Rating: Summary: V FUNNY Review: I bought this book after watching the movie, of which the ending left me a little confused.However I wanted to know more as the movie pointed toward the fact that Mr. Bateman had been dreaming all the time -also most of the violence was not dipicted, (directed by a woman what do you expect?)- Anyway to the point now, the book does not dissapoint, if i were to describe it in one word it would be "Hilarious" a true peice of genius. One pointer though laugh out loud in a public place you will get some funny looks.
Rating: Summary: The ugliness of society mirrored in a psychopath Review: This novel has had a lot of controversy since its release in 1991; it has appalled many readers, but I think that many people have failed to see the symbolism in this book. Patrick Bateman (otherwise known as the "Anti-hero") is a handsome, rich, well-educated, and intelligent man. He works on Wall Street and has many friends, all of whom are very similar to Bateman: shallow, empty and cruel. He is often referred to as "the boy next door," a very misguided description, by the way. He tortures and murders women, animals (particularly dogs), homeless people and homosexuals -- he describes the scenes in gruesome detail. Also, Bateman, like his friends, is racist. Patrick is so empty and deluded that designer brands and fancy fonts on a business card are essentially important in his life. The ugliness of society is mirrored in Bateman's character. He represents everything that is wrong with the world today. Yes, the story emphasizes life in the Eighties, but the ugliness in those times still exists. Read this book with an open mind; it's the only way you'll fully appreciate it.
Rating: Summary: Theres a Little in All of Us Review: The extraordinary part of reading this book is how it brings to light the fact that nothing is ever what it may seem. Patrick Bateman does things that many of us would probably like to do to those who are frustrating to us. Well, Bateman does take it a little further than I would...but the fact is he has a plan and executes it in both public and private. Now believe me, some parts of this book are gruesome enough to make the average person physically ill. However there are parts of this book that can make the average person sit up and cheer at the fact there is someone who will not be pinned down to the American standard. I believe there is a little American Psycho in all of us.
Rating: Summary: Fascinating book Review: Unlike most of the reviewers whose reviews I read here, I neither loved nor loathed "American Psycho." I was unwillingly drawn to it, returning to it again and again after putting it down in disgust, until finally I'd worked my way all the way through it. I found it fascinating, like cancer or the prospect of nuclear war. I hated every character in the book, or despised them, and yet I felt myself drawn deeper and deeper into a truly twisted mind. I can't tell whether Ellis is playing a game with us here...is Patrick really doing these things, or is he imagining them as real in his madness? Are people around him so numbed by the 80s culture that they can't hear him when he tells them what he's doing? Would his laundromat and maid really stay silent about the buckets of blood? Is his victim Owen really alive and living in London? These are questions never really answered, and probably not important in the grander scheme of the book...the point of the book, to me, is that in a world gone completely inane, the only real thing to hold on to is pain and madness. Patrick is the most dynamic, and in many instances sympathetic, character in the book. And that is what makes the "American Psycho" so disturbing. Not the violence (though it is extreme and disgusting), not the madness. It's the inanity and complete meaninglessness of Bateman's world, and my understanding of his reaction to it, that make me draw back, shuddering, wishing that I was not impelled by my curiosity to read on.
Rating: Summary: Way way way way over the top Review: Let me say first that I'm not someone that usually says something is too over the top. I'm a huge 1st amendment supporter and think that everyone has the right to express any opinion they wish. That being said, this book was horrible. I got the point, trust me I did. Rich man, empty soul, worried about designer clothes and fancy resturants and all that. blah, blah, blah. However, this simple message can't fill 400 pages, and it shows. Do I need ten pages about him torturing and murdering an innocent girl? NOT AT ALL. Not that I am saying it shouldn't be printed, but this stuff is just so repetitive I often wondered why I just didn't stop reading the book. I was really wanting to see karma get this guy I guess. One more thing, this book should have some kind or warning on it, because while I support free speech more than anyone I know, this book should not be in the hands of children. I'm 23 and not sure if I should've read it.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful at first, but you begin to loose interest... Review: this book started off splendidly and it was one of the greatest books I had ever read, but then , it just gets really repetitive and boring...if this book was maybe 100 pages shorter it would be great, but it is too long for a book with no plot and interest is eventually lost...
Rating: Summary: Brutually Honest Review: Ok, ok, ok! We get it Mr. Ellis. The 1980's was a cold, self-centered, and moral-less age of greed and shallowness. But my gosh, do you have to pound us over the head repeatedly with this moral? Your Patrick Bateman is a nightmare conglomorate of everything evil about the 80's. But how are we supposed to be entertained by these monotone passages of extreme violence and anal retentive detail to clothing? There are some great moments in this book but they are a few and far between. Perhaps this is one case where the film version might be better than the novel it came from. I really liked the great characters and the journal like format of your previous books ("The Rules of Attraction" and "Less Than Zero") but this one was a bit of a chore to read.
Rating: Summary: A Really Good Book ! Review: American Psycho is violent, disgusting and excellent. It transports you tho the 1980s New York, Patrick Bateman is a Wall Street yuppie who lives separate lives, in one he's sweet and charming and looked at as the boy next door, in the other he is a murdorous psychopath. everything in the novel you see through Patricks eyes, which makes this a facinating read. This book is deafinatly not for the faint reader, I had to put it quit a number of times because I thought I would be fisically sick. But I do recomend it. The movie was really good too.
Rating: Summary: Worth reading Review: This novel was great ! I put off buying it for sometime because of the reviews here... While I am more shocked by Bateman's behavior toward others than I am by the gore in this book, I don't find the book very disturbing. It's well written and interesting to read. I wouldn't recommend reading this book if your going through a difficult period in your life, but it's worth a read. Besides, isn't there a little Pat Bateman in all of us ?
Rating: Summary: Caused me to lie awake at night Review: Well...I'm not sure if I'm glad I read this "classic" or not, but it IS good for sparking some riveting debates. Is Patrick Bateman psychotic? A loser who happens to be a compulsive liar (and an extremely convincing daydreamer)? Or is he a bit of both? The torture scenes are horrifying to read (though I kept on reading, every time), but most horrific is the shallow, empty society that Ellis portrays. Was this really what Manhattan in the 1980s was like? You hate to imagine it, but the worst part is, it's not all that difficult TO imagine. At least Patrick was honest about his depravity, which is more than I can say for the other characters in the book. God help us all.
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