| “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis is the goriest and most frightening fiction that I have ever read. It is a book about what could happen if the 1980’s culture of yuppies and preppies were taken to an extreme. The main character, Patrick Bateman is a twenty-six year old Wall Street elite who likes to dress impeccably well and kill people on the side. He prepped at Phillips Exeter Academy (my alma mater) and then went on to Harvard and Harvard Business School along with a few of his friends. He classifies people by their position in various investment banks, by the brand of their clothing and by what schools they attended. |
If anyone falls short in Bateman’s eyes, he believes that they are subhuman and does not think twice about killing them in the most painful and demeaning way he can conjure. He routinely burns dollar bills in front of homeless people and then gouges their eyes with a knife to show them how powerful he believes he is. He kills women and dismembers them and often cooks and eats their parts. In one chapter, he copulates with one date’s decapitated head. In other words, this is one sick character and book.
The book is grisly and not for the faint of heart. It starts off slow, but then becomes a blood-soaked roller coaster ride of decadence and evil. It is full of gore, drug use and characters who are completely jaded and see no value in a simple life. After reading this book, I felt like I should go to the nearest place of worship just to make sure no demons had possessed me. If it were not for the fact that the book is a satirical look at the culture of excess, it would have no redeeming value.
One positive thing that could be said about the book is that it is well written and makes you feel like you are there experiencing the action. It was orders of magnitude scarier and more repulsive than the film that was released with the same name. This is a testament to the descriptive writing that Bret Easton Ellis produced.
Patrick Bateman has no redeeming characteristics. He cannot even understand or accept love from his fiancé or from his secretary who is not-so-secretly in love with him. He is a human being devoid of humanity. If you are into a graphic portrayal of decadence at its worst, then this book is for you.
