# American Psycho, the book. (Here be spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313 "2005-08-02T15:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/1 "2005-08-02T15:53:45Z")
Ok, this book was mentioned a time or two over in the [“Did you ever read a book so upsetting that you wish you hadn’t read it at all?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=326681) thread. Given that I was pretty much using that thread as a reading list, I figured that I would give it a try. Can some one tell me what I was missing, or why this is supposedly a good book? Admittedly, I gave up after about 150 pages but for the most part it just seemed to be this rambling first person account of some guy with male hygiene product and apparel brand fetishes. The author also seemed to like to write the word “hardbody” over and over again. I mean, I did see that there were random bits of violence (like that thing with the bum), but really what was the point? Would it have been more meaningful for someone that didn’t already get that the 80s were annoying and fucked up? Is it some Sophomore writing 101 project that is supposed to show the alienation and tragedy of consumer culture taken to its logical end? Did it actually get good at some point, and I just quit too soon? What, in short, is the deal? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/2 "2005-08-02T17:44:35Z")
I was going to post that it illustrates that the 80’s were annoying and fucked up, but I see that you got that. And, no, it’s not like it ever gets better. I don’t know - I agree with everything you say, but I did like the book well enough. Bottom line: you get it, but you just don’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/3 "2005-08-02T18:33:32Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > …Bottom line: you get it, but you just don’t like it. Fair enough. I can certainly live with that, I just didn’t want to be missing anything. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/4 "2005-08-02T19:41:44Z")
I haven’t read the book, but the movie seemed to be making the point that the era was shallow and narassistic. The Batemen and most of those around him seem to care about nothing but themselves, focus on the most trivial things(“When we get to the resteraunt, I’m almost in tears because I’m sure we won’t have a good table”) ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/5 "2005-08-03T00:51:25Z")
Yeah, I think **American Psycho** is pretty one-note and can get tiresome, and I even liked it. Apart from the graphic nature of the killing scenes, and the constant reiteration of Patrick’s obsessive attention to detail, I think there are some genuinely funny moments in it, as well as some occasional bits of good and thought-provoking writing (towards the end of the book, as Patrick becomes more and more detached from reality, he begins hallucinating almost all the time, and IMO Bret Easton Ellis did a decent job of presenting those episodes in ways that were entertaining and interesting.) But that’s just one person’s opinion, and I wouldn’t suggest reading the entire book just for those elements. By the way, if anyone coming across this thread is interested, Patrick Bateman makes an appearance in Ellis’s upcoming novel, **Lunar Park**. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/6 "2005-08-03T06:12:34Z")
I liked the constant drone of brand names. Mainly because I’m moderately interested in high end food and male fashion. If you don’t like it, then it can grate on your nerves but it was a concious stylistic decision. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/7 "2005-08-03T07:50:03Z")
The problem with AP was it was a good idea executed by a guy who can’t write to save his life. It’s also a very obvious knock off from Gogol’s “Diary of a Madman”. AP is such a schlocky writing job it misses the “art” bin altogether and barely rims into the “high end pornography” one. And the movie? made obviously for the sake of making a “movie that couldn’t be made”, it bares very very little relationship to the book. mm ---
**Author:** ![DarRRva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@DarRRva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarRRva)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/8 "2005-08-03T08:08:27Z")
I loved this book. I found it amazing. I find that the more times you read it (I know if you don’t like the book there would be no reason to read it again so this is kind of redundant) the funnier it gets. When I was reading it for the fifth or sixth time, I spent most of the book laughing out loud. And then most people that had read it gave me funny looks. I think Bret Easton Ellis is a good writer, I like his style. As for the movie - yeeeeeesh! I don’t know if there’s any film adaption which has more missed the point of the book than this did. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/9 "2005-08-03T09:03:08Z")
> [@Judith Prietht](#): > > By the way, if anyone coming across this thread is interested, Patrick Bateman makes an appearance in Ellis’s upcoming novel, **Lunar Park**. BEE is writing _another_ novel? Wasn’t there some sort of Act of Congress prohibiting that after _The Informers_ and _Glamorama_? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/10 "2005-08-03T09:04:31Z")
> [@DarRRva](#): > > As for the movie - yeeeeeesh! I don’t know if there’s any film adaption which has more missed the point of the book than this did. You mean other than _Less Than Zero_ and _Rules of Attraction_? ---
**Author:** ![DarRRva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@DarRRva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarRRva)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/11 "2005-08-03T10:32:41Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > You mean other than _Less Than Zero_ and _Rules of Attraction_? I haven’t seen Less Than Zero, but I thought that Rules of Attraction did a good job. Yeah it was updated and changed, but I thought it made it’s point well. ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/12 "2005-08-03T10:45:53Z")
> [@DarRRva](#): > > I loved this book. I found it amazing. I find that the more times you read it (I know if you don’t like the book there would be no reason to read it again so this is kind of redundant) the funnier it gets. When I was reading it for the fifth or sixth time, I spent most of the book laughing out loud. And then most people that had read it gave me funny looks. I think Bret Easton Ellis is a good writer, I like his style. > > As for the movie - yeeeeeesh! I don’t know if there’s any film adaption which has more missed the point of the book than this did. Absolutely agree on both points. It’s satire people. The style reflects Bateman’s thoughts, so they’re obsessive to the point of idiocy about brands and image. That’s the whole point. There’s also a fair bit of symbolism there - the tramp images, Les Miserables, etc. which are telling you something that isn’t written. I think the ridiculous film - and accompanying publicity - did more damage to the book than anything else, which is a real shame. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/13 "2005-08-03T13:06:24Z")
The book, I couldn’t get past page 50. I kept flipping ahead and it was like I never skipped anything. Terrible, repetitive, boring book. Movie: excellent. It was like the author finally got the editor the book needed. Way funnier. Way more succinct. Made the exact same point in 100,000 fewer words. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/14 "2005-08-04T22:07:35Z")
I really liked the book. I loved the running joke of which restaurant they would go to each night. “Let’s go to restaurant A, Restaurant A is so last week, let’s go to B” Ten pages later, Are we going to B tonight? No B closed, it was out of fashion, it’ll open as C next week” Throughout the book, the restaurant turnover was tremendous. I also liked how the business-men characters were so soulless and generic that even they couldn’t tell themselves apart. When one of their “friends” went missing they couldn’t remember when they had last seen him, or exactly which guy he was. I thought the brand name dropping was well done and an effective way of showing where the characters priorities lie. The violence could be a bit much and I do recall skimming over a bit. ---
**Author:** ![DarRRva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@DarRRva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarRRva)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-psycho-the-book-here-be-spoilers/315313/15 "2005-08-05T07:22:18Z")
I never thought the violence was too much, I thought that in a narrative sense, a person who would go into so much detail about what someone was wearing, where it came from, how much it cost etc… would go into the same level of detail when describing butching people with all sorts of whacky household items…