Reviews tagging 'Child death'

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

242 reviews

spaghetti_noodle's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

There are different interpretations of this book. One suggests that Patrick Bateman is hallcuinating his bouts of violence. While I don't dismiss this interpretation, my first reading of American Psycho was done under the interpretation that this was all happening. Patrick Bateman was able to get away with his murders because of the self-centered perspective of everyone else. He also had a lot more power, wealth, and prestige compared to most of the people he murdered and the people who recognized that he was a killer. 
At first, I found myself confused and bored by Bateman's mind, then I hated it and wanted to get this over with, and then I found it amusing, especially after realizing how pathetic Bateman is. He is obsessed with himself and sees others as inferior, but his need to be better than everyone else reveals a deep insecurity. 
There's a lot that can be taken away from this book: performance of upper-class white masculinity, privilege and power, misogyny and other forms of bigotry, superficiality and consumerism and identity creation... lol I saw a Tumblr post comparing the morning routines of white women doing the "That Girl" trend to Patrick Bateman's morning routine. This is one of those stories that a lot of people take what they want from it. Maybe when I feel like being a smarter person, I'll reread and dissect this book further. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kozumethan's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

a cynical, edgy, committed character study that succeeds in being both pathetic and horrifying 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Abortion

cashboulder7's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

e_j_cook's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

chuuper's review against another edition

dark funny 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kimberlyyennaco's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Cannibalism, and Murder

meg_reads83's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Stalking

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, and Excrement

readwithollie'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

3.25

Dark, brooding, disgusting, and boasting of an ending that will leave you feeling empty. The progression of Patrick Bateman was well done and the juxtaposition of the monotony of fashion and the brutal depictions of torture and death was very well done. The killing scenes felt more visceral and impactful because of the utter lack of intriguing story telling pre and post murder. This is not one for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug abuse, Rape, Torture, and Murder

isabel_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Toxic friendship, and Classism

sanrio_snail's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism