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miketilford 's review for:
American Psycho
by Bret Easton Ellis
dark
tense
slow-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
American Psycho is one of the most tedious books that I have read in a long time. I understand that the tedium has a point, but it was just so much. Things don't really start to pick up until about halfway through and don't really get going until the last quarter or so.
**WARNING** The descriptions of sex and murder are extremely graphic. This book is likely the most graphic thing I have ever read. Many people would likely be disgusted / turned off by this, so be forewarned.
The novel is extremely graphic with both violence and sex. However, that's not what turns me off about it. It's just boring. The novel itself is around 400 pages, and I shit you not, about 100 of those pages are used to name and describe items of clothing and their corresponding designers. Yes, this is used to show how materialistic Bateman is, but holy hell, enough is enough.
Patrick Bateman, the first person narrator, is a psychopath, narcissist, mysogynist, and altogether unlikable guy. The only thing he values in life are wealth and material possessions. His outlook on the world can be summed as such:
**WARNING** The descriptions of sex and murder are extremely graphic. This book is likely the most graphic thing I have ever read. Many people would likely be disgusted / turned off by this, so be forewarned.
The novel is extremely graphic with both violence and sex. However, that's not what turns me off about it. It's just boring. The novel itself is around 400 pages, and I shit you not, about 100 of those pages are used to name and describe items of clothing and their corresponding designers. Yes, this is used to show how materialistic Bateman is, but holy hell, enough is enough.
Patrick Bateman, the first person narrator, is a psychopath, narcissist, mysogynist, and altogether unlikable guy. The only thing he values in life are wealth and material possessions. His outlook on the world can be summed as such:
Since it’s impossible in the world we live in to empathize with others, we can always empathize with ourselves.
The novel is a commentary on the Yuppie lifestyle of the 1980s. Everyone in that culture is a self centered, materialistic asshole. Everyone is also interchangeable. It's a running theme (joke?) throughout the story that nobody can tell anyone else apart. Everyone is so obsessed with what's hot and in, that they all wear the same clothes, they all have the same haircut, they all go to the same restaurants and clubs, they all drink and do drugs constantly. This also reinforces the narcissism, as everyone is so obsessed with themselves, that they don't actually pay attention to anyone else.
There also isn't much in the way of a plot. One could say that the story is of Bateman's descent into madness, but he is already a sociopath from the get-go, so that doesn't really work. The ending is possibly the only saving grace of this novel, but it's also too little too late at that point.
American Psycho is not a book that most people will enjoy, and for me it was just so so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Murder