Rating: 
Summary: The Descent of "Man"
Review: A hugely important book about the nature of american society. Living in a world where everyone is young and rich and ambitious, where everyone is wearing, saying, and doing the same things - Literally - Patrick's monstorous actions are the only "true" experiences he is able to have. His monolouge at the beginning of the book makes clear that the society he lives in is full of paradoxes and mixed messages. He himself inhabits an insular, homogenous world where any new influence that might shake things up and even make them fun is put down almost violetly by the dismissal and distain of his tiny, interchangeable circle of acquaintances. His pathetic, unmaginative speaches about Whitney Houston et al read like a deadpan plea for help, a plea for anything. His atrocious crimes against women seem like a desperate attempt to get to something real - I cried when I read this book. 1980's Manhattan makes for a sexy setting, but this story could really be set anyplace where cash is flowing like there's no tomorrow, every convenience is easily at hand, and the pressure to conform brings with it so many things that all seem, at first, like so much pleasure. One of my very favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: "so intense"
Review: When a friend of mine was reading this book and told me that the descriptions of the murders were so intense he wasn't able to read them anymore, my curiosity was piqued. What could Bret Easton Ellis possibly do with words that would be too graphic to read? Dylan M. said "I really don't think I would have wanted to lose myself in these murder scenes, because of the brilliant description. This goes for the graphic sex scenes too. They were described so vividly and the content was so intense that I was utterly disgusted to keep reading these scenes" and this is what you get; something so intense you can't pleasantly handle it (thus, Dylan M.'s negative commentary). Gory, intense description of sex and murder that will scar images on your brain that you cannot unremember. The practioner of these acts, Bateman is a disturbing and narcissistic 80's wall street man. It's almost as if Ellis is saying that this psychopathic mind is the rotting core created by a single-minded cultivation of the superficial; to Ellis, this is the 80's. The commentary is poignant and pertinent, but the novel lacks density. The commentary gets a bit repetitive and you see the same stuff over and over again. The commentary works better as a movie because a movie is a briefer medium (but I've heard the movie's terrible); you don't have to run over the same ground over and over again. The book is well worth reading through, though Ellis could have trimmed away much of the repetitiveness. After he described every person's outfit from head to toe a few times, we got it. After he got someone mixed up with someone else because every looks alike a couple of times, we got it. After reading graphic descriptions of the murders a couple of times, we got it. Beating our head with this commentary takes away from the subtlety.
Rating:
Summary: ...No. Calmer, Bateman. I think I'm smiling.
Review: After reading this novel, I find myself wondering how much of the story could actually be a reality. And after pondering a while, I find that it's all too real. Patrick Bateman, the main character, is the man of nightmares; the kind that our society is unwilling to accept as one of us. Mr. Bateman is not only rich, sophisticated, well known, charming, and handsome, but he is also a psychopath. His character reflects upon the inner mind of a crazy serial killer. However this mind is trapped in a well-respected man's body. Put them together and you have the most terrifying person in today's world. The black comedy in the novel underlies our perception of the world. What Mr. Ellis (the author) has laid before us to grasp is our world, our society, which has made Mr. Bateman what he is. In a sense I feel sorry for the man. Through his every detail you can sense that he is loosing himself even more in our superficial society. Nonetheless, his resort to violence and torture leaves me at times with horror and disbelief. The book is beautifully written in such a way that we become Mr. Bateman himself instead of looking at him through a third person's eyes. What he has to tell you will change your outlook on life. I highly recommend this book to mature adults that can appreciate what Mr. Ellis has written as a piece of fiction that is all to close too reality.
Rating:
Summary: Huey Lewis and The News in a nutshell.
Review: Every time I come across yet another great review of American Psycho I read it and relate to it so well. When I come across a poor review of Ellis' work I cannot help but feel sad for those who failed to grasp what a masterpeice this book truely was. Sometimes I laugh, as I did while reading American Psycho, at the utter ignorance and lack of depth peole are capable of. Every page of this book was valuable. What is so riveting to me is that Patrick Bateman is not the psychotic one at all. The masses are the psychotic ones for failing to see the sheer horror taking place all around them. They turned their heads, just as so many readers have from this book because they feel it is too graphic. Life is graphic. Open your eyes. To try and say that this book is a cheap, sleazy, slasher read without an intelligent, if not genius author is a crime.
Rating: 
Summary: American Psycho: An American Nightmare
Review: American Psycho could be considered the worst book I have ever read. I'm not sure if it was the graphically detailed, gory murder scenes, or the explicitly described sex that turned me off so completely to this book. All I know is that it literally pained me to turn a page and read on. The story was about a man, Patrick Bateman, who was a stock broker by day and a psychotic serial killer by night. It was unbelievable to me that a book about murders could be boring, but since Bret Easton Ellis, the author, cluttered it with so many designer names and unimportant information, I lost myself in Ralph and Giorgio, instead of in the brilliantly described murder scenes. But then again I really don't think I would have wanted to lose myself in these murder scenes, because of the brilliant description. This goes for the graphic sex scenes too. They were described so vividly and the content was so intense that I was utterly disgusted to keep reading these scenes. Each scene seemed to become like the previous ones I'd read and lost their relevance due to their sameness. Patrick had sex with women he had rented for a night, and then he brutally tortured, and eventually murdered them. As this was continuous throughout the book, it became very monotonous. It rarely changed at all, and reading the same thing page after page made the story mundane and drawn out at times, as if words were just added onto sentences to add length to the book. Recommending this book to someone would be like sentencing that person to days of torture. I understand that Ellis was trying to portray through Bateman, a person who to the outside world appeared normal, but deep within himself had this uncontrollable, abnormal urge to kill. I just feel that Ellis could have gotten the point across to the audience that anyone around us could be an "American Psycho" without the extensive use of graphic gore and sexual content.
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Summary: Mommy, can I be like Mr. Bateman when I grow up ?
Review: Loved It ! Absolutly Loved It ! This book is neither exploitation, nor dribble (as you might have read) ! This book involves Pactrick Bateman, an eighties tycoon who enjoys self-health, money, good food, and.....MURDER ! Beautifully written by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho is a critical piece of fine liturature for anyone who enjoyed "Trash Trio", "Fight Club", or "A Clockwork Orange" ! This horror/thriller/drama/and dark comedy is a must read for anyone who is open-minded and looking for something different . Remember......THIS IS NOT AN EXIT ! -Chaos
Rating: 
Summary: Horrography
Review: This is the first Bret Easton Ellis book I have ever read and it was shocking. Whether this book was meant to be a commentary on Eighties-lifestyle or a satirical look at American living, I missed the message. At times I felt as though I was reading the diary of a mass-murdering, clothing critique. Pat Bateman is a young, wealthy Wall Street businessman who has a top of the line education and too much free time. He is a consummate perfectionist with a twisted sense of humor and a condescending opinion of everyone he meets. Pat's life revolves around his body, getting into top New York City restaurants, and killing people. He is about as interested in women as the Patty Winters show in that he finds them absurd and existing merely for his amusement, unless he is killing them of course. Aforementioned a diary is the best way for me to describe this book. The book is written in first person so the reader gets a candid insight into Pat Bateman's thoughts and perceptions. Bateman spends much of his time meandering in frivolous detail over clothes, music, and restaurants but will then suddenly murder someone in heinous fashion before returning to more thoughts of frivolous detail. This process keeps the reader charmed and disgusted simultaneously and is also the reason why a character like Bateman can be endured for the length of the novel. There also seems to be no motive that links the murders except for a possible feeling of little control. Pat is constantly referred to as the wrong person, denied the finest dinning, and is envious of people who have landed larger accounts. He steals Evelyn from her own party, becomes timid around his female Harvard acquaintance (who he would rather kill than marry) and can only find respect for Price, a person who feels society is a better place due to his existence. Towards the end of this book I wanted to stop. Bret Easton Ellis so vividly describes each murder scene that the book began to wear on me. There are certain boundaries that should not be crossed, and this book surpassed them for me. Nevertheless, this book makes for great conversation. My favorite theory is that Bateman had imagined everything. I highly recommend American Psycho as it was recommended to me.
Rating:
Summary: A horriffic, satirical look at life in the 80's
Review: Bret Easton Ellis has, in my opinion, created a masterpiece. He has combined elements of suspense, horror, and satire in the epic page-turner American Psycho. The book details the life of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, young, handsome Wall St. yuppie who spends his days making a killing on the market and his nights making a killing of prostitutes, homeless people and co-workers. Backdropped against the impersonal Wall St. culture of the nineteen eighties, we see from the opening chapter how superficial and self-centered the characters are. In chapter one, we see one of Bateman's associates ranting endlessly in the back seat of a cab about New York's homeless problem, and how "buffed out" his stomach has gotten since he started using steroids. Bateman, rather than listening, is contemplating his wardrobe and his feelings about his fiancé's affair with his ranting friend beside him. He reaches the conclusion that if anything he is flattered, this friend of his is the only interesting person he knows. This distant, surreal tone is maintained throughout the novel. One aspect of the novel that can easily be overlooked due to the horrendous nature of Bateman's crimes, is the satirical element of the story. Ellis is in essence making a social commentary about the yuppie culture of the eighties. Everyone of the Wall St. yuppies that we see are strikingly similar in appearance, habits, and mannerisms. They are so similar that mistaken identities occur frequently, because they can't really tell each other apart (this makes for some humorous moments). Bateman knows this, and he wants to be unique, he wants to find out who he is behind his corporate mask. This constant search for identity slowly turns the wheels of insanity in our anti-hero's head and starts killing sprees he goes on to be different. If you keep this in mind during the reading, you will have a better understanding of the work and, I think, a deeper appreciation.
Rating:
Summary: Returning videos
Review: Ellis has written one of the funniest, most disturbing books in history. A book which has a darker sense of humor than most will make you laugh out loud if you appreciate the darker sensesof humor. This is either balanced or induced by the graphic violence that pervades the novel. With violence which is more graphic than any Stephen King novel, and humor far deeper than most this book mocks and comments on modern society through the 1980s. Society still reflects the materialistic, obsessive, and fantastical nature of the book. How many people do you know who still try to outdo each other with higher line clothings and objects. The movie is also about how meaningless and empty the world is. It reflects this with several essays (about 4-8 pages each) about some sort of popular '80s band. Read this for everything it has in it. And, don't miss out on the meaning of any of the words.
Rating:
Summary: wonder how "her head would look like on a stick."
Review: American Psycho is the best black humor book i have ever read. Of course, if i failed to mention about the gory details, the right atmosphere is not set while the reader is reading this book. The sudden shifts of paradigm from an average successful businessman to a psychotic killer is eerie and gut-wrenching. This book has no plot to it. But, that in itself should not be the basis for judging it's entertainment factor! This book is a "beautiful" satire criticizing the whole yuppie lifestyle in New York's Manhatten during the "Manhatten Era" in the 80's. Its about a guy - Patrick Bateman who knows he is good-looking and is 'well-tanned' living in New York. He thinks that all the girls like him because he's got the looks, green bucks, and the styles. But, the quirky part is, he's into serial killers and he quotes one of them while he was talking ot his friends about the usual stuff - 'women.' He 'jokes' about one serial killer, wisonsin in the fifties - Ed Gein, "He said, '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 nice and sweet and treat her right...the other part wonders what her head would look like on a stick." According to the blurb, it's all a part of his "American Dream" which is unrevealed as yet which is for me to know and for u to find out~!!
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