When I enjoyed this book, I REALLY enjoyed it. It's so hilarious, inventive, and clever. When I disliked this book (which happened to occur in the rather late stages of the book) I really hated it. It just felt like David Foster Wallace had been stroking your head like you were some sort of house cat and you were sort of enjoying it and then out of nowhere he started walloping you really hard (and you didn't expect such a nerdy guy to be so strong but he was a good tennis player, or something) and weren't you supposed to be a cat? OW! OW!!! STOP IT!

This book is great, and I understand why D.F.W. ended it the way he did. Still...

Pure, distilled misery. I was sobbing, crowing out "no, no!". Anyway, you should read it.

The rating is based on my personal enjoyment of the novel as a whole. It's funny, and it has literary value. The extent of the torture it takes for a victim to completely die parallels the extent of stimulation the modern man needs to live happily; Patrick Bateman is a man with seemingly everything, but he views both himself and the world as nothings that need to be destroyed.

This is crazy. I cannot believe it was published in 1958. Iris Murdoch was writing fanfiction for her own characters. I didn't think enough care was taken towards Dora, but the interpersonal relationships are gasp-inducing. Read this for a fun time. If you're wondering what's literary about it, there are themes about whether there exists a benevolent god, and to what extent should worldly things (like technology, like guns) interfere with the natural world (it makes you ponder different lifestyles).

This is a comforting read. It's drily funny, and all the characters feel real (with the exception of Dr. Berger, maybe...). Conrad is like a close friend you'd like to throttle for being so stuck in his head. It's best read when one is young, I think. Gift it to your gloomy niece/nephew? That being said, Calvin's perspective resonates with older readers, too. Trying to take responsibility for someone when nobody had taken responsibility for you... and if you are enlightened (!), you will understand (and maybe even love) Beth.

Someone referred to this as Victorian chick-lit. Okay, well, Victorian chick-lit must rock, then! It was delightfully gay. Louisa and Cecilia had something going on... and perhaps that was what propelled me to finish the novel. NOT TO MENTION TOM AND HARTHOUSE, DEAR GOD! BITING THE ROSEBUDS ON ALL FOURS LIKE A DOG? Dickens was enlightened.

Chock-full of things to love and speculate. I love stories where a dream turns into a nightmare. The boys gravitating toward idolatry (both toward the Lord of the Flies and toward Jack Merridew, in a way)... The Lord of the Flies (referred to as male) being a mutilated corpse of a female pig... The hunters' long hair and painted faces (reminds me of a group that happens to be half the population) signifying "savagery" (that word is a whole new can of worms)... Roger being worse than Jack (well, Jack was already prodding them with sticks; what did Roger do?)... Fascinating, fascinating.

Hilarious. A good book for when everything seems to be going wrong. If you feel like a total loser who can do nothing right, read it. Have some hope.

Hilarious and horrible. If you are well adjusted, this will probably make you angry. If you are like me, you will feel intense, unwarranted jealousy on Charles Arrowby's behalf, and hope, too. The hope is the horrible part. It will hurt.

I read this once since I was curious about where the phrase "beast with two backs" originated. Gripping from front to back. It does rely on the ignorance of other characters and miscommunication, but I think if you suspend your belief just so... you will have a great time. Iago is an amazing villain. I know that it got ME squirming in my seat.

Oh man, Shakespeare is the G.O.A.T.. I suppose I was blinded in awe by the fact that there were common English phrases that came from here. Hamlet really is the most human character I've read from Shakespeare so far. It's as funny as it is tragic.

Very referential in some parts, but you can go into this book blind. It really transports you to a different world.

This made me laugh a lot. It's like a more cynical Romeo and Juliet, where the characters manipulate and cheat, and there's no innocence or youth to redeem them. PLUS we get a eunuch character. What fun!

It's a great study in shame and self-discovery. Funny, too.