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zoemaeboonz's review against another edition
- 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 was a hard one to get through; by page 80 I was already considering whether this would be too gory for me to finish reading. I am glad I got through this book though and whilst I would not recommend it to anyone or read it again I do think that it is a good work of fiction. The way in which Ellis portrays a character with such realistic psychopathic qualities and depersonalisation - a very manic sense of mind is really well written. I don’t think I will ever read a novel where such mental illness is portrayed with such unapologetic truth. It is clear that Ellis got his inspiration for most of the very graphic murders from psychopaths such as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. I found myself actually skimming through some parts or even having to put the book down at points because of how intense these scenes were (most notably the rat one because wtaf). Bateman is not being romanticised in this novel nor is he being portrayed as a likeable character by the author. The way it is written is through this very manic first point of view and in times when Bateman depersonalised from himself we saw the passages being written in third point of view. This book will probably sit with me for a bit and I find myself having to write about it because of this - most notably the amount of Xenophobia and slurs that were in this book was definitely hard to read and the fact that the term ‘yuppie’ was the least derogatory term put in the book says it all. The quote that probably sums up this book for the reader in a way that can make you understand the bigger picture in this novel is probably this: “…and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I am simply not there.”. This is not an easy read because it is not meant to be an easy read; Bateman is a psychopath and a horrible person and all the things written affirm this about the character and who he is. Though I disagree with the back of my book saying it’s ‘one of the greatest novels of our time’ I can agree that it is a good work of literature that I will gracefully never lay eyes on again.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
Moderate: Fatphobia, 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, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
zoehakim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
brennach's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Antisemitism
Minor: Dementia, Abortion, and Pregnancy
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Genocide, Dementia, and Death of parent
lmorphis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, 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, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Cannibalism, and Murder
Minor: Abortion