I thought this was truly horrible, but I know it's regarded as a seminal work. Don't care. I hate it. Probably unsuitable for a wild release, but anyone fancy giving it a go?

Picked up at the September Bookcrossing MeetUp in London. Looking forward to it!

Depersonalised, clinically distant, astutely observed novel past the edge of satire and well into cynicism. I particularly liked the intentional juxtaposition of cruelty and inventive violence with the complete banality of fashion and business peacock feathers. The tone is very stylised, an intentionally manipulative, obsessively structured cadence of increasing violence, where no sympathy for the protagonist is wanted or expected.

The in-depth reviews of music irritated me, but that was the only downside.

This is travelling onwards as a bookray, going first to:

Swisstoni [UK]
Talkland [UK]
Porcher [Brazil]

Oooh. This looks interesting. I gave up on "Glamorama" by the same author about half-way through as I couldn't stand the pretention. It might be the same with this one, but I feel I ought to give it a go. It'll probably take me about 4 weeks to get this off into the post as I have a couple of ring books I need to get sorted first, but full review when I'm done...

Thanks for passing this on!

Hm. Forced into giving this book a 7 that I'm not quite sure it deserves. What can I say? This book is often quite monotonous and frequently repulsively gory and yet I could hardly put it down. I'm not sure what it all means, I'm not sure that I liked the ending, but it's certainly a book that is worth reading....once.

The opening line is "Abandon all hope ye who enter here" and it could scarcely be more apt. This is a bleak and savage deconstruction of modern life. I don't believe I have read a book before that has made me feel physically sick and yet compelled me to keep turning the pages. It's probably a magnificent example of an author's craftsmanship - Bateman's slow descent into madness is beautifully worked over 400 pages - but it's almost all obscured by the shock factor. People talk about the rat, but for me it was the lighter....

The last words of the book are "THIS IS NOT AN EXIT" - also appropriate. Not an easy read by any means, but one that is sure to provoke a reaction.

I am ready for a reaction! I know this book does provoke strong feelings, I wonder what mine will be?

Lots of shocks and horror but is it great literature?

Ellis shows us the world of Patrick Bateman which highlights the excess and greed of the eighties but also his dark brutal side with his awful treatment and murder of women. The book is hard to read and in places boring especially with all the lengthly descriptions of Bateman's consummerism. The book is hard work and not a pleasant experience but certainly thought provoking.

Released on Sunday, April 04, 2004 at the post office in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, in Controlled Releases.

Sent a while back to Porcher

I received and am going to read it soon! Sorry for the delay on making a journal entry for it. Thanks!

RELEASE NOTES:

I'll be passing this one to a friend of mine.

I received (from Porcher) and am going to read it soon! (two months) Sorry for the delay (one month) on making a journal entry for it. Thanks! ...

CAUGHT IN PORTO ALEGRE RIO GRANDE DO SUL BRASIL