Sick, Sick, Sick, Sick, Sicko. Decapitate a Head for Me (American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis)

Member Name: Ophelia

Product:	American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
Date:	27/08/03 (566 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Thought provoking, first person perspective

Disadvantages: No real 'plot'

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 perspective, follows his life for a period of time as he works, plays hard and indulges his psychopathic urges. He is a psychopath, a sociopath ? you name the path, he?s taken it!

There are graphic scenes of torture, so this is not a read for the faint-hearted.

INSIDE THE MIND

The book is written in the first person and so this must, surely, give the reader a deeper insight into the workings of a mind of a psychopath. While Bateman is drinking with friends or walking on the streets he will be struck by a sudden thought of how he would like to strike a particular person in the head with a hammer, how he would like to see their teeth splinter through their cheeks.

His thoughts do contain the urge to kill and maim, however, this is not thought in a feverish, uncontrollable manner. The desire enters his mind and is considered in a rational manner and he files the desire to be either acted upon later or discarded as impractical.

Bateman is an intelligent man. His mind works in a trained and logical pattern. These murderous thoughts enter his head and yet they do not consume him as we might expect but he is able to control them and choose whether to act upon them or not. By having such a controlled and planned intent to kill Bateman is able to lead a seeming
ly normal and structured life, which may be one reason why he can pass among his associates without inspiring doubts as to his sanity.

One of the most disturbing elements of Bateman?s desires is that he entertains thoughts of killing as idly and frequently as the reader may consider having a second cup of coffee. The decision to kill or not to kill is taken more lightly than whether to choose caffeinated or decaffeinated. The rights or wrongs of the act or the effect it will have does not enter the consideration. Such is the nature of the psychopath.

When he carries out his acts of torture (which are described graphically and can be horrific ? using implements such as a staple gun, a coat hanger, a wild rat and burning acid) he does not think about the pain he is inflicting and never feels a flicker of remorse or guilt. He gains sexual gratification from hurting others and enjoys watching the changing expressions of fear and pain on their faces. Yet once he is finished he forgets the occurrence and moves on with his ordered life as if he had done little more than watch a film.

To realise that a man such as Bateman could have such utterly inconsideration for the feelings of others is a frightening thought. He cares for no-one and nothing other than himself.

YUPPY ONE-UP-MANSHIP

One aspect of the book is an expose of the shallow nature of the yuppy culture of the 80s. Bateman and his city friends and their beautiful female companions are concerned with eating at the right restaurants, wearing the right clothes and being seen with the right people, and little else.

Every chapter is filled with observations on other characters? clothing. Bateman and, it would seem, his friends are all obsessed with designer labels. Those not wearing the most fashionable and most expensive clothes lose place within their structured social hierarchy.

When going out for dinner, the venue is more important than anythi
ng else. A woman will make or break a date depending on which restaurant she is being promised a meal at. Status is achieved by being able to obtain reservations at the most trendy restaurants of the moment.

Their lives are shallow, as are their ethical codes. Many of the characters are having affairs with other friends? partners, some know it is happening and some don?t but there is a sort of incestuous inter-social ring partner swapping which occurs on a regular basis. This way of life is questioned by no one and is taken for granted in their high-flying world.

In a world where who has the most stylish business card is more important than how nice a person is, where who orders the most expensive champagne is more significant than how enjoyable a person?s company is and where moral laxity is rife, it hardly seems surprising that Bateman could have such a detached and frighteningly unemotional reaction to the suffering of others.

GIVE ME A REASON

There is no real ?plot? as such as the book is more of an extract from the main character?s life. So, what is the purpose of the book?

An expose of yuppy life? So, what! This is hardly revelatory and if it were it is still fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. However, by revealing the superficial nature of the relationships and attitudes of Bateman and his social circle, we can draw parallels with Bateman?s own psychological stance towards humans and humanity in general.

Thus Bateman?s lack of empathy for other humans and lack of feeling for others? sufferings seems compatible with the attitudes of his peers towards life in general.

The book is an interesting read and will leave you with more questions than answers but in a satisfyingly thought-provoking way. A challenging book which provides food for thought and (for trivia nuts among you) one of the Daily Telegraph?s top 100 books of the 20th century.

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