?/5 stars
What's it about? Patrick Bateman, our titular psychopath, works on Wall Street (though he’s plenty wealthy without the gig) and can’t seem to stand out from the vapid New York City of the 1980s no matter what restaurant he books—or how depraved he becomes.
How’d I find it? This is my spouse’s book, and I could not believe he bought this at the age of 17. I clutch my proverbial pearls! And Ellis would probably hate me for it.
Who will enjoy this book? No one will enjoy this book. It’s evil incarnate.
What stood out? This intense satire is a highly effective takedown of consumerism, conveyed via mind-numbing lists of purchases and their features, inane descriptions of who-wore-what, nauseating meals, and chapter-long rants on various musical acts. Part of the novel’s effectiveness derives from its depictions of violence, so brutal and appalling that they are nearly unreadable. Bateman’s rage towards female bodies in particular had me overcome and skimming chapters. Look, American Psycho is a work of brilliance, but I can’t rate it, much less recommend it, because I wouldn’t wish the reading experience on another person. Honestly, I can’t wait to exorcise this copy from my home.
Which line made me feel something? “To Evelyn our relationship is yellow and blue, but to me it’s a gray place, most of it blacked out, bombed, footage from the film in my head is endless shots of stone and any language heard is utterly foreign, the sound flickering away over new images…”