American Psycho

 

American Psycho
American Psycho
by Authors: Bret Easton Ellis
Released: 06 March, 1991
ISBN: 0679735771
Paperback

Sales Rank: 2,873
List price: $14.00
Our price: $11.20 (You save: $2.8)
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American Psycho > Customer Review #1:
Dressed to impress on a trip to nowhere

Bret Easton Ellis is a master at describing the anomie of end of the 20th century, but nowhere is that anomie more disturbingly brought to life than in "American Psycho". The book raised a firestorm when it was due to be released; feminists condemned it as misogynistic trash, and when it was finally published, it was in a trade paperback version because the publisher which was to publish the hardcover version pulled it to avoid all the controversy. All hell will probably break loose when the movie comes out, if it is in any way true to the book. Ellis gives us Yuppie Manhattan in full effect, where the only things that count are money and designer labels; real people are faceless nonentities with interchangeable names, everyone seems to have a Peter Pan complex, dreading the inexorable approach of the big 3-0, and the defining characteristic of the time is its all-encompassing materialism. The anti-hero of "American Psycho", Patrick Bateman, is a serial killer with a penchant for torturing and murdering young women in a quest to give his empty existence some meaning. Bateman is perfect on the surface; hes young (26), handsome, expensively dressed, lives in a trendy condo on the trendy Upper West Side, makes six figures on Wall Street, and can reel off designer names at the drop of a hat. He can glance at anyone for a split second and tell who designed each item of his or her visible apparel. Batemans life is so devoid of meaning that he thinks all this superficial knowledge actually matters. He cant love anyone, including himself; he treats friends, lovers and acquaintances with equal contempt; and he is totally devoid of compassion, tenderness, remorse, warmth, or anything remotely resembling a conscience. If he has a date with a young woman, it may or may not end in his torturing her to death; as he comments early in the book, "This is simply the way the world -- my world -- moves." The book was indicted mainly on account of its shock value, and some of the murders are so revolting that youll want to reach for the Alka-Seltzer. But murder and mayhem aside, the spiritually empty, shallow and soulless people portrayed in "American Psycho" pretty much represent the spiritual emptiness, shallowness and soullessness of the 1980s. Ellis overdid the blood and gore, and... the relentless recitation of designer names does become wearying after the first fifty pages, but again, this only serves to emphasize the numbing emptiness of Batemans inner self. "American Psycho" is a telling portrait of an age of material excess when nothing that really matters, mattered.

American Psycho > Customer Review #2:
American Satire

This is the story of Patrick Bateman, a very wealthy, narcissistic, psychotic banker living in New York City in the late Eighties. Well, its not so much a story (in that it has no structured sequence of events), as a stream of Batemans consciousness. It chronicles various events in his life...Dinner in restaurants that are hard to get into with materialistic, stupid, debutantes; comparing suits and business cards with his vapid, cigar-chomping associates; torturing prostitutes to death; and working out. The strength of Ellis writing is that it is excruciatingly vivid; from descriptions of designer suits to reviews of his favorite albums (by Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, and Huey Lewis) and descriptions of his murders. These scenes are among the most harrowing Ive ever read. This vividity is sometimes difficult to get through, but contrasts nicely with Patricks occasional lapses into severe madness, at which point the writing becomes fast with little punctuation and sometimes cuts off in mid-sentence. Another especially effective ploy is the brief, nonchalant references Patrick makes (either in his monologue or out loud to his "friends) to his varied crimes (For example, the quick mention of torturing a small dog to death in the middle of a description of the days shopping). The real weakness in this work is that, again, there is no story, per se. Theres no real beginning or end, no sort of spiritual growth by the protaganist, and no resolution or closure. The book is a free-wheeling commentary on a priviledged group of people too concerned with themselves to notice a lunatic in their midst. Other characters come and go, or are murdered, with no real consequence other than Batemans (imagined?) reflections on them. The other major problem is that nobody in this book is likeable. Batemans secretary, Jean, is the moral figure these other monsters are weighed against, but her presence is not strong. The murders are awful and grotesque, but the characters being murdered are just nobodies or cutouts, theres no real sorrow in their deaths. All in all, requires patience and an appreciation for satire. Also, if extreme and repugnant scences of violence (all described vividly) are not for you, than neither is this book.

American Psycho > Customer Review #3:
A Depiction of Vacuous Materialism at its Worst

Patrick Bateman embodies the epitome of American materialism and consumerism. Furthermore, he is proof that one can have it all, monetarily speaking, and yet still have insatiable desires. Alas, money is definitely not everything. Hes a mere pawn at the hands of corporate America whose existence is truly devoid of real substance. When not working on wallstreet, club hopping, or buying designer label items, Patrick Bateman lives an alternate lifestyle. During the day, he seems like any other normal man trying to make a living in Manhattan. His personal life, however, is extremely morbid and quite gruesome.

Ellis takes the reader inside the mind of the worst kind of serial killer. One whos cool, calm, collected, and yet randomly and intermittently irrational when succumbing to his desires. Its never quite clear to the reader what Batemans motives are, nor is it at all evident that he understands his motives himself. This certainly serves to enhance this blatantly disturbing experience. Furthermore, the melodramatic first-person narrative is overtly passive, making it all the more unsettling.

The author does a wonderful job in this novel of depicting some of societies shortcomings. Our materialistic society is so wrapped up in fashion and technology that its disgusting. In addition, we live in a world where violence is so commonplace that weve become numb to so much of it. Ellis uses Batemans torturous murders to mirror these trends. With each killing, Bateman becomes more and more violent and gruesome. The same old style fails to excite him, and new techniques need to be persued.

This novel is definitely not for the easily disturbed, as it is probably the most horrifically disgusting and disturbing book I have read. I can certainly understand why this book was so incredibly controversial when it came out. However, it is also a great piece of modern literature. My only complaint is that Ellis drills into the readers head the concept of materialism. Batemans descriptions of attire can make for rather tedious reading, and at times made me want to put the book down.

Also recommended: "Exquisite Corpse" by Poppy Z Brite and "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger



 
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