A review by amawomps
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

5.0

This might be one of the best books I've ever read. I'm almost tempted to question the author's own past when evaluating his writing and how disturbingly vivid Bateman's murders and rapes are. I think part of the enjoyment of reading things like this is that you get a view into the mind of what a true psychopath acts like; not the stereotypes from asylums we've come to associate with the word itself. The fact that so many questions are left unanswered is haunting, like how he ever was ever able to get out of that chase. It's interesting because just as people can block things out of their traumatic memories, it's not usually expressed in literature, which is why "American Psycho" is so brilliant because it's told as if it's really just in his mind, where important things are forgotten and simultaneously meaningless things like his extensive, chapter-long reviews of pop culture take first priority. Reading this as a woman is especially interesting as well because where I saw the meaning, emotion, and love behind a woman's encounter with Batemen, all he was seeing was how he was going to kill her; this part really shook me, especially putting myself in these otherwise unquestionable everyday situations. It really makes you double think about who you're getting involved with, even if they seem picture perfect.