Rating: 
Summary: A chilling satire with bite
Review: Brett Easton Ellis' "American Psycho" is an acute, perverted insight into the satiric lifesyle of Patric Bateman, paragon for all virtues of 1980s capitalistic, consumer-driven America. Ostensibly, Patrick may come across as an unduly haughty white-boy raised in the lap of luxury and now permanently frozen there, condescending anyone who crosses his eyes, constantly feeling the most callous and lurid thoughts imaginable, while seemingly hiding behind a mask of bitter detached indifference. By night, Patrick becomes slightly more deleterious, stalking everyone from prostitutes to young children, and with an insatiable appetite. The things he does will shock you. Ellis has an amazing talent for concocting empty characters who are so devoid of meaningful purpose, but yet so complex at the same time, that it is enough to give you shivers. After reading some of the grotesque, almost surreal murder and sex sequences in the novel, it is no surprise that it was recived so coldly upon publication, with scathing reviews and feminine protests excoriating the book and calling it an affront on decency; yet, I think that to not appreciate the psychological acuity that Ellis so pointedly possesses would be an untoward shame. Read this book if you want a tongue-in-cheek excursion into the fantasy world of a lost and deeply disturbed individual.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Character Study Ever?
Review: I would give this novel 500 stars if I could. I can't remember ever reading a fiction novel that left me turning the pages so eagerly. The last book that came close was the biography of Keith Moon, "Moon," and that was't even fiction. I'm usually more a non-fiction fan because I always appreciate the real-life feel and it seems that very few fiction writers can replicate real life details. Ellis seems to be a master of this. The character that he creates is defined so well, with so much incredible detail, that you feel as if you truly get inside this mans head-his extremely sordid, evil, drug induced head. The passage which finds Bateman stumbling down the sidewalk in New York hallucinating is incredible, as is the graphic grim detail of the murders, and his addiction to monitoring the clothes of his, you can't call them friends, associates. My favorite moment may be when Batemen cracks down and nearly cries when he walks into a bathroom and catches a fellow 80's businessman etching an insult to yuppies on the wall. Perfect dark humor. This book is brilliant, original, well-written, and may be the definitve account of 80's greed and excess.
Rating: 
Summary: gross and boring!
Review: This is the only book I have ever truly hated! It was disgusting to read and managed to be incredibly boring to boot. I am not a prude, but I would not wish this book on my worst enemy.
Rating:
Summary: True crap
Review: I have never found a novel so repulsive, repetitive and depressing. I forced myself to finish it. The only book I ripped in two. The author tries to push forward his idea with ad nauseum examples and horrific descriptions that would only excite a serial killer. Don`t waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: take the time to think about this one
Review: it is easy to get lost in ellis' enless mantra of brand names, rhythms, empty dialogues, when what he is doing is setting contrasts to the crimes pat bateman commits. the stark disconnect between the profound brutalities of the crimes and subsequent dinner reservations and designer discussions are what struck me most. it is also easy to write this novel off as work of emptiness and pure shock-value if the dillusions and psychosis of pat are not adequately understood.he is not what he describes himself to be...handsome, successful and confident. he has a deep inferiority complex and is completely lost both within himself and his world. he reacts to this by developing a seething hatred for everything around him, including himself, and thus indulges in homocidal fantasies. because he is ineffectual, he never commits these crimes and is stunned when confronted with his attorney's inferences that what he believes he has done never took place. some will say that he isn't even pat bateman...that this is the homicidal persona he created within himself...i don't believe that. overall a very disturbing read which precariously stands between mindlessness and profound complexity. this is a novel to think about perhaps a bit further. i've read hasty reviews by people who simply reacted to the gore and repetition yet never took the time to read between the lines.
Rating: 
Summary: American Psycho
Review: American Psycho shouldn't be written off, nor should it be canonized without a second look. There are moments of brilliance throughout: the record reviews, the repetition, brand recognition. All of these things work to personalize the character at different angles, in different frames of light. This is what Ellis is so adept at, and here we happen to enter the mind of a serial killer, which can be, as the horrifying scenes point out, an extermely terrifying journey (although, to be sure, most of said "journey" is, actually, just pretty horrifying in an over-the-top kind of way, the graphic scenes paralleled by the horror of the narrator's self conscious urge to have his hair refract a certain portion of light, all inflicted by living an empty modern existence, etc). And this, I think, is what American Psycho is all about. Notice the novel is not called Psycho (I guess someone already beat Ellis to that), or Canadian Psycho, it's called American Psycho, and the graphic content exists to challenge the reader to figure out what evokes it. And the answer, at least as far as Ellis is trying to point out, is the horror of an empty modern landscape.
That said the weak points reveal easily: Patrick remains somewhat ambiguous, it's hard to determine whether the events are actually taking place, as there is some inconsistency with regard to fact, and the book is rather lengthy, with no real sense of plot, but rather this amorphous, interminable type thing, which may be intentional but seems otherwise. But all in all, this is definitely worth checking out.
Rating:
Summary: American repetitive
Review: It was torture trying to finish this book. I could have stopped after 100 pages and not missed a thing. It's so redundant - the same episodes over and over and over. No change. What a waste of paper. Usually I'll save a book or leave it somewhere to pass it on. This one I tore in two and recycled.
Rating:
Summary: Faceless Hordes
Review: Some people have complained about the emptyness of this book. They rather miss the point: or, more accuratly, they do not see what is straight in front of them.
In Dantes "Inferno", theres a place worse than Hell: the Plain of Tattered Banners, where those not even worth damnation run in the dust. This book is about one of these creatures attempt to escape. Like the "Inferno", it can be very funny.
On a less dramatic note, it can be a bit too trendy at times: but then, theres only one Dante.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: American Psycho is completely surreal. It opens the doors into an unthinkable world where everything is possible. The beauty is uniqueness. I will never have the opportunity to live the life Bateman has, and because of this, American Psycho provokes a new way of looking at everything. A breathtaking read.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing
Review: I purchased this book after seeing the movie American Pyscho which i loved and i thought the book would be like the movie but most of it isnt- it is very disturbing- way worse than the movie. American Psycho is set in the late 80s and tells the story of a serial killer named Patrick Bateman. Hes a 26 year old successful man who works on wall street and has everything and even though he seems perfect on the outside you couldnt imagine the insanity going on on the inside. The story is good but it is very sick and disturbing. It pays more attention to details in this book than in the movie, more attention to details in the clothes , what he does and contains lots of murders that wernt included in the movie. They are to sick to mention. I am a big fan of the movie and am not easily shocked but this book was really sick. It depends what kind of taste you have, if you can handle this get it. But i cant say i would recomend this. I personally liked the movie better, but if you are a fan of bret easton ellis and his other works get it.
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