American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

[MJM]

Reading this at the moment. The best thing I've read in years. A narrative on 80s popular culture and criticism of materialism from the view point of a psychotic killer.
Awesome!

[Nateddi]

Ive never read the book, but the movie is a great ridicule of the 80's. I loved it.

[MJM]

I haven't seen the movie yet.
I actually thought the book would suck, I was wrong it's very good.
It's written in a way that really fits well with me. One chapter just ends mid sentance, not even a full stop. The way no-one knows each others name but still says hello and calls them someone else's name.

[Revolution Hero]

Have seen the movie yesterday. It's great, shows how a capitalist society can convert a man into psycho, who is sick of the society's values and beliefs.
By killing people and breaking the moral rules, this killer wanted to escape from the reality, and built the reality of his own, considering to be a FREE man.

[vox]

Hated it. I didn't like the book or the movie.

I read the book way back, and I remember the tempest in a teacup about it. While the idea may have worked for a short story, as a book it was nothing more than misogynistic pornography masquerading as insightful commentary. Ellis didn't cover any new ground at all. Indeed, the same theme was explored in Less Than Zero and again in the follow up The Rules of Attraction. (This is reminiscent of another Eighties' writer, Jay McInerney, whose Bright Lights, Big City was a good first novel, for a first novel, but who covered the exact same ground in Story of My Life.)

Relying only on shock value, the book abandons artistry entirely. I'm reminded of the Marquis de Sade's work, with long, witless passages defending libertinism followed by long, pornographic passages revealing his sexual violence.

My advice? Read Less Than Zero.

vox

[Menshevik]

I have to agree with vox. The movie didn't make any deeper statements about social hypocrisy in the 80s, nor did you get a sense of the metaphor of Patrick Bateman. In the end, it's not a terrible film, but it gets a B rating at best.

The book was well written, but you find out what Ellis is trying to say within the first 50 pages of the book. It drags on too long and after the fifth scene of misogynistic sex and violence towards women, you start to skip over those easily identifiable chapters. McInerney wrote a much more relevent book, but the whole development of Bateman's charcter is top notch. There aren't many writers out there (especially within the Brat Pack) who posses Bret Easton Ellis's talent, but sqaunder it. I am interested, however, in seeing how The Rules of Attraction does at the box office.

[Napalm Dust]

The film was a dissapointment after reading the book, but it always is.

I really got into the book and the character of Pat Bateman. I haven't read any of Ellis' other books, but I'll be sure to check out Less Than Zero.



I have to return some video tapes.

(Edited by Napalm Dust at 10:57 pm on Aug. 23, 2002)

[MJM]

Nice one Napalm Dust......























....the Patty Winters show this morning was about a new sport, dwarf tossing.

[trebboR]

If you like AP, you should read Glamorama from Bret Easton Ellis too, great book.

[Menshevik]

Glamorama was way too fucked up for my taste. I couldn't finish it.

[pce]

i was about to get the book after reading a few pages and reading some reviews on amazon, but (luckily) i decided to skip around and read a couple pages here and there throughout the book. i descovered that EVERY page i happened to stop on had some vivid sex scene or sexual killing. so i didn't buy it. it just seemed WAY too over the top. it seemed disgusting. but the first few pages i did read were great. the writing really is interesting.

[MJM]

Whats the hang up with vivid sex scenes anyway?
I found the stomping on the homeless guys dog more offensive than the sexual content. Granted some of the sex scenes were offensive, in the violent content. But they added greatly to the story.
Example:
In one part he is throwing lit matches on a woman he's tied up, another woman is helping him and enjoying doing it. Then he turns on her, it's a demonstration of the hidden darkside and lust for control over others that capitalism creates.
We see her joining into the debauchery gladly, then she is put into the place of the first victim. To find it's not such a hoot after all.

pce:
Don't let reviewers, who I think missed the point of this book, spoil something for you. Just get it from the library if you don't want to buy it.
It's only sex man, everyone does it, even your grandparents.

[trebboR]

Too bad you couldn't finish it Menshevik, but I like that kind of books. Irvine Welsh, a great writer too. Trainspotting is the bomb ;-).