Reviews tagging 'Rape'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

414 reviews

agalla_'s review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

5.0

The goriest book I’ve ever read, hard to put down, the prose is chaotic and deeply unsettling and unexpectedly funny- very very good novel

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

translesbo's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Well. I finished American Psycho. It became more and more horrifying as I read on. Specifically somewhere around 280 pages in, it seemed something broke in Bateman. He's a fascinating character and the book...has a lot to say about many things. Violence, neoliberalism, capitalism...just like Bateman, I was in a daze as I read through that last 100 pages, knowing I was almost to the end, but not really sure of what I was expecting to find there.

I think im satisfied with what the ending implied, though, at least for Bateman. He is still free, that isn't a spoiler as its mentioned on the back of the book, but he's so transformed and unhappy, deluded and alienated from his own life that its fair to expect that he'll self destruct- probably sooner rather than later. 

And of course, you don't even really know if most of what happened in the book even was real. He did certainly kill a lot of people, but...it's like when it comes to his immediate circumstances, he's trapped. No one sees him, nothing he does happens, and the ending comes back around to the beginning like a snake eating its own tail. Surely time has progressed but the only effect it has on his world is the further deterioration of his mind.

I think also, another thing this book had to say is just how despised the upper and middle classes of america really are. Everyone he or one of his colleagues has any connection to, does not see them as human beings, and this is their own faults. They're like real demons come from hell to play in the faces of humanity- but we must interact with and make deals with them to survive, even if these interactions carry with them a significant risk of death and devastation.

Truly, Bateman and his kind are the worst of us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

_readerfromtheblacklagoon_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

brookedelicc's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

midnightrw's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

loki29's review against another edition

dark funny slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Gaslighting

blueghost's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, 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, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

elixsdgn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

3.0

This book started off so well, I really enjoyed reading it - even the long descriptions of what hes wearing etc - bc to me it served a purpose: a life that’s beautiful but devoid of anything. 
Slowly, the murders became too gruesome. It stopped serving a purpose in my eyes.

What annoyed me the most was the ending. It fell flat. There’s nothing to this end, no justice served - which is not necessary- but there’s just nothing.  I know this was the authors intent, that Bateman is secretly fighting to be caught but no one cares, but it still left me annoyed. It lost its coherence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

parkinglotking's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

I went into this novel already loving the movie, so perhaps I am a bit biased. I love a good, meaty character study and the novel absolutely did not disappoint.

I will start by saying this is the most violent book I have ever read and it makes the movie look like a PG film, but I was expecting that. The thing that still has me thinking weeks after finishing it with several other books between then and me writing this is the way that perspective and tense are utilized; I don’t usually like first person or present tense points of view, but they’re used masterfully here- in reinforcing Bateman’s self-centeredness and bringing the reader into his stream of consciousness. 

This is a pretty dense read and I really recommend a palette cleanser book after finishing it (and pacing yourself; the only reason I took over a week reading this is because I had to take a breather after some of the worst scenes in the escalating violence) but it’s incredible if you enjoy a really clever literary character study and can handle a staggering amount of violence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

whiskeyandsmile's review

challenging dark tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Stalking, and Murder