Scan barcode
zoemaeboonz'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
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: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
Moderate: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Abortion, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Eating disorder, and Racial slurs
icepulsar'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jamesmcevoy's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
sheryl_reads's review against another edition
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry