Reviews tagging 'Violence'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

385 reviews

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

jacobalenciaga's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, 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, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Vomit

Minor: Self harm, Abortion, and Pregnancy

getyourghosts's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, and Car accident

Minor: Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Islamophobia, and Classism

csx's review against another edition

dark funny tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ihavealibrarycardandilluseit's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

LOOOOVE this book. although do heed the content warnings lol, it contains pretty much all of them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Minor: Fatphobia, Transphobia, and Vomit

pendularium's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The satire is good! How much of a total loser obsessed with image and being 'hip' Patrick Bateman is is good! The deep existential despair he feels at how his perfect life is immensely unfulfilling, and even his stepping into the 'taboo' world doesn't stave off that emptiness. However, the levels of extreme sexual violence against women are uh. deeply unnecessary?
It makes sense within the context of who Patrick is, but it truly doesn't feel like any point is being made(1); the violence against women is immensely gratuitous, especially compared to the few few times that any men are murdered; the actual meat of the satire in this book comes from the parts that people seem to deride as being dull; his obsession with designer clothes, fancy restaurants, gatherings with his 'friends', and the way that his violent acts contrast with that is, yes, a key part of the satire, but it's really hard not to notice how much more detail and emphasis Bret Easton Ellis puts on what Patrick does to the women.
Ellis' prose carries the book along well, and the satire and emotion at the core of the story is genuinely good, but despite his claim that "it [the book] wasn't four hundred pages of torture and mutilation and advocating the death of women. It's just some boring novel." American Psycho kinda is a whole lot of torture and mutilation and advocating the death of women, and for all that the rest of it is genuinely good, I can't really get past that and give it the rating I think the rest of the book deserves.

(1)  yes, yes, its about how women, as an 'inferior' social group can be targeted in this way; Patrick murders and otherwise abuses a whole series of people who he deems lesser than him on the basis of race, religion, sexuality - it is only Paul Owens' murder that results in a detective being sent out - the book was conveying this fine and effectively in the earlier chapters where there was considerably less incredible violence specifically against women going on. 

If anyone who is thinking about reading the book is reading this review, trust me it is almost certainly significantly more graphic than you are thinking - the film is incredibly sanitised in this area. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

thechocolatefinger's review against another edition

dark funny tense 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

Everyone told me this book made them feel sick and it didn’t at all it was perfectly fine to me!

Honestly the part that scared me the most was when it suddenly

switched to third person for a chapter

lol - genuinely freaked me out I wasn’t expecting it at all.

I recommend you read this book very slowly like one chapter a day, because that way you can appreciate the satire and also understand what it’s talking about. I saw in the afterword that Bret said it’s about his loneliness but I prefer focussing on the satirical side of it. When reading I could really tell what Patrick as a character is making fun of, and it was so funny just how stupid he was the entire time. Like the biggest loser on the planet that was really great to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Abortion

There was also necrophilia. Most of the very violent stuff is told in past tense

once Patrick has woke up and is kind of getting an idea of what happened the night before

. So there is a distance from it which really helps with it not being quite so graphic, as it’s written in a disconnected and like observational way.

elle622's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

greenbutler's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

A lot of this book is just the narrator and a handful of other characters talking at or trying to get a reservatio at some restaurant. That could've worked, especially with how it's contrasted with all the brutal killings, but the narrative is so hyper-focused on exploring specifically Patrick's psyche, it doesn’t end up being a "I love these characters so much I'd read a whole book of just them talking" situation because the side characters just aren't developed enough for that to be the case.
Also, something to note: Patrick uses the n-word and a certain slur that starts with "f" multiple times throughout the book-- the latter even appears in a chapter title at one point. That might sound like a product- of- its- time scenario until you realize this book was published in 1991 and is set in the 80s. That is just something to keep in mind if you're considering reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs

bookshelfghost's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

Very interesting book, it's easily the most vile I've ever read. Although I by no means enjoyed all the graphic descriptions of the murders, I found the whole throught process interesting. Definitely worth a read if you can power through the long descriptions of designer fashion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Antisemitism