driftingthroughlife'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
Graphic: Classism, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Transphobia, Xenophobia, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Infidelity
rubyabercromby'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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Drug abuse, Animal death, Racism, Murder, and Animal cruelty
kay222'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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
noor_sidhu'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
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
trentl14's review
- 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
trash_reader_'s review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I understand the characters are supposed to be hated. I understand this book was written this way to show the characters' shallowness and how horrible they are, but I could not handle reading anymore of the unnecessary, nasty comments that were made so casually. And what the hell even is a "hardbody" and why was that the only word used when referring to women?
A lot of what I disliked about this book was the language used and the characters' attitudes, which I know was the point, but it doesn't change the fact that it made the book nearly-impossible to read, let alone finish. It was also super boring until he started killing people. It swung wildly between super boring, in-depth descriptions of everyone's outfits and intense sex/murder scenes and it's apt to give you whiplash. I also don't understand how so many people got each other confused with someone else? How? Y'all work together and have for a while. I guess it worked as a plot device for Patrick Bateman to get away with certain things, but it seemed as if that was the only reason for including that in the novel.
The structure of this was interesting. It gave you an insight into how disconnected Patrick Bateman's thoughts were and how often he lost consciousness, whether that was because of his bloodlust or because of the drugs, who knows? Maybe it was a combination of both. The sentence structure was simple and matter-of-fact, regardless of what was going on. The boring conversation he's tuning in and out of? The description of the videos and shows he watches? The description of the sex he engages in? The description of the killings? All written with the same simple, matter-of-fact that sentence structure that shows you how inhuman and detached Patrick Bateman feels.
I had to switch between reading and listening to the audiobook in order to finish this, and I can't honestly say which one was more uncomfortable. Maybe it was hearing the words "cunt" and "cock" repeated so many times through the speakers that turned me off from the audiobook so much, but it definitely made it easier to get through the pointless conversations and random music reviews we were forced to read throughout the duration of the novel. I don't care what your opinions on Whitney Houston were. Or Genesis. And all of the "fashion advice" just went in one ear and out the other, but now I'm just nit-picking so I think I'm going to end my review here, with only one more thing to say.
I understand why this book caused so much outrage when it was published. I get it. And now that I have finally read this book after watching the movie several times, I don't think it's ever something I'm going to willingly bring up in conversation and I'm definitely not going to be "bragging" about having read this book like I have so many other controversial titles before. If I were to compile a list of books that I feel should never have been written, it wouldn't be a very large list, but this book would definitely make it on there.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Death, Animal death, Blood, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Torture, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Violence
jakeaboi's review
- 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
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Addiction, Excrement, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Child death, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, and Sexism
Moderate: Car accident and Abortion
Minor: Incest
oliviatheolive'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
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Rape, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
cocowangling's review
- 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: Animal death, Blood, Gore, Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Mental illness, Classism, Death, Kidnapping, Addiction, Murder, Abortion, Child death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Domestic abuse
mecmccann's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Blood, Body horror, Racism, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Animal death, Cannibalism, Murder, and Racial slurs