American Psycho

The 80s: a time period defined by surface, cut throat capitalism, Reagan economics, Wall Street, cocaine, AIDS, night clubs, awesome pop music, and serial killers. This is the setting of Bret Easton Ellis’s most controversial novel, American Psycho, which when published in 1991, garnered an F review in Entertainment Weekly, put Ellis on the FBI’s watchlist, and infuriated a radical feminist named Tara Baxter.American Psycho is about the infamous Patrick Bateman--Wall Street yuppie--whose extracurricular activities included clubbing; snorting coke; dining at New York City’s finest restaurants; purchasing overpriced sunglasses, suits, brief cases, bottled water, Walkman headphones; and murdering prostitutes, animals, co-workers, and the homeless.With graphic and detailed descriptions that include sadomasochism, decapitations, eviscerations, dismemberment, and torture, it is no wonder American Psycho garnered so much controversy. In today’s culture (that has created a genre of film called torture porn), such a novel would probably not get national attention. But in 1991, before the novel was even published, the controversy was nearly as hostile as the protagonist. Most of American Psycho’s criticism has come from the fact that it depicts scenes that are disgusting, vile, crude, and immoral. What these critics fail to mention is that the novel itself is a looking-glass, reflecting a society that is itself disgusting, vile, crude, and immoral. What the novel does not do, to any extent, is shy away from truth or sugarcoat the ugliness of a society obsessed with surface and possessions; a society overcome by greed. In the late 70s and in the 80s, America experienced a string of serial killers (Bundy, Gacy, and Manson), that both terrified and fascinated Americans. Nothing quite captures America’s attention like murder. And this is exactly why Patrick Bateman, the antihero of the novel, is a serial killer set in a time period gripped with greed and fear.Patrick Bateman is not the only sociopath in the novel. In fact, they populate the streets of New York City, the law firms, the finest restaurants and clubs. They are soulless individuals who do not care about others, only advancing themselves, only possessing, and accumulating more wealth. They are individuals who use others to their own advantage. In American Psycho, they are Wall Street yuppies, the upper class, the Marxist bourgeoisie--who destroy and use the unfortunate (homeless, prostitutes, children) so they can live in excess.One reoccurring theme throughout the novel is that Patrick Bateman and his yuppie friends often mistake their co-workers for other co-workers, since there is no distinct individuality, only conformity to an ideal surface. No one really knows who anyone else is; as Patrick Bateman states, “Inside doesn’t matter." They are so self-absorbed that they do not take time to notice anyone outside themselves or their possessions, unless a source of ridicule or competition. Patrick Bateman, competing for the Fischer Account (which is never clearly explained, except for the fact that it is the best account), literally axes a co-worker named Paul Owen in the face, in order to get ahead. Talk about cut throat capitalism!The graphic, deplorable scenes of violence in Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho serve a purpose: to illustrate the inhumanity of a society that puts its value in objects instead of people. Or rather, treats people as objects. The murders and the sex scenes are not the only thing described in pornographic detail. Patrick Bateman is a character sick with obsession; obsession with all the wrong things. In many scenes, Bateman describes, in pornographic detail, his wardrobe, his apartment, brands of bottled water, his music collection, the food at his favorite restaurants. These are the things that consume not only Patrick, but his cohorts. In fact, one could say that a surface obsessed society creates monsters like Bateman. In a society gripped by fear, whose only solace is found in possessing and dominating, there is nowhere to go but down: into madness, psychosis; anything to try and feel, to escape the void. In a chapter entitled “Tries to Cook and Eat Girl,” Ellis underlines the only real thing that can fill the void:Bateman attempts to turn a dead girl into meat loaf, but then he starts to cry: “The smell of meat and blood clouds up the condo until I don’t notice it anymore. And later my macabre joy sours and I’m weeping for myself, unable to find solace in any of this, crying out, sobbing ‘I just want to be loved’” (Ellis 345). This scene is gross and disturbing, but in some sick, morbid way—you may feel empathy for Patrick. There is only one thing that can fill the hole in Bateman’s consumer-obsessed soul: love. But, living in the society in which he does, love is an illusory concept, just like truth, compassion, and morals. In this society, there is only one truth: nothing matters—except money. In this society, there is no love and there is no escape from one’s emptiness.

Some of these reviews are pretty funny...obviously this is a vile book. So no need to state the obvious, if you didn't want to read something so heinous you wouldn't have bought it in the first place. I'm a female and a very visual person/artistic so I love that everything is described from the clothes to the food etc. It helps me paint a picture in my mind as I read through the story. I've seen the movie and loved it as well but this is obviously way better than the movie. There's so much in this book that they left out of the movie which makes it exciting to read. I'll give another update when I finish the book.

I think the bad reviews should really stick with authors like Dr. Seuss. If you can’t look further into the way the author describes things and the purpose of his repetition then it’s not for you. Obviously it’s gore so don’t complain when you knew that going in. By the end of the book I was honestly crying with the message the author portrayed and my heart broke for him. It’s a beautiful book that will leave you conflicted for who you are routing for.

I decided to give this book a chance based on the reviews. This is the 1st and last book I will read from this author. I will not make that mistake again ha ha. Throughout the entire book there were way too many characters introduced that had nothing to do with the book. I never figured out what Patrick actually did for a living or if it was even a "real" job. Probably 30% of the book was describing what people were wearing. The types of fabric and the clothing designer was explained...it got SO old and tiresome. Patrick's criminal mind didn't even make sense. If he did do all these deplorable killings over that long of time, the NYPD would have been all over him. The only thing believable is this author has a sick and twisted mind and should not be left alone with females. Save your money, I just summed up the entire book for you!!

American Psycho is about a man named Patrick Bateman, a Wall Street investment banker for Pierce & Pierce Mergers and Acquisitions. At least, that's what he does during the day anyway. During the daytime, Bateman just lives the average life of any Wall Street elite-- going to clubs, doing a gratuitous amount of drugs, and critiquing any and every article of clothing his peers wear. During the night, however, the man turns into a sadistic, killing machine. Bateman's victims range anywhere from homeless people, to animals, to prostitutes, to co-workers.Bateman's narration is mostly inconsistent for the entire novel, showing that he may not be a reliable narrator. Like, chapters will go from him blowing up police cars by shooting gas tanks to full length album reviews. Characters are introduced as other people rather than themselves, which just goes to show how much people value their identity but also don't stand out. After killing one of his colleagues while under a different name, Bateman gradually loses control over his murderous urges. His schemes grow increasingly complex, going from a simple knife to the chest to rape, torture, mutilation, cannibalism, and necrophilia. People never take him seriously anyway so even when he confesses to murdering several people, people just think he's playing a practical joke. At the end, the man he confessed to thought he was a different person altogether, saying that the Patrick Bateman he knows is too much of a coward to do any of that.

I wonder if there is any other book that I could describe as “unreadable” and still mean it as a compliment. The writing is meticulously crafted to let us watch Patrick Bateman losing himself to his psychopathy. That it is unreadable is only natural.The soullessly pornographic play-by-play commentary of the sex scenes, and the unflinchingly matter-of-fact descriptions of torture and mutilation; these passages become harder and harder to read, until finally I could only skim them as lightly as possible, and yet they’re so necessary to give you a frank representation of Patrick Bateman’s mind, and his unblinking detachment from these acts.Even in his more mundane day-to-day dealings, his compulsion to break down the components of outfits, the catalogue-like descriptions of home furnishings and technology, and especially the whole chapters dedicated to his reviews of music artists – these also wear thin over time, but are just as important to show that in which he consistently places value, and on which he relies to maintain his mask of human sanity.Although Patrick makes for a difficult narrator, Ellis’ skilful writing comes into play outside of this narrative too, in giving a fuller sense of the world he moves in: the repetitive, shallow conversation topics; the interchangeability of Bateman and his peers; how he can give blunt warnings and even admissions of guilt without ever being heard. It’s these touches, as well as Bateman’s increasingly frantic and futile attempts to retain control of himself, that make this book compelling in spite of Patrick’s narrative.

American Psycho is the modern equivalent of The Great Gatsby, where money is king and shallow appearances are the only thing that matter. Where Gatsby focuses on the American Jazz era, Psycho is the Yuppie (Young, Upwardly-mobile Professional) decade of the 1980s, set in Wall Street, New York, at the time of the great economic boom.The first half of the book demonstrates, in great tedious detail, the superficial lifestyle of the wealthy. Every character in every scene is described by their designer clothes, from their sunglasses to their underwear and socks; grooming and television rituals; where and what they eat in expensive trendy restaurants and hotels; their crass and vacuous conversations about other rich people and how to match handkerchiefs and socks.However, underneath this frivolity is a very dark and disturbing theme. There is plenty of wealth but no value. Racism is cruelly obvious as the homeless and low-paid workers are not part of the Yuppie elite and are ridiculed, mutilated and murdered for no other reason than that. The grotesque objectification of women is taken to the level where they are literally bought and treated as things to be used and discarded in obscene scenes of depravity and horror.The protagonist talks about how he would like to murder, or has murdered or tortured people, but none of his peers listens or takes him seriously. There are frequent cases of mistaken identity or name confusion. Characters swap partners as there are no emotional bonds. None of this matters because everyone is the same and therefore interchangeable.As the story develops, the violence, obscenity and murder increase. Sometimes the protagonist feels as if he is a film, another superficial and fake version of reality, and he refers to himself in the third person with exciting action scenes typical of Hollywood. He is not sure what has taken place is in his head or not and tests his peers about missing persons he believes he has murdered. He obviously thinks the ramifications would be more satisfying or at least acknowledged.This is very much an anti-materialistic tale. These characters have everything money can buy, but they are empty and hollow inside, devoid of love, compassion and fulfilment. Perhaps torture and murder is a way to connect with the living and life because the designer clothes and gadgets don't fill the hole. What is missing is a heart, something the American Psycho, the consumerist capitalist, does not have.

I don't believe the point the writer is trying to make comes across at all. He does explain his point in the afterword but I'm afraid it was lost on me. I saw the film years ago and enjoyed it, so I expected the source material to be even better. Ellis explains in the afterword that this book is meant to be how men are expected to look, behave and dress a certain way, an unattainable standard men are held to and their struggle with it. This didn't come across in the book at all, in fact all the characters seem to enjoy the materialism and shallowness, never once is it described as an annoyance or something they resent. If it was written better, he wouldn't have needed to make his point separately!Only once have I ever given up on a book, and this was almost a second time.The painful monotony and repetition makes this a very frustrating read. Only because I'd seen the film did I understand why we were subjected to paragraph after paragraph describing every item of clothing, furniture, drink and everything else - I don't think this was clear from the writing alone. From the readers point of view this was a tedious waste of time. On top of this, 20 plus mentions of Les Misérables. For a book based in New York City, I'd expect the author to be able to name at least one other Broadway show, for crying out loud. If I missed the point of this repetition, I'm way past caring.There were 3 chapters that served absolutely zero purpose, and they were describing the songs and albums of Genesis, Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News. My goodness, that was boring, and again, no explanation as to why the reader was subjected to it. The film definitely does this better and it doesn't feel quite so random.The violence portrayed is certainly shocking, but that is what the author wants as far as I can tell. He wants to shock, to offend, to revolt - in this, he is successful. I am no stranger to crime, horror and thriller novels but the degree of violence in this book is excessive. The animal abuse, the defilement of women, all makes for very uncomfortable reading. How any of it related to his point made in the afterword, I'm afraid I really didn't understand.In summary, I despised this book, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy. Quite frankly a very poor execution of what should have been a great story.

A colleague told me that after she finished reading American Psycho she ripped the book up. She destroyed it. She hated it so much that she violently tore it apart.There were times during the most obscene scenes of torture, rape and murder that I understood her need to wipe it out.I can see why it sits in a cannon of modern classics, it is in and of itself a unique comment on the materialistic focus of the late 20th century, the emptiness and futility of life when brands and restaurants are rated more highly than kindness, friendship and love.From a 2020 perspective, the relentless Trump references and Bateman's hero worship of him is telling. A president placed on a pedestal for cut throat money making and phallic over compensating with his tower.Women are dehumanized. Only Paul Owen's disappearance is investigated, only Solly the male taxi driver's death drives another to revenge, only the murder of a male child results in public weeping. Female victims don't matter. To Bateman or to anyone else in the novel.If I'd not already seen the film a long time ago I'd have spent more time thinking it's all a delusion, that Bateman has made it all up.Bret Easton Ellis made a statement. It's vacuous and horrific on purpose.

To say I enjoyed this story would be incorrect (how can one enjoy such violence?) but I did enjoy being inside the head of a maniac. The main character is, for want of a better description, batshit crazy, going from an image conscious, well-groomed high achiever to drug-addled torturer and murder in the clink of a champagne flute.The format of the book is bonkers yet it works so well in further cementing the image of a psychopath: chapters which are polished and full of intellect are followed by disjointed chapters full of dark imagery and darker actions. Then there are the chapters concerning the music of Genesis, Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News. Completely random and totally inspired! On a serious note though, this book contains every trigger possible. Read it with extreme caution - it’s easy to see why this book has been, and in some places continues to be, a banned book. Having said that, it’s only a story.So, decapitated coffee, anyone?