Patrick Bateman's existence is incredibly mundane. Outside of appearances (clothes, physique, being seen at the best restaurants) nothing matters to him. There is absolutely no mention of family until close to the end (and these brief glimpses into his family give us a bit of insight as to how he ended up this way without really being a sole "reason" for his state). The people closest to him are as vapid as he is (probably moreso). And because of this, they pay absolutely no attention to what are very likely cries for help. A recurring theme in the book is the absolute conformity of his peer group --everyone wears wool suits, slicked back hair, and horn-rim glasses-- to the point that no one can tell anyone apart, which aids him in his ability to blend in and get away with the killings. It's a very well written commentary on the socio-cultural state of the time. Another interesting aspect to this book is Bateman's dissociative perspective in terms of his victims and personal attachments (if you can call them that), while he speaks passionately about pop music. He goes into tactile diatribes about Genesis, Whitney Houston, and Huey Lewis, but is emotionless when it comes to the murders and even attire (which he obsesses over). He speaks endlessly about clothes and designers, but even as he passes judgement on the attire of others and obsesses over his own, he does not seem to extract any joy from it. It's just something he does almost robotically. Pop music seems to be the only thing he actually enjoys, though even his reviews on the subject seem detached. Despite being descriptive to the point of being almost flowery, they are written in the passive voice.

EDIT: Sorry for the wall of text. I pulled this from my Goodreads review.

It was interesting to read. I like fiction and nonfiction, but I like to know which one I'm reading. That's my only issue with it.

For a specific title, I'll check Hoopla first, then my libraries, then Thriftbooks eBay store. Then, if I'm really desperate to read it, I'll buy it from Amazon.

But a lot of the time, I just drop in the library and browse. I always come out with at least two I'm excited about.

In other words, the high literature that is too refined for the pleebs to understand or enjoy? 🧐

>(yes, even after doing the library technique of loosening the spine).

Umm, what? I must know what this is.

I feel like if anyone would understand this, you people would.

Do you love when book pages get a little wet and they make that crinkly sound when you turn the page? 💆‍♀️

Thank you for this. A lot of people cannot make this distinction. I very much enjoyed reading Twilight also - as well as 50 Shades, Flowers in the Attic, and Beautiful Disaster. I KNOW they are not profound, nor will they be considered great pieces of literature. But they are fun to read when your brain needs a break. Smut sells for a reason. 😉

I loved it despite how bleak it was. Personally, I'm over the multiple narrator format that seems to be most fiction novels these days. It feels disjointed to me and takes me out of the story. I get what you're saying about it ending abruptly and the slowness of the plot. But that is perfectly appropriate for the messaging and what you're supposed to get out of the book. It is a "day in the life of" type of format. We're seeing a snapshot of a person's life, which feels more real to me, in this case, than a beginning-middle-end type of story.

I'll tell you one thing. The part about her daughter being taken away and her never finding out what happened to her was the hardest part of this book for me to digest. And I read this before having a daughter of my own. I don't think I would get through it if I tried to read it again.

I won't watch the tv show for a few reasons.

• I don't want it to confuse my remembrance of the book.
• I can barely read about rape. I definitely can't watch it.
• I refuse to support the Church of Scientology in any way, including consuming media with Scientologist celebrities in them.

That said, everyone has their own taste and there are plenty of super popular books that I hated. There are also heavily maligned books that I love. It's perfectly ok to not like A Handmaid's Tale.

PS: Would anyone agree that A Handmaid's Tale has a similar atmospheric feel to Never Let Me Go? Unlike AHT, I could never decide whether I liked that book or not.