Written By: Delaney Norris
BOOKS: Unqualified reviews on books I have read lately.
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
I went in blind to this book and had no idea what to expect. Author Miranda July described it as “an addictive, sprawling epic,” and that sums up the book perfectly. This is the type of book you more or less enjoy while you are reading, but once you finish it, you wonder what was the point of reading . It’s not that I disliked the book or that I don’t enjoy books without a super focused plot, but I feel like neither the reader or the character progressed at all in the 423 page journey we took together. However, I do believe this is the point of the book, as it literally ends with the main character confessing that she hasn’t “learned anything at all” (Batuman 423). This review feels very contradictory. My advice? Read the book if you want and stop asking me. There is also another book in this series, but I am unsure if I will continue to read.
American Psycho by Brent Easton Ellis
Somebody PLEASE check in on the inhabitants of New York City. Never have I ever been this uncomfortable while reading a book. I had already seen the movie before reading, but actually being able to be in Patrick Bateman’s head while he is…entertaining himself (and being a serious threat to every person in a mile radius) prove perplexing. Indeed, to listen to his every thought and comprehend his complete lack of empathy for every other living being in the story is both disturbing and fascinating. I would definitely recommend this book to my peers but with a fair warning that it does not hold back and contains gore and gruesome details.