Rating: 
Summary: I think you're missing it...
Review: There are tons of reviews here, and a lot of them hit the point very well, but there is one aspect I have not seen anyone touch on. No one seems to realize that none of the killings really happen. There are a lot of clues to this if you read carefully. The reason Patrick is a psycho is he thinks all this stuff, but it's not actually happening. Paul Owen is the perfect example. Owen disappears to London, but in Patrick's fantasy world he has brutally murdered him, and covered it up with the London story. If you don't believe me, fine, but read the very end carefully again, when someone asks Why? and patrick says, "Maybe I should have done that instead of not doing it..." That part says it all.
Rating: 
Summary: American Psycho
Review: I bought this book on implulse while browsing for something interesting to read. I will be less implusive in the future. I will sum it up in one word: disappointing. The author has an obvious amazing talent for writing, but he does a marginal job in exploring his characters. Norman Mailer called his writing Dostoyevskian, which gives the author far more credit than he deserves. The murder scenes are brutal but lack any kind of impact. It becomes boring to read.I fail to see what all the controversy is about. This could have been a magnificent book but never makes it past the superficial, despite all the detail.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrific, disturbing...yet fascinating!
Review: Being a true crime reader, I was apprehensive in reading about a fictitous characher. I thought I had read it all...until I purchased this novel. The scenes depicted in this piece are so disturbing, I found myself having to put it down at times. The violence within this novel ranges from animal cruelty, to sadistic sexual behavior followed by horrific murders. It is an in depth look into the mind of a psychotic killer. Told in the first person, the reader will feel as though they know Patrick Bateman. At times, I found myself questioning whether he was as monstrous as I had previously believed. Gruesome acts and a complete rejection for human life always renewed my initial contempt for him. This novel is extremely graphic and upsetting, but you will have a difficult time putting it down. You may find yourself questioning whether or not there is a Patrick Bateman within your daily acquaintances. Proceed with caution...
Rating:
Summary: Gruesome
Review: Readability: 4 Content: 1 If you want to say you read a banned book, a book subjected to pre-publication censorship, a book with some of the most gruesome things ever put to paper, and possibly be entertained, then read this book. Otherwise, give it a pass. This is the most gruesome book I ever read. It is one of ONLY three or four books subjected to pre-publication censorship for content. It is a very, well-written book. It even has a Ken Kesey-esque twist-ending which should leave the reader wondering for years to come. But, it's content is most of the worst things imagineable. Kinda makes you wonder what was left out. The omission must be good because wondering about it is bad. When it was made into a movie, they left out the more gruesome bits. And, now, the movie sequel to "American Psycho" is being considered. All things considered, do you want to give credence to a banned novel which was banned for gruesomeness not political or historical content? I think not.
Rating:
Summary: Gack.
Review: This is the last time I read a book just because it was on the Catholic Church's list of banned books. That is why I read it; I'm not making that up. Not a fan of censorship, but let's just say that I understand. What would otherwise be a provocative social commentary is really just a gore/rage/mysogyny fest that left me: (1) nauseated, (2) freaked out, (3) wondering what all the fuss was about. I mean, Ellis is quite obviously a decent writer, and had some purpose for writing this book. I think the same theme/purpose could have been achieved without being so cavalierly mysogynist, violent, and just plain yucky.
Rating:
Summary: Trashy Art
Review: Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, in all of its gory, pornographic, horrifying "glory," is undeniably art, simply because of its literary merit. Aesthetically, however, Psycho seems to fall short of anything even resembling art. The lacking-perhaps absent-plot gives way to seemingly superfluous details of sex, attire, and violence. Though these three elements are typical give-aways of a trashy romance novel, Ellis uses them in the same way as horror novelists such as Kafka have in the past-to critique society in a harsh yet satirical and occasionally humorous manner. This satire begins quite promptly as Bateman-"the boy next door" (Ellis 18)-defines our social needs. After broaching apartheid, world hunger, AIDS, pollution, taxes, racial discrimination, reproductive rights, and violence in entertainment among other things, he emphasizes the importance of promoting "general social concern and less materialism in young people" (Ellis 16). With this politically correct speech, Ellis puts his ironic tone into play; for what we least expect is a heart-wrenched, socially conscious, humanitarian speech from a self proclaimed "evil psychopath" (Ellis 20). Similarly, Ellis interjects humor into the novel in the same way Kafka and Shelley have done in the past. He repeatedly juxtaposes a disturbing moment in the text with awkward humor-something that is, again, indicative of his ironic tone: "When I see a pretty girl walking down the street I think two things. One part of me wants to take her out and talk to her and be real sweet.... [The other part thinks] what her head would look like on a stick," I say. Hamlin and Reeves look at each other and then back at me before I start laughing, and then the two of them uneasily join in. (Ellis 92) Remarks like these impose an ill at ease amusement, but, more importantly, foreshadow Bateman's blatant reoccurring habit of fusing sex with violence. While much of the content of Psycho contains enough of this intertwined sex and violence so as to shock its reader-a literary invention on Ellis' part-its underlying foundation comprises age-old horror conventions. Affection and revulsion are not the only interlaced elements in the novel. Much like Poe's Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher, American Psycho persistently blurs the line between sanity and madness. While the novel's title, its brutal torture scenes, and Bateman's own confessions all seemingly confirm that he is, in fact, a merciless, insane killer, Ellis includes various insights into Bateman's character that reveal what cannot altogether be mistaken for humanity. During a dishearteningly detached dinner with his brother, Bateman expresses a very human, very unexpected loneliness as he affirms that "if I were to disappear into that crack... the odds are good that no one would notice I was gone. No... one... would... care" (Ellis 226). Similarly, Ellis shows that a strong desire for acceptance affects Bateman in a way that is eerily similar to the average person: "Patrick," she says. "If you're so uptight about work, why don't you just quit?" "Because," I say, staring directly at her, "I... want... to... fit... in." (Ellis 237) It is this small hurdle over the border between normal and abnormal that forces the reader to question her own sanity. It is simple to brush American Psycho aside as disgusting, offensive trash-especially when Ellis forces the reader to find similarities between herself and a character as unredeemable as Bateman. It is not easy, however, to regard Psycho as a work of art that, like The Metamorphosis and Frankenstein, draws some halting conclusions about where our society has come and where it is going. While it may be infuriating to read a novel in which the protagonist has no identity save for his status as a madman; it is significant that Ellis, as an artist, chooses to create an empty, merciless killer with the same materialistic, individualistic American dream that steers our own society. The element of trash within the art piece that is American Psycho is what shocks, what disgusts, and hopefully what moves the reader to search for her own distinctions between what she considers human and inhumane, sane and psychotic-and with that, define her own status as American, sane, and "normal."
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: All three copies bookstores in walking distance of my campus said they had copies of this book in stock, but when I insisted that the salesperson show me the actual book, every copy had been misplaced or stolen. I ordered online and I'm glad I did. This book's one of the best novels that I've ever read. Ellis' pitch and tone are perfect and they remain consistent throughout the novel. It IS a horrifying book, and the critics who cover their backs by saying it's purely metaphorical are as foolish as the cultural watchdogs who condemned the violence (and who stole copies of it from the bookstore). Read this book; as an english major who's read everything from Pliny the elder to David Foster Wallace, I'm telling you this is one of greatest novels I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Fantasy
Review: Nice book to spend time on brand names. I found the characters very unreal. 1- I didn't see bateman going shopping. To have that extensive knowledge he needs to spend his life in shopping malls (like my girlfriend). This is real fiction. 2- Life should not be that easy esp. when working in New-york. I am not from NY but have you ever seen someone working for a financial company and doing nothing (e.g. @ morgan stanley?). Unreal. The psycho problem looks like a cover to increase the book sales. Yes it could be more difficult for the writer to describe the ugly routine itself . I would like the book more if it could describe the weirdness of the characters without the psycho pepper. I recommend the book if you liked the fastasy world in "less than zero". And I really wonder how the real people who are supposed to be the real Batemans, think about the book.
Rating:
Summary: Ellis has a fevered brain, but it works
Review: Do yourself a favor and read the book BEFORE you see the movie. You will laugh out loud at points, and while the movie desperately tries to capture some of that, it can't quite get the range of emotion involved in the book. Plus you will have different feelings about having identified with this guy that has such a twisted brain when you are reading it as opposed to watching it. Ellis is certainly a creative and nutty genius. You can claim that he has run out of steam after his early breaks, but at least stop and savor this book for what it is, and enjoy the maniacal rantings that it contains.
Rating:
Summary: Love or Hate
Review: I think that this is one of those books that wouldn't appeal to everyone, personnaly I found the book to be one of the best original stories I have ever had the pleasure to read. Yes it is very graphic in places but it is also extremely funny, dripping with dark humour which more often than not leaves you splitting your sides. Bateman is such a self obsessed geek, you can't help but laugh at what a complete loser he is. If you have any second thoughts about reading the book, I think that you should watch the film. If you like that, you will love the book, if you hate it, at least you only wasted 2 hours of your life as oppose to 2 weeks.
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