American Psycho

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American Psycho

By: Bret Easton Ellis

Narrated by: Nick Landrum

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About this listen

Patrick Bateman is 26 and works on Wall Street. He is handsome, sophisticated, charming, and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. And he is taking us to a head-on collision with America's greatest dream - and its worst nightmare...

Bret Easton EllisNick LandrumW. F. Howes Ltd

Crime Thrillers

Dark Humour

Fiction

Genre Fiction

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Crime Thrillers Dark Humour Fiction Genre Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Suspense Thriller & Suspense Urban Scary Thriller Crime Comedy Funny

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I wanted to address all who gave this book bad reviews based on a) its gruesomeness and b) lack of plotline and repetitiveness.

Firstly, for those of you complaining about how graphic and confronting the book is what exactly were you expecting from a book called 'American Psycho'? Perhaps your complete and utter SHOCK that a book with THAT title would have extreme violence is proof that sometimes you SHOULD judge a book by its cover...

Secondly, this is not a narrative where the actual storyline is important, however what is important is the bigger message that's being told -which you completely seemed to have missed. This book reminds of Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky among his other work too. With Dostoyevsky the story being told is not important nor the focus - instead its the bigger message that he is trying to convey. In Crime and Punishment there is no mystery around the crime; the reader is told almost instantly who the murderer is and why. The strength of the novel is the protagonist's (or perhaps antagonist) inner turmoil and struggle. That is what the reader is supposed to connect with, similarly in American Psycho the reader is supposed to connect to Batemans inner struggle to stand out while also fit into his greedy, shallow, overly-materialistic world. I think the way the author highlighted the lack of individualism in the book by having people constantly mistaken for one another is relevant in todays society more than ever. To me this book stands the test of time, despite the clear 80s setting, because the protagonists struggle is universal albeit manifested in a hyper-masculine and violent way. There is no character development because that is the sad reality of life, the more the world changes the more it stays the same. There is no progress. The Yuppy culture described in the book is the equivalent to todays Influencer culture and the associated greed, isolation, lack of individualism etc.

Lastly, the repetitiveness of Bateman narrating each characters outfit is a commentary on this world. He describes each characters outfit from top to bottom making sure to include the brand name. We know nothing of the characters personalities, lives etc. none of that is really described all we know is the brands they wear. Interestingly however, despite only describing the characters outfits it still gives you a clear picture in your head of what these people look like. What the author is demonstrating here is the lack of individualism because everyone is trying to fit in. As well as how superficial Bateman and everyone in his world is. It's a constant reminder to the reader that brand names and appearances is all that is important.

This book is well written, addressing very important and relevant themes. The performance of the reader was well done. I hope those who did not understand this book upon first read give it a second chance.

Also - Audible I will give up my first born child for you to introduce a comment section so people can discuss their thoughts on books!!

*** if you're mad about any spoilers within this review reread my second point about the storyline being second to the key themes of the book. If you read books just for an interesting story with a happy ending then go back to the young adult fiction section***