American Psycho by Bret Easton EllisPublisher: Vintage Books 1991
Paperback 399 pages
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis freaked me the fuck out. And I consider myself a person that can usually separate themselves fairly easily from the books that I read, but there was something so intense about Ellis's book that I couldn't help but be drawn into the the stark reality of murder and chaos that is the life of Patrick Bateman. Just imagine that this is a more graphic and violent version of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and still you don't even come close to this apocalyptic commentary of contemporary society.
In the first part of the book we are introduced to Patrick Bateman, a wealthy stock broker in 1980's New York. In excruciating detail we are given a look into this material obsessed culture where the labels one wears are more important than the substance underneath those labels. Soon we start to see a darker side to Bateman as he begins indiscriminately killing the homeless, prostitutes and even children and friends. All of this is reported in the singular voice of Bateman, in an emotionless and matter of fact manner. This cold detachment from the extreme violence this book entails is what makes the impact all the harsher to bare.
Some may read this and other reviews and dismiss this novel as being too focused on violence, but in reality the book is so much more than that. This is not violence for shock value, the scenes are artfully crafted to draw the reader in, to make them feel everything, every horror filled second, as we are drawn deeper and deeper into this twisted commentary on society's ills. To be sure, the LOC Subject Headings for this book are a clear warning to most: "Serial Murderers Fiction" "Women - Crimes Against Fiction" "Psychopaths Fiction" "Rapists Fiction". No mention of "Contemporary Society - Commentary On".
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