Rating: Summary: Brutally graphic Review: There is much in this book that is worth discussing--the vapidness of the Eighties, the ruthless greed and unnatural desire for material goods. But, and I'm not typically squeamish, the graphic depictions of Bateman's violent outbursts, particularly those against women, are unbearable and unnecessary. Ellis' point could have been well made without resorting to such horrendously vivid descriptions of Bateman's horrifying behaviour.
Rating: Summary: Superbly written. A true masterpiece. Review: Never before have I read a book that is written so well. Ellis forces us to enter a world of Patrick Bateman. I was able to understand Patrick. His emotions and feelings although cruel and cold, are obvious to the reader. The language is so sophisticated, it is hard to fathom what Patrick actually enjoys doing. I just finished reading the book and have seen the movie several times. The book makes the movie (even the unrated version), seem to be G rated. I cannot give enough praise to this book. I highly recommend it.
Rating: Summary: Brutal, horrific and frighteningly real! Review: You won't be able to stop from turning page after page of this terrifying tale. Be warned that some of the content is so ghastly, so sick and so graphic that it WILL offend you (it should, anyway). That said, there is no doubt that the author is an incredible observer of the tragic, violent side of life and an expert communicator in illustrating it with the written word. A twisted masterpiece.
Rating: Summary: Symbolic with Madness Review: A decent book for those into twisted gore. The author lavishes on every detail of what a yuppie society might cherish in the corrupt world of the book. Tastefully untasty!
Rating: Summary: American Psycho equates to American Trash Review: The review title says it all. This book blows. The only thing worse than this book is it's movie adaptation. Save your money and buy something worth while like ear wax, a pocket lint collection, or maybe even navel fuzz.
Rating: Summary: not too controversial, just a poorly written book Review: I am usually pretty accepting of controversial books, so I thought i'd enjoy this book a lot. Instead, I found this book to be extremely boring. First, its fun of unimportant information and monotonious events in Patrick's life. Sure, its supposed to show how materialistic the 80's were but after a few chapters the author just uses the same techniques to portray the matrerialism of the 80's. Second, it doesn't take very much skill to write about a psycho going around torturing women. There was really no plot in this novel, the characters were not very interesting, it wasn't very funny. The author did a terrible job with this novel so he probably added a lot of violent parts in this book that are not even scary, to create controversy, and provide more publicity for this book. Bottom line its a baaddd baaddd book, thats very very boring.
Rating: Summary: Pure Filth! Review: I must say I TOTALLY agree with the previous reviewer who only gave this book 1 star. I would have given it 0 stars, [....]This book is pure filth! It has such violence and course language! Every character is SO consumed with materialism and greed. The violent descriptions in this book are just plain horrible. I mean, what does this book teach our children? That greed and killing are ok??? [....]Of course, I'm sure this book will soon be hailed as a "classic" just like all the other smutty books out there such as Catcher in the Rye and Brave New World and the just plain inexcusable A Clockwork Orange. As for me, I'll stick w/ whatever is in the Oprah Book club. My wife and I are currently reading White Oleander. I'm sure you'll find it to be much more rewarding than this rubbish. Good day!
Rating: Summary: Maybe I'll Have To Read It Again Review: Maybe I don't get it. I know I'm on dangerous ground--unfavorable reviews seem to be unpopular, here. But--did anyone reading this book believe Patrick Bateman really worked on Wall Street? Did he EVER seem to think about finance? Did he do one thing to justify his fabulous salary? Did he work long hours? Get up early? Stay late? Work through lunch..? WORK AT ALL? Has anyone who read this book heard a real human being utter anything like Bateman's "What we need to do" speech at the sushi party? Okay, he's nuts...but do psychopaths become able to give speeches like that? Or does it sound suspiciously labored, like something easily WRITTEN, not SAID? All right, it's satire...but does that justify breaking almost every rule of good writing? Does that excuse lines like, "He holds up a hand attached to an impeccable manicure"? Do I really have to suspend disbelief to the point of accepting that any human being knows the work of so many designers on sight, and at a distance? I know; it's meant to be funny (done less, it might have been) that Bateman recognizes the clothes but never the faces...but is it clever that Ellis stretches the truth so absurdly, or just careless? Is there anyone else out there who suspects Ellis sat down to his computer with an idea and just wrote through days and nights without looking back, without rereading, or stopping, or editing, or thinking? Okay, the result might be interesting...worth considering, worth discussing...but was it conscious? Skilled? Deliberate? Well-crafted? Is BEE too young and too adored to put in careful effort? Are some of us a little eager to give him too much credit? I like some rules broken. I like fragmented sentences, jolting rhythm, unconventional themes. I don't mind stark realism. I'm not sure I like arrogance. Maybe he's brilliant and unconventional. Maybe he didn't bother to reread it. Maybe he'd try harder next time if we didn't all swallow it whole.
Rating: Summary: Refreshingly Different Review: First of all, this book is not for everyone. It is not even for all of the people who are into gruesome, horror stories, reason being that aside from all the horrific detail, you have to be able to understand this books basis. It is structured around a narcissistic, incredibly rich, good-looking yuppie whose thoughts dominate the book by telling its story. There is no plot. It's similar to reading a diary, actually. In order to read this book, you have to first get past the main character's, Patrick Bateman, insistence on describing in full detail what the other characters are wearing or eating. This may be difficult for most, but if you understand the reason for this it'll pass by hardly noticed. These things are very important to Patrick and his character, whose blood lust is fueled by financial and materialistic competition. Despite the grisliness of this book, which is actually a dark-comedy, it is very endearing. Unfortunately, Patrick Bateman is a very likable character, and this book is made even more enjoyable if you understand his sense of humor. He has a penchant for randomly going off on thought tangents and silly actions. I was also very attracted to him, which is tough to admit because not only is he a fictitious character (pray to God), but he's also a bloodthirsty monster. I have never read anything more gruesome than the vivid, greatly imaginative death scenes in this book. Not even King could ever shock me like Easton Ellis apparently can. Actually, I've always wondered why the many horror books I've read (and there are tons) have never ventured off into all the possible realms of pain and torture that this book does. I guess you have to have to be able to block out any humanity you have first before writing. I also read many, many books regarding true crime and know plenty about serial killers, and I can tell you that it's a rare form of beast that will creatively torture victims the way Patrick Bateman does. Usually, desecration comes after death. Also, Bateman really doesn't seem to fit the pattern of a typical serial killer, but I digress. For the record, I am always disgusted by what I read when reading about true crime, but this book was just to interesting and fun. I really wish that Ellis would come out with a sequel. If you can not handle blood and gore, even when it is printed on paper, than I recommend you do not pick up this book. If you CAN handle it, but can't handle characters droning off about nothing you consider important, then I recommend that YOU do not pick up this book either.
Rating: Summary: Very demented read Review: This is the first book review I've ever written, and I've read hundreds of books. I just had to write this to let everyone know that this is the first book in my life that I have thrown away after reading. It starts out sort of intriguing, but it gets way too demented and graphic. I'm into to horror and demented things, I read true crime books and other freaky things, but this was way to disgusting and it will definately warp anyone's mind.
|