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Summary: And of course, there are those who just don't get it.
Review: There are morons that read books. These books are written by John Grisham. These books are formula and they are not needed. They are books that have been written, rewritten and rewritten... Mr. Grisham is nothing new and his popularity is dead, as are his storylines. American Psycho, slowly raised a bit of controversy (such a beneficial word for the one that creates the controversy when their products sell more and more). Slowly, until it was everywhere. Women's group boycotted it, religious groups burned it, and the list goes on. And they probably didn't get past the first 100 pages or they only went by reviews and word of mouth. The book is a marker in fiction history. For reasons that I am sure everyone already knows. But Ellis is smarter than that. Extreme graphice rape/violence/murder/torture wasn't his point. And if you can't figure that out, you should go read "The Firm." I believe they have 100 used copies for $.10 at any bookseller.
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Summary: Brettfan
Review: this is actually a very funny and clever book. the monologes themself are the interessting bout this book and yet a deep and meaningfull book. this is his 2end best book after Glamorama
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Summary: THIS IS NOT AN EXIT
Review: "I have no patience for revelations, for new beginnings, for events that take place beyond the realm if my immediate vision." - Bret Easton Ellis.For any dolt that feels the descriptive quality in the book was overkill, HELLO! It is a book about an insane person! You are supposed to be frustrated, annoyed, surprised, offended and repulsed. If a first person account of a psycho serial killer's thought process doesn't strike you as odd, than you need more thorazine than Bateman does. It is through the intense pressure of the over detailed 80's that you see the crack up and break down of Bateman. This is the genius of the writer, and the brilliance of the book. If while reading the detailed review of Huey Lewis and the News, you are asking yourself: what the hell is going on?.... Good! That is EXACTLY the point. You have to let yourself go, and enter the mind of a maniac. Never before has the reader been so involved in the thought process of a killer. The job of a writer is to invoke emotion, to give the audience a different way of thinking. Ellis did his job. He told his tale, and it worked. I slept with a baseball bat for a week after I read this. I was scared out of my mind. I love the style, and the immediacy of Ellis' stories. I enjoyed Glamorama, Less than Zero, The Informers, and little brother Sean's book: The Rules of Attraction. But American Psycho out - Shinning's them all. A big round of applause to Knopf for picking up the ball that a lesser publisher dropped. And utter reverence to Ellis for commanding such fear in the hearts of his fans. You'll never look at a habitrail the same way again.
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Summary: Best Satirical Book Ever Written
Review: This book is amazing in its way. If you are not one for a great deal of detail, do not read this book. The details are unrelenting, yet add a great deal to the feel of the book. Anyone who tells you that the descriptions of clothes and business cards is not relevent to the story obviously did not understand the book, and should be disregarded completely when considering the book. The idea of the book is just how shallow and materialistic the main character is, and these things are displayed through the descriptions of the clothing. Ellis does an amazing job of presenting this by using a wonderful blend of satire, description and dialogue. Anyone who doesn't like this book obviously didn't understand it. The book is difficult to read, but a novel that should not be missed. As a fair warning however, it is not for the faint of heart. The sex scenes, the murder scenes, and the torture scenes are extremely graphic. If you saw the movie and thought that was overly graphic, the book will blow you away.
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Summary: Breathtaking and immense in scope
Review: I've had the chance to read over a few of the previous reviews. I feel that a LOT of people missed the point Bret Easton Ellis was trying to make when he ventured into the faceless, soulless world of the late 80's. My initial introduction to American Psycho was in the movie, directed by Marry Harron (who won acclaim as the director of "I Shot Andy Warhol"). I found the movie to be decent - empty in the most important of points: "what was Bateman on the inside?" So I decided to get the novel - which I picked up not too many months ago. I delved into it sparingly over the last few months, and it wasn't until I sat down and let myself become intertwined with the world Pat Bateman lives in that I really, TRULY felt the story. I found many passages that actually caused me to gasp - I don't speak of the vicious, gore-filled scenes... but those of Patrick's MANY monologues in which he contemplates his own insanity. I felt such a sympathy and sorrow for this person who constantly wanders through a life of luxury filled with unending materialism and a sickening emptiness. It's not difficult to relate to the character described within. Bateman is insatiable in his desire to find meaning. He is engulfed in panic attacks when the smallest thing goes wrong. And as he states in a manner far too concise to not send shivers: "I just want to fit in..." The scenes of gore are intense in the novel. I consider myself to be a desensitized person in regards to violence, and at times had to place the book down and walk away. Others, I felt sick to my stomach. The acts he performs are unimaginable and cause me to, while now being afraid to meet him in person, applaud the author for not censuring himself. Another point in the book that seems to have been heavily criticized is the overuse of brand names. This, I believe, is one of the most VITAL aspects of the novel. Some people see it as filler, whereas I think most of it is displayed to give you an accurate portrayal of the materialistic nature of humanity. It's brutal, and at times overbearing, causing you to want to skip past and move on - but at the same time being brutally honest in the portrayal of what life was really like on Wall Street. To summarize, this book is NOT to be ventured into lightly - or unprepared. You will be shocked, disturbed and taken aback by much of the content. However, if you are like me, you will, at the same time, witness the unveiling of a man that has lost contact with the world as we know it. Who no longer can coexist with society, and is growing more ill at ease with the world every day. He no longer can handle the emptiness, and as some of us would turn to the bottle, or go on shopping sprees in hopes of lifting the despair which lingers - Bateman turns to the only thing which comes close to quenching his insatiable thirst.
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Summary: Ug! Painful!
Review: Worst book I have ever read!! If you are a male clothes horse of the '80's you might enjoy the VERY DETAILED descriptions of every outfit that every character in every scene is wearing right down to socks and sunglasses. I found it distracting and not relevent to the story line.
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Summary: The most intense/graphic/descriptive/intriguing novel....
Review: Brett Easton Ellis is a master at tiny details and intense/vivid descriptions that make his novels a perfect visualization of the 80's persona. Murder, hidden homosexuality, character judgement and the psyche of the corporate man are themes throughout American Psycho. Not for the weak at heart or even for the supposed true horror fan, this novel goes beyond anything imaginable. A must read for anyone who enjoys a beautifully written book, but must be able to handle the extreme content!
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Summary: One of the rare instances where the movie was better
Review: I am glad that I rented the DVD prior to reading the book. Had I read the book first, I would have never bothered seeing the movie, which is much better. Given the time constraints of the movie, the screenwriters had license to eliminate some of the more annoying elements which ruined the book. I believe that Simon and Schuster elected not publish the book, not because it was too controversial, but because it is boring and in desperate need of editorial polish. Ellis has followed in the traditions of Marquis de Sade in taking activities that are repellant and titillating and then repeating them monotonously to make an obscure point. Much has been made of Ellis's satirical look at the 80's in this book. His primary device for doing this is paragraph after paragraph of mundane details about music, television or fashion. Once that you determine that this tirade of arcana is unrelated to the subsequent text, you will find yourself skipping over these pages. Ellis also devotes considerable page space to listing the designer names that the main character is wearing that day. However, rather than providing any form of description, the reader is worn down with list after list of designer names. Used once, this device may have provided some insight to the shallow, image conscious nature of the main character. However, it's repeated use is clumsy and inelegant. I suspect that the majority of readers are drawn to the graphic depictions of sex and violence in the book. The sex scenes are short, brutish and utterly within character for the protagonist. They are not sensual or erotic, but either one of these two traits would been out of synch with the rest of the book. On the other hand, the descriptions of the murders in the book are best described by the term "pornographic". Each killing takes several pages to work through, in which the horrors inflicted on the victim are lovingly described in blunt, graphic terms. Just as is done in cheap porn, each atrocity is worked over and over using the same basic terms. Done once, this may have been another interesting literary device, but it is so overused in this book it become desensitizing and dull. Overall, if you enjoyed this book then admit that you liked the sex and violence. But please don't claim that it is a literary masterpiece or anything other than violent smut.
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Summary: Avoid it like the plague
Review: "American Psycho" is one of the worst novels I've ever read. The book is just tedious. How many pages can one author write about a character's clothing one may ask? Apparently a couple hundred pages, according to Ellis. Describing every little detail of a character's clothing and daily routine is part of the point of the book, I know, but you don't have to make the reader sit through a couple hundred pages of it before they get the message. Ellis manages to squeeze a two hundred page book into four hundred pages. Amazing! "American Psycho" is just about repetition. People are shallow, people are material, and some people are just plain evil, yeah yeah yeah. We get it. As for the violence and sex in the book? Who cares. Nobody reads books anymore, so you can get away with anything. Interestingly enough, a much better book by Ellis is "Less than Zero." Pick that one up instead. However, despite it all, if I had to chose between this book and one chosen by Oprah, I'd have to go with the Ralph Lauren slasher book any day.
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Summary: brilliant
Review: i'm short on time but i just need to say this book is sheer briliance. also it is not the violence in this book which makes it disturbing but the total disregard for human life and the total loss of compassion. nobody cares about anyone and refuse to hear anything that would upset them. sorry, i gotta go now.
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