american psycho: a 26 year old serial killer with great skin
- paigenherbooks
- Nov 20, 2022
- 7 min read
3/5
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis is a horrible book. It’s disgusting, vile, offensive, gory, and quite frankly the most egregiously horrific story I have ever read. But, it does its job of bringing light to important subjects, deeper meaning, and important conversations that need to be had—even if that was or wasn’t Ellis’ intent. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to rate this novel, so I’m going to settle on a 2.5 or a 3, because the writing was intriguing enough that I wanted to finish the novel, but by the end, it became almost a chore and the story was disgusting.
We have a lot to discuss.
Also quick note: There is a movie adaptation of this book, with Christian Bale doing a stand up job portraying Mr. Bateman, though I will say...the movie barely scratches the surface of the horror found within these pages.
ALSO II: This book is highly graphic depicting horrific murders, pornographic scenes and uses horrible language at times. So just an FYI this book is not politically correct at all.
Synopsis: 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 can not begin to fathom. He is twenty-six years old and living his own American Dream.
Patrick Bateman.
The man, the myth, the iconic pop culture referenced on an almost daily basis by people around the world. Bateman is a narcissist, he’s a psychopath, he’s rich and handsome, he has brand name clothing, and an extensive skincare routine that may or may not have made me jealous. He works at P & P and frequents lunch outings with his group of “yuppie” friends and the slew of women he’s sleeping with alongside his main girl, Evelyn. Patrick Bateman is just like everyone else. Except he brutally murders people, tortures them, occasionally eats them, and then records it. He’s a sick and twisted individual that I absolutely despise. But, Patrick Bateman is living the American Dream.
Patrick was an interesting perspective to read the story from. You as the reader are never 100% sure when things are real or just inside his head, which is the appeal or draw of the story. It's like a big puzzle that you're trying to figure out while gaining more and more information. At some points Bateman openly tells people what he does, that he murders people, he's a psycho, he would love to absolutely tear you apart and drink their blood...but people don't hear this. They hear anything else or simply seem like they just don't care.
This was a theme that I found interesting.
Were these things actually happening and people just didn't care because of their social status and own self centeredness, or is Bateman just fucking crazy. I finished the story and I'm still not 100% sure. I think at times Bateman was a serial killer but at others I'm not sure if its just his own fantasies that he wishes he was doing. Because lets face it...Bateman isn't all the hot shit that he thinks he is. Reading through the story it's easy to see that Bateman is kinda a dork. He isn't always listened to by his friends or even other women, they normally dismiss him and he's often referred to as "the boy next door". The only time his friends seem to want to actively engage with Bateman in conversation is when it's regarding fashion, which Bateman knows extensively about. He's this character that is trying so hard to be the "IT" guy. He wears name brand, he works out, he's rich but for some reason it seems like all of this isn't enough, it doesn't put him in the spot light or give him the prestige he's looking for. Which, in my opinion is why he starts killing mainly women. It gives him a sense of purpose, he's in control for once, things are going HIS way.
Exactly how he wants them too.
He just wants someone to listen and do what he wants, because in his day to day he's lacking it. He "murders" Paul Owens because he's jealous, he thinks about murdering his friends almost daily because they annoy him, and he even confesses it all at the end of the story and not one person believes him. Because Bateman is a nobody. Bateman wants the "American Dream" which is all about paving the path that you want, regardless of who is standing in the way of it. It's about conquering others, raiding cities (lunch/dinner spots) and wallowing in riches. The American Dream is all about stepping on others to make yourself look, feel, and "be" better than not only those other people but who you used to be.
Theres one scene in particular that made me sit and really reflect on if Bateman was actually doing these things or not, and it's when he gets "caught" by the police and theres a massive chase. The story is told in first person but suddenly it switches from "I did this" to "Patrick did this". I annotated within my book this same sentiment that maybe this is a sign, a tell tell HEY READER sign that Bateman is bat shit insane. That he's having a mental break. That none of this is happening.
So, did Bateman actually murder all of those people? Maybe. Maybe he really did. Or was it all in his head?
You just have to read and figure that out for yourself.
The gore. This book is disgusting.
The detail in which the author describes the murders and the sex scenes is almost unlike anything I have ever read. I had to take frequent pauses or even skim over some scenes because of the way it made my stomach turn. It was just fucking gross. The brutal murder of women was bad enough, combined with that of a brutal murder of a literal child and countless homeless people...it started to really drag on me. I think in some ways the author did this on purpose, especially when it came to the murder of the women. It's to showcase just how women primarily are treated and viewed by the "average" man or in society as general. We are just things to fuck, kill, and throw away. Bateman is this pinnacle of the American Dream, so it's make sense that his view on women is nothing more than a pair of boobs and an ass.
It's the only thing women are good for.
There's also the fact that he most likely hold some deep seeded resentment towards these women. I think Mr. Bateman has a bad case of mommy issues...among other things. We get one scene with Bateman and his mother, which totally brings a piece of humanity into this moral-less character. His mother and him seem estranged and I can only imagine something in his up bringing had to make him the way that he is. Bateman hates women because they don't always give him what he wants or they give in too easily which also angers him. I'm not sure if he's trying to find an equal or just holds resentment towards women because he finds them "weak" or too "stupid" to truly participate in society.
But I will say, it's a bit too much. I know that's probably the point, that the excessive misuse and slaughter of women is to add to the story and the thematic elements, but the grotesque detail in which these murders and sex scenes are described is simply just too much. It's stomach churning and horrifically pornographic for seemingly no reason at all in my opinion. I think in some ways it takes away from the story as it can potentially turn people away from the book or just overshadow the rest of the plot points. But in other ways, I must admit it's entirely "on brand" for Mr. Bateman, as he is obsessed with details.
This book is a duality of constantly trying to figure out if it IS actually too much or if it's just making me as a reader uncomfortable, which I would argue is what books are suppose to do...but I also know that my perspective on this book is the way it is because I AM a woman. I think that if my male friends read this book they might also be disgusted by the murders and brutality but not in the personal way that I as a woman take it.
I think that's another thing about this book that I find interesting, is that the gender or perspective of the person reading the novel can create a different experience.
As I just stated, as a woman this book is horrifying to me for many reasons. I can run into a "Bateman" like character any day and my life is seemingly over in a horrific and meaningless way. My gender and femininity is like a beacon to people like that, and it's quite frankly a fear or just a fact of life I have to live with. So, in other words, this book was a real life horror and nightmare for me and I would imagine a lot of other women reading it. It's taking the things we are most afraid of and displaying them in a way that is almost lacking any remorse or care.
Whereas a male reading this story wouldn't have that sick twisted stomach feeling or the ache that I think most women do.
They can be disgusted by it, of course, I mean I hope so, but they won't sit there with the hairs on the back of their necks tingling because, for most of them, being murdered by a handsome young man isn't something they have to worry about. In some ways I think that's genius. That a story so grotesque could curate two differing feelings dependent on something as basic as gender. In that way I am impressed as much as I am repulsed. Nevertheless, I digress.
American Psycho is gross, it's ugly, and at times it's just a little too detailed. But it's a story that asks questions, that gives ideas, and I'm sure would garnish one hell of a discussion at a book club...I might just have to go find me one of those, that or therapy to talk about this. American Psycho is a book that showcases the duality of the American Dream, what it means to really "push" to be the best and what a perfect depiction of a narcissus looks like. To my ladies, if you're man is infatuated with Patrick Bateman or is obsessed with Whitney Houston (inside reading joke)...I'd suggest a new man.
A story I'm glad I've check off my list and one I'm sure I'll spend quite a while thinking and dissecting, American Psycho was absolutely horrific.
And I may have liked that.
Happy reading friends
xoxo
paige :)
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