American Psycho

1991, Brett Easton Ellis

I'd recommend this book to:

American Psycho is perhaps among the most intriguing, disturbing books I have read in a long time. It discusses a yuppie, Patrick Bateman, who leads a double life as a serial killer. It is a masterpiece of postmodern literature, discussing mental health and American decadence through unreliable narration.

The key delight of the book is its extensive use of modernist and postmodern techniques; the structure of the book itself is a device used to convey the themes. One concerns the layers of getting to know somebody. Rather than describing his personality from the start, the reader gets to know him from the outside in, using an entirely "show, don't tell" style. First, you observe how he dresses and who he talks to; then the parties he goes to, then his criminal private life; then, at his innermost, his nihilism, rage, and deep loneliness. In the beginning of the book, he's almost unnoticeable; his actions or lines rarely distinguish him from his friends, showing that a serial killer can appear not only a stable but totally normal, unremarkable person. As narration becomes more personal, Ellis evokes shock, outrage, and eventually, a mixture of disgust and sympathy as you realize how society made him who he is.

Another theme of the book is misconstruing who people really are. Ellis reflects this in a more literal sense because throughout the book, characters mistake their friends for other people, or totally mishear what others are saying. Even Bateman himself is guilty of this, and it's ultimately unclear what is really happening in his world, and how many events were hallucinations from his unstable, drug-ridden mind. Thus, just like everyone in the book, you end up unable to understand Bateman, or anyone else, despite their efforts to reach you.

Entertainment is a major theme in the book -- in the postmodern world, nothing is serious, everything is to be laughed or gawked at. The "Patty Winters Show" is a plot device -- schizophrenics, sexual assault victims, and other hurt people are brought on T.V. and presented as spectacles for the public. Bateman views homeless, desperate people as commodities to be exploited. And when he himself mentions killing people to friends, nobody believes him because they themselves think he's only joking.

Bateman is a very observant person, dedicating chapters to every little detail, whether describing his Giorgio Armani tie collection or his violent murder sprees. However, his narration is objective, rarely adding any memories or thoughts as comments. This narrative style exists not merely to discuss his lifestyle, but to show that he seeks meaning and happiness in outside, external things, while his heart is utterly empty. On that note, prospective readers should note that the book is extroadinarily violent, as shock value is used to drive in the themes -- to show Bateman's raw, unfiltered mind: violent but dearly wanting to be understood. Scenes of torture, cannibalism, and sexual assault span dozens of pages, and I personally only skimmed them.


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