TRANQUIL READER

Review - American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis

By Carmen, 26 April 2019

Year Published: 2011

Genre: Horror

Blurb:

In American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.

About the Author:

Bret Easton Ellis is the author of five novels and a collection of short stories; his work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. He lives in Los Angeles.

Connect with the Author:

Twitter: Bret Easton Ellis Twitter

Author Website: Bret Easton Ellis Author Website

Buy the Book:

Amazon: Amazon Purchase Link

My Take on the Book:

If you’re not into blood and gore – this might not be the book for you: I ended up skim reading these parts – and it’s the first time that I’ve EVER skim read a book. But anyways; the interesting part of this book for me was the social aspect of it. The author brings to light some interesting issues in the social realm. In my mind, this part of the book was brash, bold, blatant, unapologetic and in your face.

This book at times comes across a bit as a darker and more somber version of Gossip Girl. If this is an aspect of the book you think you might enjoy – then by all means – pick this one up. If you want to skim read the rest of the book (aka blood and guts), then do that as well. There were times where it felt as if I was missing some of the humour and jokes that take place; as if it was going a little over my head, especially in reference to some colleges/universities.

I ended up giving this leisurely book a four star rating.*

Last Word:

*I just want to explain this rating – I was debating between a three and four star. If I just had to access the part of the book I enjoyed – four stars; but if I had to include the blood and guts, it’ll lean more towards a three star rating.

There are times where the social aspect of the book can seem a little bit repetitive. But even then, and nonetheless, I still enjoyed this part of the book, and am likely to pick up another book by this author.

In terms of the movie, it seemed to skim over the social aspects a little bit; and if you take away the gory parts of the movie, there isn’t a whole lot to the movie – a lot of it becomes a little bit repetitive; unlike the book.

Enjoy,
Carmen