Customer Reviews
tough read - By: Dean Euden, 01 Apr 2007 
This book will take you from horror to blandnessin the turn of a page. It is possibly one of the hardest books I've ever read, butin turn one of the most well constructed. Obviously some reviewers on Amazon consider the writing poor, as well as the structure, but it seems like they have not just missed the point of the books structure, more like taken a thousand mile detour around it. It's a brave book & Ellis deserves praise for his uncompromising approachin every area of the storyline. I must admit I found it more than I could handle, more than I could take in. However as a satire on a self-obsessed, shallow & money orientated society it is flawless.
Better than the film... - By: Mrs. K. A. Smurthwaite, 02 Mar 2007 
I'd seen the film already & had been intrigued as everyone said the film was incredibly graphic, but I didn't find it all that viscerally visual, although I'd been told the book was more descriptivein its violent scenes. This was absolutely correct.
From the outset, Patrick Bateman is a meticulous person who obsessively lists a person's attributes -in his world, a person's job, possessions, politics & how he presents himself is who he is. He's a mass of contradictions, expressed bothin his politics & his lifestyle, for example, he takes good care of himself, exercises regularly, has a rigid skincare regime & worries about such things as the sodium content of soy sauce, yet takes drugs at every opportunity.
In typical "serial killer" style, he is repeatedly described as "the boy next door", despite the fact that he continually tries to convince people otherwise, even whispering under his breath, "No I'm not, I'm a fucking evil psychopath," almost as if his murderous impulses are caused by his desire to distinguish himself from others (who all seem to be identikit versions of the stereotypical yuppie & are continually mistaken for each other - they are interchangeable non-entities).
Bateman is primarily a visually stimulated person, whether it's taking note of the minute differences between the various business cards, or getting off on a scenein a movie where a woman is drilled to death. He seems to be a stickler for time - he is almost reduced to tears when he thinks he & his colleagues won't get a good seatin the restaurant due to taking so long to decide on a destination. I found I could empathise with him on this aspect of his character, as I often get very frustrated when trying to arrange something like that although I promise I'm not a psychopathic killer!)
A man of extremes, Bateman has a very short fuse over the most inane things (such as pizza), yet can instantly switch back to a calm, commanding persona, resuming control of a situation. His appeal is quite disturbing - I found myself, on occasion, actually liking him, despite his homicidal tendencies, & loved that he was so brazen & boldin taking his bloodied sheets & clothes to a cleaner.
The mention that he reads the biographies of serial killers wouldn't ordinarily cause concern, butin this case, knowing that he's psychotically violent, it's rather disturbing that he admires them so much & is emulating, possibly trying to surpass, them. He also objectifies women (referring to them as "hardbodies" - as do all his friends), keeping them anonymous.
There's an interesting section near the end (don't worry, I won't divulge any major plot details) where Bateman briefly refers to himselfin the third person which is rather surreal - he really is losing the plot at that point. I also wonder how much of the narrative only takes place inside his drug-crazed mind, & how much actually happens.
This was a very interesting read & I rather enjoyed parts of this descent into utter psychotic madness...
Better than the film, sometimes quite bizarre - By: D. Wilson, 29 Jan 2007 Okay so it is better than the film, the books usually are, it is packed with extra happenings which are well described. I must admit to finding it a little hard to follow, perhaps it was the writing style. However if you're into a little gore this book is for you, you'll enjoy it.
So misunderstood that it's comical. - By: Ryan R. Ashe, 15 Dec 2006 
'American Psycho' is, above anything else, a post-modern novel about the problems with post-modernism. I feel like I should address one particular issue, or I could go on for pages. Does Bateman actually murder anyone; how much of his life is a fantasy? Every review I have read here seems to suggest that he either DID or DID NOT commit these acts. However, this is to miss the point entirely. Easton Ellis has clearly read 'L'etranger' & 'Notes from Underground' because the existential subtext is clear. On a rudimentary level, it can be said the the existential philosophy refuses to accept any objective 'truth'. The only 'truth' is that of individual experience. Thus Bateman's description of murder & rape cannot be presumed to be either true or false. Patrick has depersonalised himself,in the existential style,in order to find a way of dealing with the horror of eighties corporate & social materialism. He is a 'noncontingent human being' - utterly without a personality. Thus he 'absorbs' all that is around him - he IS the eighties. Nothing is solved at the end of the book because he refuses to givein to any spiritual enlightenment, such is the extent of his perdition. Hence 'THIS IS NOT AN EXIT'. I'll leave it there; suffice to say that to argue over whether the protagonist actually murdered anyone, or bought anything, or went to any fancy restaurants ... is totally besides the point.
Laugh till you cry - By: EmmaH, 20 Aug 2006 Yes, it's gratuitously violent & disgusting, yadda, yadda, yadda. But 'American Psycho' is also one of the funniest & most brilliant works of satire you will every read. I laughed so much & so loud I startled people on planes.
Dissects the dark underbelly of New York capitalismin the 1990s just as sharply as Bateman's knife. A true classic from the first word to the last.
