American Psycho

by B.E. Ellis

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this modern classic, the acclaimed author of The Shards explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other.

"A seminal book.” —The Washington Post

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.

“A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing.... An important book.” —Katherine Dunn, bestselling author of Geek Love

Look for Bret Easton Ellis’s latest novel, The Shards!

• ISBN10: 0679735771
• ISBN13: 9780679735779
• Publish Date: 6 March 1991
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Vintage Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780679735779

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

You see, there is not much of a story here. This is my first problem. There doesn't seem to be a plot that moves forward, no climax, there simply is no point. I guess the comparison with "Catcher int he Rye" fits really well. Moreover, I don't get along with Bret Easton Ellis' style. For example whenever Bateman meets somebody he gives very detailed information about what the person wears. I am aware that this is supposed to show how shallow the protagonist is but for the reader it's just extremely frustrating. If Bateman encounters a group of people, you get a page of clothing description. Sometimes it feels like half of the book is nothing but a list of designer clothing.
However, another point is the extreme violence pictured throughout the novel. These descriptions are just as detailed as the others. Before you read the book you should be aware that very disgusting and violent things will be described. My problem here is that all of these very sick chapters seems to have no point. When you read a crime story there is sense in giving details about the crime itself and there is a moving forward in the story (it gets solved). But here it appears completely useless as there is no real plotline, no real middle, beginning or end. It's just violence for violence's sake.
A few months back I read another book by Bret Easton Ellis and wasn't to fond of it either. I guess I'll just never be friends with his writing style.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis was everything like the movie, but in greater detail. If you thought the movie was gruesome then the book will not be for you. I found myself going nuts when I was reading this book; all the references to brand names made me want to go psycho. I guess that was part of the aim. I know most people say the book is always better than the movie but in the case of American Psycho there isn’t much of a difference; the movie got the message across just as effectively as the book.

[Eve1972]

Good, but twisted read! LOL