American Psycho Book Review

A deeply disturbing yet entirely enthralling novel, American Psycho is like nothing I’ve ever read before. Written like a stream of consciousness, we are given a first-hand insight into Patrick Bateman’s unsavoury lifestyle.

The plot, interwoven with dark humour, fashion designers and appalling violence is both boring and fascinating at the same time. Bret Easton Ellis combines mundane business dinners with impulsive murders in a way that, inexplicably, keeps you interested in the whole story.

Bateman, at the beginning of the novel, comes across as a somewhat stereotypical business man; good looking, well-educated and unfaithful in his relationships, we instantly get a sense that this person is not one for occupying the moral high ground. The extent of his lack of morals, however, remains to be seen until later on in the novel.

His fixation on relatively ordinary things such as the clothes he wears or watching The Patty Winters Show make Bateman seem like more of a real person, rather than just a character on the page – nearly everyone has a TV show that they religiously watch, and this relatability almost makes him approachable, luring us into the sense that this man is actually normal, despite his high-earning job.

I suppose that’s part of the whole psychopath thing; charming on the outside, twisted on the inside. Bateman’s more than repellent ‘hobby’ of raping, mutilating and murdering women (as well as striking out at homeless people) is described in such vivid detail, it’s both amazing and utterly terrifying. Some scenes don’t even seem real; instead more of sick, perverse fantasy. It’s not clear whether Bateman plans such crimes or whether they’re impulsive – sometimes it seems like a bit of both. Either way, however, he always manages to get away with them (even if it is just by the skin of his teeth).

The world that Bateman lives in isn’t a happy one, fraught with lies and dissatisfaction. Bateman, despite his job on Wall Street, his fiancée and his wealth, seeks fulfilment in life. His realisation that he doesn’t enjoy anything, doesn’t, can’t, love anything, almost draws some sympathy from the reader. His life is full – he’s rich, he’s powerful, he’s young – and yet so devoid of any real happiness. And I think that is what American Psycho is about. It’s a reflection of the idea that someones life can be seemingly perfect but nonetheless inadequate. If you can look past the horror of the story, it’s actually sort of tragically beautiful.