Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

151 reviews

wesly82's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

5.0

It is a brutal book, but it is very clever and well written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

imjamesmason's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

3.75

This book is incredibly visceral and well written. You really feel like you’re inside the head of the main character, for better or worse.

It’s the kind of book I am glad I read, wouldn’t unread, but really cannot recommend to many people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, 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, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kingspite618's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

corporateballerina's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.5

I love this book and (believe it or not) have read it a couple times, but its recommendation comes with major caveats.

Absolutely no reader should go in blind. Know that there are many scenes of explicit violence, sex (consensual and non-consensual), and language. It is not an easy book to read. Also know that it’s a dark comedy and a criticism of yuppie culture, capitalism, and toxic masculinity. It requires a deeper look and shouldn’t be taken at face-value. 

If you can get past that, the postmodern satire is impeccable. Serial murders are interspersed with reviews of Phil Collins’s music, with Patrick Bateman serving as the ultimate unreliable narrator. What adds to this effect, in a meta way, are readers’ reactions to it; anyone who treats the novel as a handbook is completely missing the point.

I’ll also note that I listened to this on audiobook, narrated by Pablo Schreiber. I don’t quite know how he managed to get through reading it aloud.

I suppose the final verdict is this: IYKYK, and you have to know.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Classism

lilylockette's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The best book I have ever read. I can say this with confidence. I could go on for hours about this book. The best i can describe it is: A brilliant, enigmatic satire of 80s yuppie culture, filled to the brim with horrific displays of violence and grotesqueness. (while deeply disturbing, absolutely necessary to the book’s theme of stretching the limits of societal boundaries, and seeing just how much money and status can get you out of.) Before reading this book of course I had seen the movie, and I had heard that the book was extremely graphic. I didn’t grasp just how graphic it truly was. The book had me in full fledged tears at multiple parts. I had to set it down for hours and take breaks. Don’t let this dismay you because the book is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s fairly fast paced, but unlike the movie, Paul Owen’s (Paul Allen in the movie) murder is not necessarily the main plot or the reason Bateman really spirals into insanity. In fact, Owen’s death scene is only 3 or so paragraphs long, and is not discussed very many times (However it is one of the only murders he is suspected or even asked about). If you enjoyed the movie, the book will turn your world upside down. I highly highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the movie as much as I do. While the movie is great, it just doesn’t do the book justice. There’s only so much you can fit into a 2 hour movie, especially without confusing the audience too much. I’d say only about 45% of whats in the book made it into the movie. And trust me, if you liked Patrick Bateman’s character, or even related to him in the movie, you will not be able to defend this man once you read the book. I believe Christian Bale’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman was made humorous and much more charismatic in order to connect to the audience. I don’t think as many people would be making “sigma” edits of him if they knew the Patrick Bateman Bret Easton Ellis wrote. Don’t get me wrong, Bale’s performance as Bateman was outstanding, but it definitely humanizes him more, and I think that was done on purpose. A fair warning though, if you have a weak stomach or cannot handle extreme, again, EXTREME over the top gore and violence, definitely don’t read the book. I can handle seeing gore on TV, but for some reason, the way Bateman describes it, and seeing it through his eyes, had some effects on me. I had a visceral reaction to this book every 20 pages. However, if you’ve been a fan of the movie for years, and you just want to know more and feel like you didn’t get the full story (you didn’t), read the book! A solid 11/10 for me *personally*. Bateman is even pretty funny at times for casually dropping the most insane information mid sentence. Anyways, if you’re concerned, i’ll add warnings for things that you might not wanna read about: 
Many scenes of racism and homophobia, racist and homophobic slurs often used, extremely detailed depictions of death and murder, cannibalism, animal torture, drug use, a LOT of verbal violence, descriptions and mentions of R*pe, extremely disturbing (lets just say “creative”) deaths and torture. I cannot emphasize this enough, but the murder scenes of women just get more and more intense as the book goes on. Im sure i can say more, but that is my basic review of American Psycho. 10/10, ruined my life and desensitized me forever! <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Vomit

waltjessexo's review against another edition

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

3.5

the point is that it's disturbing and on-the-nose, but it being "the point" doesn't mean you have to call it a good book. it accomplishes making you feel horrified and is necessary art but it's normal to not enjoy it anyway.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Outing, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Cannibalism, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

this guy doesn't see minorities as human nor does anyone in the main cast.

maybbrenna's review against another edition

dark 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

2.5

fascinating way of writing, really captures the essence of a psychopath, but i have never been so disgusted by a book in my life. i now understand why this book is considered one of the most disturbing. never read something more bleak and hopeless in my life. i would go back to do a “slur/hate crime” count but i would rather shoot myself in the foot than ever read this again. i’d give it two stars, but there were some parts where I was still interested near the end and in the beginning, but over all, jesus fucking Christ. i need to start reading romance or something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, 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, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mollandra'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

3.5

literally the most gruesome book i’ve ever read. i was peeking through my hands to read some of it. the critique is good and it’s always fun to read source material (movie and stage musical both take a lot of verbatim passages) and find notable exclusions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

do not read this book

flibusted's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

viiolaceus'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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism