Rating: 
Summary: American Psycho
Review: This novel intersperses a monotonous riff on the shallowness of New York brokerage house yuppies with pornographic violence. I got sucked into it by glowing reviews from the literary glitterati. Don't read it. It is tedious and will ultimately leave you feeling like some kind of a sadistic voyeur.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant, funny, and largely morally reprehensible
Review: I have a tough time coming to grips with how I feel about "American Psycho". On the one hand, it is a compulsively readable, and downright hilarious statement about the '80's and yuppie greed. On the other, it is a disgusting, disturbing, misogynistic, blow-by-blow slaughter-fest worthy of the Marquis de Sade. In the end, I think I liked it, but I certainly had to steel myself through some particularly graphic sequences in order to appreciate the book as a whole. I knew this would be the case going in, so I wasn't surprised.Bret Easton Ellis is a shockingly good writer. I like the pace of this novel. He builds the Patrick Bateman character and the world around him so perfectly and then slowly unravels him before your eyes. The first 100 pages of the book are actually gore-free, and are really quite funny. But only with the juxtaposition of his work persona with his night persona do you understand how far-gone Bateman really is. And maybe even feel a little bad for him. Maybe. In the end, I'm not sure what happened in this book and what didn't. I'm not sure that I'm supposed to, and I don't know how to feel about that. I did see the movie before reading the book (Christian Bale is superb) and it does tie things up a little more neatly. And I know a lot of people who found the movie confusing! I reservedly give this book four stars. It's awfully close to three. Really, my biggest concern with it is the exceedingly graphic violence. The last thing this world needs is some dolt who doesn't understand satire and uses this as a blueprint (which I am told happened in Canada...) If you're into the gross-out, I suggest the beautifully written "Exquisite Corpse" by Poppy Z. Brite. Word is that she wrote it to one-up "American Psycho". Decide for yourself if she did, because I'm not sure if I could read either again.
Rating:
Summary: Ellis's most accomplished novel
Review: If you can make it past the egotistical, self-centered characters whose own indulgence is made an art form, you should be able to get the biting humor and mockery of Bret Easton Ellis's "American Psycho." Patrick Bateman is a young Wall Street broker who spends his days making dinner reservations at trendy restaurants, comparing business cards, and slaughtering people in his apartment once the sun goes down. You see, Patrick is also a serial killer, a hollow, emotionless leech who's so consumed and comforted by his material possessions that all he can feel for the human race is disgust and hate. Ellis's novel is plotless (no big surprise); there's no real storyline, just a series of excerpts from Bateman's day-to-day life. The first hundred pages or so are a hilarious indictment of shallow yuppies consumed with greed--Ellis shows off a true flair for simple, repetitious, but witty dialogue. But the second half up until the last act of "American Psycho" contains some of the most graphic passages ever printed, with the grisly details of the torture inflicted on Bateman's victims. To understand these scenes you need a grasp of the character's psychology, which might be difficult for some. In the last act, reality folds in on itself as Bateman's sanity drifts away, but I get the feeling Ellis had no real idea how to end the novel in a realistic way. This is Ellis's strongest, most satirical work. Like I said before, if you can look past the annoying characters and LAUGH at them, you should find this an intense yet very funny read.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Worst
Review: Probably one of the worst books I have ever read. The author goes into agonizing details about every characters' wardrobe every time a character is introduced! The book is so dated that I struggled with remembering the details of the early eighties. I actually threw this book out in an airport because I did not want anyone to have to go through the pain I did.
Rating:
Summary: Is that Patrick Bateman over there?
Review: This novel is a frightening look into the mind of one Patrick Bateman. I am not impressed with many books these days but was impressed with the subtle quirks in this one. The descriptions of product lines, cds, etc in this book only serves to heighten the insight into the character/thoughts of a psychopathic killer. During several of the rather gruesome scenes presented through the eyes of the killer I had to put the book down for a while and come back to it. This is not a book for those with a soft stomach. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys irony and has the ability to pick out subtle hints(while being able to get over the graphic descriptions in this book). The social dramas of the characters is very amusing to say the least. I would say that this book sticks with the reader for some time after reading it and you may even find yourself looking for a new suit or a cd and think back to this book, I know I did when looking a Huey Lewis and The News album the other day...
Rating: 
Summary: absolutely killer!
Review: i saw "american psycho" in the movie theater and shortly after the movie was over i had to have this book. it didn't disappoint! i highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Exhausting
Review: This masterful plot was lost on me with the exhausting descriptions of every tedious detail of Bret's characters - from what they're wearing to what kind of watch they have on. I found myself wanting to skip passages, which makes it difficult to enjoy the story. It's possible for a reader to understand what kind of people you're conveying without stealing from their imagination. Hugo could've benefitted from that lesson also. Still, not a bad book.
Rating:
Summary: The little things
Review: Ellis spends a ridiculous amount of time describing each character, what they're wearing, etc. I realize how this can be deemed as necessary, but I found it annoyingly unnecessary. It was a tremendous distraction.
Rating:
Summary: Good appetite suppresant
Review: This novel terrified me. I knew it would be violent but I had no idea that anyone could even think up such disgusting things. I couldn't read through much of the violent parts. I think you would have to have a vagina to understand that even reading about such things is horrifying for women. The book gave me nightmares for weeks. I appreciated the black humor and even laughed out loud at some parts. I bought the book as I had seen the film and it was excellent. A prime example of how wealth is allowed perversion and excess, even today. Unfortunately I will burn the book as I would not want anyone to read it, psychos will get off on it and decent people would want no part of it. I don't think that the author had to go into such detail about the violence, it numbs people into thinking that the violence that exists is not all that bad. I wonder about someone who can think such repulsive things-and now I've given him 15.00 (I bought it at B&N)
Rating:
Summary: Bateman is Killer
Review: A brilliant and scathing attack on the excesses of the eighties and the continuing desensitizing of a generation, American Psycho is perhaps the most misunderstood and ignorantly attacked books of the past fifty years. Not since Burroughs "Naked Lunch" has a book caused so much needless and vapid controversy. When read literally and taken at surface level, American Psycho may seem like just a brutally violent serial killer novel, but it is so much more. Patrick Bateman is a sick twisted Everyman, a dark mirror image of the greed and consumerism that infests Americans and eats us up. To Bateman, EVERYTHING is a product to be consumed, a hill to conquer, a challenge to be overcome and discarded. Whether reviewing the new Huey Lewis CD or hacking someone to death, it's all the same to Bateman. A scary novel, but not just because of the violence and gore involved. The real scares come with the realization that Patrick's sick, twisted exsistence so closely resembles our own.
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