You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
"There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me, except for greed and, possibly, total disgust. I had all the characteristics of a human being - flesh, blood, skin, hair - but my depersonalization was so intense, had gone so deep, that the normal ability to feel compassion had been eradicated, the victim of a slow, purposeful erasure."
By now, American Psycho is one of the most revered of classic horror novels, and its reputation in the scene is for good reason, not only is this fantastic book absolutely worthy of the heavy praise it receives, it's still, hands down, one of the most disturbing, most freakishly messed up, disgusting and distressing pieces of literature out there. Sure, you might just read this book and think "what's so disturbing about this? There are extreme horror novels far gorier, far more violent" And, you'd be right, but the true horror of American Psycho lies in how mundane the whole thing is, how pedestrian the violence becomes, the repetitious nature of the novel makes it all feel so detached, there's a constant sameness that that paints these murder sprees as if they're just a part of the norm.
It's suffocating, and intense. There are scenes strewn throughout this novel that will certainly challenge the perception that there are uglier, gnarlier books out there, there are scenes so horrific, so vicious, that even seasoned horror authors balk at them. To truly enjoy American Psycho, you have to really love spending your time in the head of deplorable, despicable people. Because, this isn't a novel where the characters are here to be enjoyed, they're all vapid, horrendous people with hellishly awful views, yet, somehow Ellis makes it so satisfying to be submerged into their world. While not my favorite Ellis novel, it's certainly a masterpiece, one that's so darkly comedic and so horrible to experience. Here, Ellis writes with an authenticity that's almost unrivalled in horror literature.
By now, American Psycho is one of the most revered of classic horror novels, and its reputation in the scene is for good reason, not only is this fantastic book absolutely worthy of the heavy praise it receives, it's still, hands down, one of the most disturbing, most freakishly messed up, disgusting and distressing pieces of literature out there. Sure, you might just read this book and think "what's so disturbing about this? There are extreme horror novels far gorier, far more violent" And, you'd be right, but the true horror of American Psycho lies in how mundane the whole thing is, how pedestrian the violence becomes, the repetitious nature of the novel makes it all feel so detached, there's a constant sameness that that paints these murder sprees as if they're just a part of the norm.
It's suffocating, and intense. There are scenes strewn throughout this novel that will certainly challenge the perception that there are uglier, gnarlier books out there, there are scenes so horrific, so vicious, that even seasoned horror authors balk at them. To truly enjoy American Psycho, you have to really love spending your time in the head of deplorable, despicable people. Because, this isn't a novel where the characters are here to be enjoyed, they're all vapid, horrendous people with hellishly awful views, yet, somehow Ellis makes it so satisfying to be submerged into their world. While not my favorite Ellis novel, it's certainly a masterpiece, one that's so darkly comedic and so horrible to experience. Here, Ellis writes with an authenticity that's almost unrivalled in horror literature.
"The bum's not listening. He's crying so hard he's incapable of a coherent answer. I put the bill slowly back into the pocket of my Luciano Soprani jacket and with the other hand stop petting the dog and reach into the other pocket. The bum stops sobbing abruptly and sits up, looking for the fiver, or, I presume, his bottle of Thunderbird. I reach out and touch his face gently once more. "Do you know what a fucking loser you are?" He starts nodding helplessly and I pull out a long, thin knife with a serrated edge, and being very careful not to kill him, push maybe half an inch of the blade into his right eye."
When American Psycho released, it did so to widespread backlash, and to this day it still gets criticism of being a misogynistic novel. Upon having read it, these claims are surface level readings at best, complete misunderstandings at worst. Yes, this book is about a serial killer who kills lots of women, but, Bateman doesn't discriminate with his victims, men, children and animals get the chop, too. Yes, this is a novel about a man who murders a lot of women and also holds abhorrent views of women, but, it's more than that. It's a scathing critique of aesthetic culture, it's an angry, blistering dive into abuse and cruelty at the hands of the elite. It's satirical, and of course, the point of satire is to overemphasize, to revel in absurdity.
American Psycho is an extremely well written piece of social commentary, one that absolutely will challenge your comfort levels.
"I come to the conclusion that Patricia is safe tonight, that I am not going to unexpectedly pull a knife out and use it on her just for the sake of doing so, that I am not going to get any pleasure watching her bleed from slits I've made by cutting her throat or slicing her neck open or gouging her eyes out. She's lucky, even though there is no real reasoning behind the luck. It could be that she's safe because her wealth, her family's wealth, protects her tonight, or it could be that it's simply my choice. Maybe the glass of Scharffenberger has deadened my impulse or maybe its simply that I don't want to ruin this particular Alexander Julian suit by having the bitch spray her blood all over it."
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The book felt like it was primarily descriptions of outfits describing brands I don’t know and woman’s bodies. I understand the point of it, but I found it really hard to follow
Patrick Bateman reminds me of Elon Musk because although he is a wealthy straight white man he’s also deeply insecure and that shines through in every thought and interaction that he has in this book and I absolutely loved to hate him.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
what the hell
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hoo boy. This was the most graphic, morbid, sadistic, violent, and depraved book I have ever read and will hopefully ever read.
Think of the most violent horror movie you've ever seen and multiply it by a factor of 5-10. I do remember the movie being disturbing, but the book takes the violence to a much further level.
There's a lot of cleverness in the writing but Ellis doesn't seem to know when to stop or how to end the book. Bateman's life is a shallow, consumer-driven world where he feels empty and completely lacks empathy and so he resorts to ever more violent deeds in order to fulfill his fantasies.
This cycle of living a hollow, emotion-less life, and then following it up by an increasing sequence of depraved acts, repeats several times in the book to the point where it starts to get boring. It's like yeah yeah I get it, these people are bored and unhappy despite all the wealth and status and luxury they've obtained. Money doesn't buy you happiness. Shocker. Can we move on now?
Anyway, I gotta go return some video tapes.
Think of the most violent horror movie you've ever seen and multiply it by a factor of 5-10. I do remember the movie being disturbing, but the book takes the violence to a much further level.
There's a lot of cleverness in the writing but Ellis doesn't seem to know when to stop or how to end the book. Bateman's life is a shallow, consumer-driven world where he feels empty and completely lacks empathy and so he resorts to ever more violent deeds in order to fulfill his fantasies.
This cycle of living a hollow, emotion-less life, and then following it up by an increasing sequence of depraved acts, repeats several times in the book to the point where it starts to get boring. It's like yeah yeah I get it, these people are bored and unhappy despite all the wealth and status and luxury they've obtained. Money doesn't buy you happiness. Shocker. Can we move on now?
Anyway, I gotta go return some video tapes.
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes