An incredible indictment of the American tendency to be excessive in all things. The tale was inspired by Yuppie culture of the 1980s, though Patrick Bateman's dead soul transcends all eras. (Patrick Bateman is out there today, as vapid as ever, though he's probably much more evil... and his mobile phone is no doubt much smaller.)

Throughout the story Bateman hypnotically drones on and on about brand names, designers, furnishings, status symbols, pop music, numbing us (and himself) to the moments of sheer terror, gore and sexual violence that punctuate the book. The fashion houses, the expensive restaurants (with their corny fusion cuisine, each concept funnier than the next) and the fellow stockbrokers are all interchangeable. Don't pay too much focus trying to differentiate the characters. Nobody else in the book can either. Bateman is frequently mistaken for someone completely different, just as he frequently names others incorrectly. In the end it helps him carry on his double life for much longer than he otherwise could have.

The story is populated by a nameless swarm of bored big spenders, unhappily socializing in 1980s NYC. Patrick is different though. His mind is not right. He cruelly murders homeless people, prostitutes, small dogs...escalating to kill people from within his circle of friends. His taste in music is crap.

This book made my blood run cold, yet I was unable to put it down. Bret Easton Ellis is an incredible writer, bringing us into this highly deviant mind.

The 80s: a time period defined by surface, cut throat capitalism, Reagan economics, Wall Street, cocaine, AIDS, night clubs, awesome pop music, and serial killers. This is the setting of Bret Easton Ellis’s most controversial novel, American Psycho, which when published in 1991, garnered an F review in Entertainment Weekly, put Ellis on the FBI’s watchlist, and infuriated a radical feminist named Tara Baxter.

American Psycho is about the infamous Patrick Bateman--Wall Street yuppie--whose extracurricular activities included clubbing; snorting coke; dining at New York City’s finest restaurants; purchasing overpriced sunglasses, suits, brief cases, bottled water, Walkman headphones; and murdering prostitutes, animals, co-workers, and the homeless.

With graphic and detailed descriptions that include sadomasochism, decapitations, eviscerations, dismemberment, and torture, it is no wonder American Psycho garnered so much controversy. In today’s culture (that has created a genre of film called torture porn), such a novel would probably not get national attention. But in 1991, before the novel was even published, the controversy was nearly as hostile as the protagonist. Most of American Psycho’s criticism has come from the fact that it depicts scenes that are disgusting, vile, crude, and immoral. What these critics fail to mention is that the novel itself is a looking-glass, reflecting a society that is itself disgusting, vile, crude, and immoral. What the novel does not do, to any extent, is shy away from truth or sugarcoat the ugliness of a society obsessed with surface and possessions; a society overcome by greed. In the late 70s and in the 80s, America experienced a string of serial killers (Bundy, Gacy, and Manson), that both terrified and fascinated Americans. Nothing quite captures America’s attention like murder. And this is exactly why Patrick Bateman, the antihero of the novel, is a serial killer set in a time period gripped with greed and fear.

Patrick Bateman is not the only sociopath in the novel. In fact, they populate the streets of New York City, the law firms, the finest restaurants and clubs. They are soulless individuals who do not care about others, only advancing themselves, only possessing, and accumulating more wealth. They are individuals who use others to their own advantage. In American Psycho, they are Wall Street yuppies, the upper class, the Marxist bourgeoisie--who destroy and use the unfortunate (homeless, prostitutes, children) so they can live in excess.

One reoccurring theme throughout the novel is that Patrick Bateman and his yuppie friends often mistake their co-workers for other co-workers, since there is no distinct individuality, only conformity to an ideal surface. No one really knows who anyone else is; as Patrick Bateman states, “Inside doesn’t matter." They are so self-absorbed that they do not take time to notice anyone outside themselves or their possessions, unless a source of ridicule or competition. Patrick Bateman, competing for the Fischer Account (which is never clearly explained, except for the fact that it is the best account), literally axes a co-worker named Paul Owen in the face, in order to get ahead. Talk about cut throat capitalism!

The graphic, deplorable scenes of violence in Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho serve a purpose: to illustrate the inhumanity of a society that puts its value in objects instead of people. Or rather, treats people as objects. The murders and the sex scenes are not the only thing described in pornographic detail. Patrick Bateman is a character sick with obsession; obsession with all the wrong things. In many scenes, Bateman describes, in pornographic detail, his wardrobe, his apartment, brands of bottled water, his music collection, the food at his favorite restaurants. These are the things that consume not only Patrick, but his cohorts. In fact, one could say that a surface obsessed society creates monsters like Bateman. In a society gripped by fear, whose only solace is found in possessing and dominating, there is nowhere to go but down: into madness, psychosis; anything to try and feel, to escape the void. In a chapter entitled “Tries to Cook and Eat Girl,” Ellis underlines the only real thing that can fill the void:

Bateman attempts to turn a dead girl into meat loaf, but then he starts to cry: “The smell of meat and blood clouds up the condo until I don’t notice it anymore. And later my macabre joy sours and I’m weeping for myself, unable to find solace in any of this, crying out, sobbing ‘I just want to be loved’” (Ellis 345). This scene is gross and disturbing, but in some sick, morbid way—you may feel empathy for Patrick. There is only one thing that can fill the hole in Bateman’s consumer-obsessed soul: love. But, living in the society in which he does, love is an illusory concept, just like truth, compassion, and morals. In this society, there is only one truth: nothing matters—except money. In this society, there is no love and there is no escape from one’s emptiness.

This book reminds me of the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld, described as “A Show About Nothing.” Like the characters in Seinfeld, the Wall Street crowd the protagonist runs with are hip, shallow and self-absorbed creatures. Anyone in NYC can ignore the homeless, but why not demonstrate your callous disregard by holding out a crisp bill and pulling it away at the last moment as you walk by in your Armani suit. Oh, I get the dark humor, the social indictment, the vacuous preoccupation with designer labels and the latest trendy restaurant. But unlike Seinfeld, the book’s humor wore thin with repetition and also repetition. Honestly I had a hard time finishing this one

I honestly don't know what to say. To warn a reader that this book is difficult to get through in some spots is old hat at this point so I won't even try. Let it be said that those with weak stomachs might want to try some other book. But here is the thing - all of that violence and detailed gore has a point. This book is not about a sociopath that kills a number of people - it is about a mindset and social structure that makes those lives into a commodity to be used and discarded. Is Patrick Bateman a monster or is he just a delusional person that capitalism in the 80's produced? Is there a difference? Is that even what the book is trying to say or am I just pushing a narrative on it that isn't there - is it maybe really a novel about a sociopathic serial killer? This is all stuff to consider. But it is worth reading and considering it, at the very least.

I decided to give this book a chance based on the reviews. This is the 1st and last book I will read from this author. I will not make that mistake again ha ha. Throughout the entire book there were way too many characters introduced that had nothing to do with the book. I never figured out what Patrick actually did for a living or if it was even a "real" job. Probably 30% of the book was describing what people were wearing. The types of fabric and the clothing designer was explained...it got SO old and tiresome. Patrick's criminal mind didn't even make sense. If he did do all these deplorable killings over that long of time, the NYPD would have been all over him. The only thing believable is this author has a sick and twisted mind and should not be left alone with females. Save your money, I just summed up the entire book for you!!