American Psycho

I'm not sure where to begin with "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. I became interested in the book some time ago after seeing the movie and reading about the controversy surrounding the publication of the novel. Oddly enough I don't remember hardly anything from the movie now.

From the cover:

"Patrick Bateman is handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin to fathom. He is twenty-six years old and living his own American Dream."

"American Psycho" is a satire set in the late 1980's centered around Patrick Bateman and his yuppie lifestyle. The novel is told from Bateman's perspective where he describes in excruciating detail his daily routines, such as encounters with his friends, his daily regiment of exercise and self care, as well as his dark forays into murder at night. Bateman is a judgemental elitist and exhibits many disgusting qualities such as homophobia, misogyny, and disgust for the poor and homeless or anyone not socially elite. His narrative in every situation of the book describes in complete minutia what he as well as colleagues and friends are wearing from their overcoats down to their shoes, detailing styles, designs, and designers. Not being the best dressed or owning the latest and best gadget or technology causes extreme anxiety and jealousy for Bateman. It really is almost mesmerizing how much detail the author goes into the description of what people are wearing as well as products they are using or displaying in their domiciles. I believe this stream of consciousness narrative represents Bateman's inability to care for people more than possessions.

Ellis also goes into great detail about Bateman's dark obsessions with sex and murder during his rampages at nighttime. The novel slowly progresses starting with dark thoughts and comments from Batemen during the first third of the book and finally culminating in the last two thirds of the book into sadistic murders, rapes, torture, and cannibalism. This book is not for the faint of heart! Some of the sexual experiences described are teetering on pornography and the mutilations that follow are as raw and disturbing as anything I've ever read. For example, in one chapter of the novel, Bateman reconnects with a former girlfriend from Harvard. After a boozy lunch they return to Bateman's apartment when he proceeds to nail her hands to the floor with a nail gun, cut off her lips and tongue, and sodomizes what's left of her face. The last sentence I just typed pales in extreme comparison to how it is described in the book. In fact that chapter is no where near as bad as other encounters that Bateman has with women.

As the novel continues, Bateman's actions and especially his thought become so disturbed and erratic that one has to wonder what has really taken place. He says and describes some really off the wall experiences and at one point the narrative jumps to a third person perspective in one chapter. There is no question that Bateman is a psychopath but how much of his grisly actions take place outside of his mind? The novel left me to wonder this question after I completed it.

Interesting reoccurring themes in the novel:

Les Miserables and references to the musical are constantly mentioned throughout the book. The Miserable?

There is a constant occurrence of mistaken identity in the novel. People are recognized and addressed by the incorrect name. Is this a reference to Bateman being unremarkable, lost in the crowd or is this in reference to the socially elite of the time being all the same? Or both?

The Patty Winters Show (a show I took to be similar to something like the Jerry Springer Show) is referenced in nearly every chapter by Bateman. He details what the topic of discussion was for each show that day. The topics mirror the narrative of the book, becoming progressively darker with each chapter.

Bateman is constantly saying that he has video tapes to return. This comes up conversationally when he's asked by his girlfriend or friends what he's doing or was doing. I understood this to be his trigger that he had or wanted to do something murderous.

Whew, I didn't intend to write this much! I understand that this book is a satirical look at the culture at the time and for that I enjoyed it tremendously. Again, if you are faint of heart this book will hit you over the head like a sledge hammer with unrelenting brutality. There were a couple of times where I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish. Highly recommended if you can stand it. And now I have video tapes to return...

I would be curious to see what anyone else thought of the book if they've read it.