American Psycho

Rating:
Summary: An Important Novel, But The Gore Is A Bit Gratuitous . . .
Review: To put it as succintly as possible, American Psycho is an interesting and revealing "auto-biography" told by eligible bachelor and stock broker Patrick Bateman, who exposes life among the upper crust in New York via a dozen or so chapter-satires with pithy short titles. I read this novel after seeing an article on Ellis in Vanity Fair in the mid-Nineties (I believe it was the issue with Jodie Foster on the cover, around the time the movie Maverick came out.)

There's a lot to like here, but the gore is superfluous and a little too grisly. Ellis could've easily made his point here without it. Instead, in the end we take his message a little less seriously.

The various female characters--Bateman's affluent, outspoken Ivy-League girlfriends--are particularly alluring, querky and hip.

Rating:
Summary: Why?
Review: Sure it's skillfully written and fairly witty, but like the film "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", you find yourself asking, "Why would anyone want to involve themselves with a project so concerned with debasement and inflicting pain?" No narrative arc to speak of, so this psycho never learns anything, and neither does the reader. A mere wallowing in scenes where the narrator takes extreme joy in knifing a toddler at the zoo, or torturing girls with coat hangers. Like too much of the mass media clogging our minds in the 1990s, this book serves no purpose.

Rating:
Summary: TOO MUCH FASHION, NOT ENOUGH KILLING
Review: I expected to read lots of scenes of torture and murder. Half the book is a list of clothing stores and foodplaces for meaningless, worthless yuppies. There is only a little violence peppered throughout the pages. Where's the beef?

Rating:
Summary: AMERICAN BORED--OH!
Review: Here's my impression of what someone reading American Psycho might think as s/he's reading it--Hmm, I'm picking this up out of curiousity 'cuz I wonder what all the hoopla is about, lah da dee. Oh, that's interesting. La dee dee, lah dee dah, I hope this is going somewhere, lah da dee, lah dah dahhhh. Uh-oh, five chapters in and nothing. So far it's: Bateman. Yuppie scum. 80's materialism. Likes Genesis. Oh, by the way, kills people. Starts off with get together, continues with stuff happening, lah dah deeee. Then another thing happens, then no plot, no plot, no plot, endless brand name mentions, no plot, some sex, no plot, no plot, cartoonish violence so stupid only a 12 year old hooked on old karate flicks could have dreamed them up, more stuff happening, lah dah dee, no plot, no plot, then--what? something interesting? oh, no, my mistake, false alarm!--then something happens again, no plot, interchangeable characters, no plot, stuff happens again, no plot, more gratuitous violence, THEN, there's something interesting seeming to happen, but--whoops!wrong again--then more no plot, then it ends with: no plot, no resolution, no point and a complete waste of time and money, THE END.

Rating:
Summary: Be very brave...
Review: (I think I should make it really clear that I have never recommended this book to a friend -- it is not for the weak of heart. It is violent, sexist, graphic, full of bloody sex and torture, etc. I think that if you are a sort of dark-humored person who isn't too awfully queasy, and you really like detail, you will enjoy this book, no matter what your political or social views are. Just remember, it is a satire. Of course, I would never say this at my N.O.W. meetings. Loving this book is my deep dark secret.)

This book is a strange piece of work. It's strength is, as with much of Ellis's writing, in the details. It is the description that makes it fabulously funny -- esp. adore the Whitney Houston discography -- and it's also the description that makes it really really scary. So, all things said and done, it's great. It accomplishes the satrire and grotesqueries of the 1980's.

However, no matter how interesting you find this book which combines the history of Huey Lewis and the News with a brutal murder of several prostitutes, I was at first hard pressed to find the deeper point.

I mean, everyone knows that the 80's were full of materialistic greed. This is no big revelation. So, even though the end of the book is thoroughly satisfying in its own way, you sort of wonder what the heck was that all about...

But I have concluded that it is a wonderful character study and portrays a powerful image of psychosis. And it definitely has some allegorical interpretive possibilities. Just stick with it and keep thinking.

Note, while reading, the interesting breakdown of the first person narrative. Good fodder for book reading clubs.

Rating:
Summary: Did it all really happen?
Review: After reading the book, being generally freaked out by the horror and gore, all I kept wondering is: "Did it all really happen, or was it all Bateman's sick fantasy?" I've seen other reviews with similar thoughts. I loved the way the book made fun of the '80's shallowness. I was there in the middle of it all and had to laugh (even at myself sometimes). All said, the book was alright. Deeper in plot than some people seem to be giving it credit for, but not as deep or as important as others are giving it. NOT for the timid, that's for sure.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent !
Review: The book was actually a few times recommended before I read it. I was amazed! I have never read a book that was so bounding in its writing and telling! Although there were a few bits where I almost threw it in the next corner because it was simply disgusting. I reckon it describes human phantasy and the real dark side of the human mind in a brilliant way! I am not sure whether to recommend it to everyone as it is "slightly" violent! ( E.g. the stabbing of a beggar or the rat or any other bit! ) It is written in such a cold and freezing sort of way that really makes you adore the way he writes as apparently nothing can come any closer to the main character. Anyway, I really did like it 'though I sometimes thought I have enough od this and was about to chuck it out. But I never did.

Regards and I hope that anyone who read or will read it does not think it is just another book about the "normal ' American Psycho' ".

Rating:
Summary: Murder and the mundane
Review: The book focusses first on the tiresome details of the protagonist's life in order to show how such people could exist invisibly in the world today. In retrospect you realise that his obsession with hygeine products and clothes is an aspect of his psychopathy. These products are things that, to a greater or lesser degree, a great deal of privileged Americans are obsessed with. Whilst there is something medically wrong with Bateman, he can be read as a metaphor for man's screaming protest against the stifling routine and morality of the work-a-day life. I liked the book because it was it disgusted and intrigued the reader. There is room for both in a novel and, whilst it is obviously a graphic book, it was also written with the less-is-more in mind, because we never really find out what's up with Bateman or his abused mother, his crazy father and brother, his cousin - many murders are ommitted and there are vague emotional moments when Bateman stares at the owl or when he is upset by random things. We also never really learn in any detail about his shoe fetish! Creepy.

Rating:
Summary: Concering the reveiw before mine...
Review: Concering the reveiw before mine, Mr. Ellis describes people clothing in such detail because all thoughout the book, he describes everything else in such detail. I think he does this just to stay with the feel of the book. Also, he is showing that Pat Bateman doesn't really care about much, he is very observant, and is on the trail to living a very psychopathic life that is getting worse throughout the book and with everyone he kills. He kills without remorse, and tells every detail about it. I found the details very helpful in getting a clear mental picture of what was going on. Thank you for reading this, please email me at [e-mail] if you have a response.

Morpheus

Rating:
Summary: I'm wearing an Armani suit with a Versaci tie...my belt is a
Review: The book is mentally inticing...the problem is that 150 of it's 399 pages are pure description. I understand that it is imperative to the story to identify the characters with a materialistic worth. However, Easton Ellis takes the premise to far. It would be a far better novel if he concentrated on the story, rather then the clothes on their backs. I found myself wanting to skip the desciption and read of the graphic tale of the "psycho". This book is well worth the read...if you can live through the fashion advertisments.