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
edelstein's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoiler
the charred, oozing, grafted, gaping holes of the corpses left in Bateman's wakeThe book delivered it's core message well, but was willing to sacrifice the reader's enjoyment for this. No character entered a scene without a handful of paragraphs describing their type of cuffs, tie, coat, the way it was set, and the brands it hailed from, emphasizing Bateman's worldview. Long after the message was delivered, this pattern stayed strong. For the entire novel. It was effective, but again, a prime culprit of what dragged this novel out to near 400 pages.
All in all, to see where the movie adaptation drew from adds a lot to the viewing experience, but not enough to recommend this to others.
Graphic: Homophobia, Gun violence, Death, Animal death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Misogyny, Hate crime, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Classism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Blood, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, and Addiction
farheenfarheen's review against another edition
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Murder, Vomit, Sexism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
sheila_the_glasser's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Addiction, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Blood, Drug use, Torture, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Bullying, and Death
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
chickennoodlesoup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Sexism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Rape, and Transphobia
angie10110'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
3.5
This was one the craziest books I have read so far, some chapters I felt like I was just reading words with no meaning. This book was good but I also felt like some chapters were written for the sake of being disturbing, the way the author describes things was very well written and gave me a lot to visualize. The beginning portion of this book started off very strong including the middle portion, the ending felt like I was in a dream like nothing was actually happening yet so much has already happened. I wanted to put the book down at certain scenes but i couldn't help myself. I have seen the movie and the movie is tame compared to this book, i don't think i would recommend the book to people who have watched the movie for its popularity and if they aren't avid readers. My favorite chapter in this whole book is when Patrick and jean are at the café and talking to each other about people and why jean likes him and his whole "there is an idea of a Patrick Bateman" monologue because it goes into more depth about this man and what he really thinks about himself and about what he is.
Graphic: Abortion, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Cursing, Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Gaslighting, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Bullying, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Murder
theoreads'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
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Violence, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Cursing, Classism, Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, and Child death
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Animal death, Self harm, Stalking, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Racism, and Homophobia
Minor: Excrement, Abortion, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
trentl14'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
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Drug use, Cannibalism, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, and Violence
jakeaboi'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: Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Body horror, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abortion and Car accident
Minor: Incest