I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Considering that this is a book about a famous serial killer, I went in with low expectations. I don't have many experience with reading books about this type of people, but for me it has always been so that the book called the person a monster, they were way exaggerated in all shapes and forms. The thing i liked most was the way the author presented Jeffrey Dahmer as a human first, serial killer later. It wasn't much about what horrific things he did, but why he did it. It focused on his childhood, his social skills, his motives and his thinking and perception of the world he lived in. I thought the book was well written, you could see that a lot of research went into the writing process and I enjoyed the multiple use of quotations not only from Dahmer, but from people involved in this case. The only reason that i gave it four and not five stars lies in the last chapter or so. I knew that the chapter involving his trial wouldn't be all that interesting and I was not mistaken. Yes the opinions of expert witnesses were interesting, but all that describing the laws and the procedures used in the court were not the most interesting thing to read about. And also the many Dionysus references in the early chapters of the book were borderline annoying. But all around the book exceeded my expectations, it was interesting and very informative. I may even consider buying a physical copy of the book.
I do not wish to mitigate the seriousness of the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer but its hard not to imagine a conversation between JD and Britain's own rather more intellectually pretentious Dennis Nilsen, who had a similar interest in collecting dead gay boys or should that be gay dead boys. Note - obviously this imaginary conversation took place before Jeffrey's demise, otherwise it would be completely unbelievable. DN: I believe the authorities have incarcerated us here because our recreational predilections were not dissimilar.JD : Fuck, man.DN : So how did you get caught?JD : Fuck, man. One of my zombies ran into the street without no clothes on squawkin and makin a big fuss. The problem was I hadn't zombified him enough. Cops came in and found fuckin heads and shit in the fridge. What about you?DN: (sighs) My devotion to domestic hygiene let me down. I ran out of places to put them so I chopped up the last one and crammed the bits down the toilet. Alas, the drains got blocked up and one of my neighbours called the Dynorod man in. Unfortunately for me he knew the difference between pork and people.JD: Fuckin busybodies make me sick.
If you are a morbid fan of serial killers as I am, then you will find this a titillating experience. Oddly, I first read this book as a child when I found in the garage lol. Jeffrey Dahmer's trial had ended sometime before so I knew a little bit about his crime, but not the gruesome details. It was an unusual introduction into the world of reading, but it really peaked the unwholesome side of my curiosity. At first, you're introduced to his family, his early life. But then it picks up speed after the first killing. The book actually puts you into a firsthand view, step by step, the life of a serial killer...a grisly one at that. It's gruesome, but if you have the stomach to read it like I did when I was 8, then you can do it, too.
—Andrea
Many of us want to try to understand what drives another human being to commit heinous acts such as those of Jeffrey Dahmer. It's more than morbid fascination. Brian Masters helps us to see a man with a "dark side" that shattered the lives of many young men and their families. Not least his own. This is a very good book. It isn't simply gory details, it's a psychological study that a lay man can understand. It is disturbing not just because of the story being told, but because we all have a "dark side". I'd recommend this book.
—Diggle30
Hoo boy. This was a tough book to read. I picked it up because I just read and I was curious about what happened after that book ends. Wow. So much I didn't know about this, even though it was in the news a lot when I was a kid, and really, wish I still didn't know.The only reason I didn't rate it higher was because between passages of great insight, there were these rambling, pretentious, pedantic diatribes that could have been presented in a more straightforward design in which the material would prove to be more cognitively accessible and less arduous to read (see, I can do it, too.).
—Kristina Weber
