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geofrog 's review for:
American Psycho
by Bret Easton Ellis
“Is evil something you are? Or is it something you do?“
I’m a huge fan of Bret Easton Ellis and his writing style, and I’ve already seen the movie adaptation of this novel, so I wanted to read the book. The first chapter really sets the tone of this story. Set in Manhattan during the Wall Street boom of the late 1980s, American Psycho follows the life of wealthy young investment banker Patrick Bateman. The novel maintains a high level of ambiguity through mistaken identity and contradictions that introduce the possibility that Bateman is an unreliable narrator. The author does a good job at introducing the characters and defining their personalities and setting over a single dinner scene. Hearing Patrick Bateman’s routines alone made me understand that he was a psychopath. His internal monologues and dialogue with his colleagues is enough for anyone to identify that he’s insane. The incessant and relentless descriptions of brands and what everybody is wearing is enough to establish the kind of shallow and dark world that these characters inhabit. The language that Patrick Bateman uses to describe the people around him shocked me and made it a chore to get through, but it fit the character and served the story well. This entire book is a commentary on consumerism in our society and how Bateman and people like him obsess over things; how they only see people through the lens of what they have and how they dress, looking at women as nothing more than objects to use and abuse. I read The Rules of Attraction before this, so seeing Patrick’s brother Sean Bateman appear on this book was a small treat, and I love how Bret’s books all exist in the same universe. The violence and gore is filthy and there were many scenes I found myself disgusted by, and I think those scenes were done effectively. Patrick does not have a typical modus operandi, he simply tortures and kills men, women, and animals (and a child) whenever he sees fit and finds new and inventive ways to cause pain to others. I loved seeing how none of this brought him closer to happiness or fulfilment, and how his lifestyle was monotonous no matter how glamorous or luxurious it was. Patrick Bateman’s character has been idolized by many men online and is looked at like an idol for self-titled “alpha males”, but it’s clear that none of these people have read and truly understood this book and its themes on consumerism and capitalism. This was a sharp and brilliant satire, and the parts that meandered only served the greater narrative and themes; even the portions of this story that went in circles fit into this hyper consumeristic hellscape perfectly. Patrick’s world is a hell unto itself. He works and socializes with men who are so boringly identical that they can’t tell each other apart. He tortures and kills his victims but it only serves as a temporary reprieve from pure boredom. His glamorous life is only set dressing and serves to hide his own immense emptiness. While some could argue that all the murders were a product of Bateman’s imagination, I don’t think it matters. The reader could look at it either way and it would still be a look into a very sick mind. He has everything a man could want and yet it is still not enough. No amount of money or luxury or profound acts of violence will ever satisfy. Patrick consumes everyone and everything endlessly and he will never be able to fill the empty void inside of himself. He is capitalism’s apex-predator and nothing will ever be enough to satiate him, and there is no exit or escape from his pitiful existence, and that is exactly what makes this novel brilliant.
“My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone, in fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape, but even after admitting this there is no catharsis, my punishment continues to elude me and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself; no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing.”
I’m a huge fan of Bret Easton Ellis and his writing style, and I’ve already seen the movie adaptation of this novel, so I wanted to read the book. The first chapter really sets the tone of this story. Set in Manhattan during the Wall Street boom of the late 1980s, American Psycho follows the life of wealthy young investment banker Patrick Bateman. The novel maintains a high level of ambiguity through mistaken identity and contradictions that introduce the possibility that Bateman is an unreliable narrator. The author does a good job at introducing the characters and defining their personalities and setting over a single dinner scene. Hearing Patrick Bateman’s routines alone made me understand that he was a psychopath. His internal monologues and dialogue with his colleagues is enough for anyone to identify that he’s insane. The incessant and relentless descriptions of brands and what everybody is wearing is enough to establish the kind of shallow and dark world that these characters inhabit. The language that Patrick Bateman uses to describe the people around him shocked me and made it a chore to get through, but it fit the character and served the story well. This entire book is a commentary on consumerism in our society and how Bateman and people like him obsess over things; how they only see people through the lens of what they have and how they dress, looking at women as nothing more than objects to use and abuse. I read The Rules of Attraction before this, so seeing Patrick’s brother Sean Bateman appear on this book was a small treat, and I love how Bret’s books all exist in the same universe. The violence and gore is filthy and there were many scenes I found myself disgusted by, and I think those scenes were done effectively. Patrick does not have a typical modus operandi, he simply tortures and kills men, women, and animals (and a child) whenever he sees fit and finds new and inventive ways to cause pain to others. I loved seeing how none of this brought him closer to happiness or fulfilment, and how his lifestyle was monotonous no matter how glamorous or luxurious it was. Patrick Bateman’s character has been idolized by many men online and is looked at like an idol for self-titled “alpha males”, but it’s clear that none of these people have read and truly understood this book and its themes on consumerism and capitalism. This was a sharp and brilliant satire, and the parts that meandered only served the greater narrative and themes; even the portions of this story that went in circles fit into this hyper consumeristic hellscape perfectly. Patrick’s world is a hell unto itself. He works and socializes with men who are so boringly identical that they can’t tell each other apart. He tortures and kills his victims but it only serves as a temporary reprieve from pure boredom. His glamorous life is only set dressing and serves to hide his own immense emptiness. While some could argue that all the murders were a product of Bateman’s imagination, I don’t think it matters. The reader could look at it either way and it would still be a look into a very sick mind. He has everything a man could want and yet it is still not enough. No amount of money or luxury or profound acts of violence will ever satisfy. Patrick consumes everyone and everything endlessly and he will never be able to fill the empty void inside of himself. He is capitalism’s apex-predator and nothing will ever be enough to satiate him, and there is no exit or escape from his pitiful existence, and that is exactly what makes this novel brilliant.
“My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone, in fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape, but even after admitting this there is no catharsis, my punishment continues to elude me and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself; no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing.”