American Psycho

by Bret Easton Ellis

[Cameron Trost]

I had been meaning to read this book for quite some time and I'm glad that I finally got around to it. It is most famous as a controversial work and, after reading it, I understand why. I'm not going to write a lengthy review because thousands of Goodreads members have already shared their thoughts. I just want to make a couple of comments for my Goodreads friends and fans who might be interested in my opinion. Firstly, as a short story fan I often get bored with novels of this length, but I found American Psycho very easy to read (the language - although sometimes bizarre, is quite simple - the book is written in first person and reads the way Patrick Bateman thinks). Secondly, I found Patrick believable (as scary as that idea is) and could imagine his lifestyle and daily escapades with ease. Thirdly, I enjoyed the social commentary on the way of life of a New York yuppie circa the 80s / 90s even and even though I know nothing of high fashion and other yuppie interests I found the obsession with such things somewhat interesting. Lastly, the book contains very violent scenes and would definitely disturb many readers. Obviously, a book about a homicidal psychopath has to contain violence but it was a bit overdone and gratuitous and was included more for the sake of shock than as part of the actual storyline. All in all, I don't regret having read American Psycho but it doesn't make my favourites list.