious that that's the point. bateman and his colleagues live an incredibly boring life, so boring that the specifics of his work are never mentioned. everything is superficial. it's the same reason why everyone is described based on what they're wearing. even when describing attractive women, the most bateman says is "nice tits" and "blonde." everything is pointless! everything is meaningless! the critique that is given on businessmen in the 80s, as well as american consumerism, is perfect. just absolutely on the nose. it's supposed to be a little boring!
i did like this and i am glad i read the source material for the film. i need to think about it some more. but i am uncomfortable with the treatment of women because i just can't decipher the tone there.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Gore, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Murder, Gun violence, and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
darwynne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Antisemitism, Classism, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Xenophobia, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Stalking, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Body horror, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Torture, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment
annilikesbooks'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
3.75
Graphic: Sexism, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Body horror, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Addiction, Violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Murder, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Mental illness, Gore, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Eating disorder, Animal death, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Car accident, and Antisemitism
noor_sidhu'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
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Classism, Car accident, Bullying, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Gun violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Rape, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Vomit, Xenophobia, Murder, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Cursing, Child death, Cannibalism, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Torture, Blood, and Gore
noelle1121005's review against another edition
Graphic: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Classism, Blood, Body horror, Racial slurs, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Gore, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
ashleykarime's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Rape, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual harassment, Torture, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Islamophobia, and Violence