Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - American Psycho

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

Content Warnings

orwecouldnott's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

waltjessexo's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

maybbrenna's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

lyeelia's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Well, it’s a book that has been on my TBR for a couple years and I finally finished it. I had to take breaks often because some of the scenes were extremely difficult to read.
This isn’t a favorite and not something that I would ever recommend. I usually keep books after I read them but I don’t think I’d be upset about getting rid of it. I just don’t know how I would do so without someone else getting their eyes on it.
There are a few mundane chapters that I think add to Patrick’s instability since he is so focused on the wrong things. I also hated how it seemed that others found out about what he did but he never faced any consequences and I think it was in part due to him being so rich. I know that this is some of the point of this story, but it’s a reflection of how life can be.

Being glad that I’ve read this is an inaccurate statement especially given the nature of it but I’m not disappointed to have read it.

I just never want to read these words again.

That said, the writing is great because of the ability to stir up all of these feelings even if the most prominent one is nausea.

Content Warnings

More...