American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

Being one of those odd people who is truly fascinated by violent crime and people's motives for it (mainly because I can't possibly imagine anything motivating me to commit a violent crime...), I thought I'd really enjoy reading American Psycho. Hailed as a literary masterpiece by many, an unnecessarily gory romp by others, it seemed to contain all the ingredients to become one of my all-time favourite books. I was wrong. I shall never judge a book by its cover, or indeed its hype, again. I have a very strong stomach. It takes an awful lot to make me feel even remotely sick. I regularly watch the goriest of gory horror films for a giggle and have ...  Read the complete review

Author: Bret Easton Elllis Publish Date: April 1991 Number of Pages: 399 Age Suitability: Strictly for adults with strong stomachs RRP: £7.99 Amazon Price: from £3.15 I, like most was aware of the stigma that followed American Psycho before I decided to read it. Perhaps the stigma and warnings of graphic violence and vulgar descriptions was part of what tempted me to buy it. I wanted to know if this book could really be as horrific and gut-wrenching as it sounded; whether the book had more going for it than just shock value horror. I wanted see for myself if this book really was a great contemporary classic novel to be celebrated, and ...  Read the complete review

It's 1980. It's America - Wall Street - and the Yuppie is king. Double breasted power suits, slicked-back hair, leather briefcases and executive toys - in the land of the highly-paid, workshy executive, image is everything. The image Patick Bateman give off is a professional - he has the designer underwear, the des res, the expensive artwork and the six figure salary. He's a guy who eats a three hundred dollar meal and thinks it's cheap and has a gaggle of cronies. He has a girlfriend (and a mistress, and any woman he wants). He has power. Of course this image papers over the cracks which betray the real Patrick Bateman - paranoid, schizophrenic, ...  Read the complete review

When i began to write this it turned out i need it for an essay, so it is a bit long winded. Sorry about that. I got good marks though!! Probably be locked, but least you can read it. Patrick Bateman is twenty-six years old, he works on Wall Street at a firm called “Pierce and Pierce”. He is described as “handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent”, but he is also extremely psychotic and takes pleasure in killing and torturing people and animals. Written in narrative as Bateman the reader experiences his highs, lows and killings in past and present tense. The book portrays a world we all can recognise, ...  Read the complete review

A man with two quite separate lives, a man with two quite different outward personas. This is the story of a successful, rich, capable 26 year old American city trader who, beneath his polished veneer is a psychopath. He kills for fun and revels in the agony of others. How can these two sides to his nature co-exist and how do his friends overlook his homicidal tendencies? THE PLOT Patrick Bateman is extremely rich and has a very good job. He has a beautiful fiancé, he is able to attract other lovers, he has rich successful friends, he has a beautiful trendy apartment but he is also a very sick man. This book, which is told from Bateman?s ...  Read the complete review