American Psycho
by Bret Easton Ellis
Published 1991 by Vintage
399 pages
Read June 2012
From IndieBound:
In American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. 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.
Why I read this book: I was browsing the shelves at the library for something new and I recognized the title and decided to give it a try.
Initial thoughts: ”Okay, I get it. It’s the 1980s and Greed Is Good and Bateman is rich and greedy and obsessed with products and brands. Gotcha. If he describes one more person’s outfit down to their tie and socks, I’m going to fall asleep.”
…then, on page 132: “Oh, oh, oh.” After pages and pages of dry descriptions of making restaurant reservations and
During the last ⅔ of the book: Just me, rocking back and forth, trying not to puke.
Upon finishing: I need to find one of those old fashioned metal chastity belts and protect my lady parts next time I leave the house. Just sayin’.
Best article I’ve read about American Psycho: LANDMARKS OF LADY-HATE Presents! American Psycho, or, Despite All My Rage I Am Still Just A Rat In A Vagina over at the feminist blog Tiger Beatdown, which was the beginning of my healing process after reading this book. It’s a fantastic analysis and I wish I had written it.
Grade: No
You should read this if…: I started writing this post right after I finished American Psycho back in June, so it was before the Dueling Monsters battle when all these bloggers I am quite fond of started reading it and I was all
Regarding Ellis’ desire to adapt 50 Shades of Grey for the big screen: I haven’t read 50 Shades, I have no real desire to, but I was so revealed to hear that Ellis was denied the opportunity to work on the film. It would be the most horrifying movie of all time and my entire country would be rocking back and forth forever.
Edited to Add (ETA): I realized I tagged this post as “GLBTQ” without explaining why and nothing annoys me greater, so, in brief: Bateman has multiple encounters with women he cajoles into having sex with each other. There is also a man who has a crush on Bateman which is one of the triggers to Bateman’s growing psychosis.
I absolutely, positively abhorred this book. And typically, typically I don’t necessarily equate book and author, but there’s so much overwhelming evidence that BEE is an utter ass that it’s difficult to separate them in my mind. Ick.
Yeah, BEE is totally a dick. Worst.
On that we can agree 100%. I won’t be reading any more of his books. Ever.
But I didn’t hate AP as much as you did. Yes, I found it disturbing and the most horrific book I’ve ever read. And I refuse to watch the movie. But I also am intrigued by the absolute coldness of Bateman and how little emotion he shows. And his intense yuppiness.
This might be the first time I ever ended up hating the author more than the book.
I’m reading this now as part of the Dueling Monsters thing (everyone seems to have their reviews up today though so I think I’m late … as usual) and it is horrific but strangly compelling and sometimes even amusing. But I’m not at the worst of it yet. I’ll be back to read the article you linked to once I’m done the book.
Posting this today was totally not coordinated on my part–I was just lazy and this was the only semi-drafted post I had, hahaha. Best of luck with the book, and I do hope you check out the article, especially if AP affects you in a bad way.
I can’t believe you made it through 100+ pages of clothing descriptions. I would have given up after 20.
I’m just proud of you for making it through the first portion of the book. I just could not do it. Too annoying.
I would gladly read the first half ten more times to erase the second half from my memory forever. Ughhhh
I’m off to read the “Landmarks of Lady Hate …” article. I hope you recover soon from your post-traumatic stress over reading this novel.
http://eclecticbooksandmovies.blogspot.com
My husband read this a year or two ago and he complained about all the descriptions of designer clothing, etc at the beginning too. I still have the book and am wondering if I should donate it or give it a try.
As horror stricken as I was after reading AP, I’ve had time to recover and I still think the writing was brilliant. I am convinced that BEE is out of his mind, but brilliance and insanity often go hand in hand, no?
I don’t know. I think he’s kind of an asshole.
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