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The extremely controversial novel, American Psycho, first published in 1991 by Simon & Schumer immediately received harsh ridicule based on the graphic nature of author Bret Easton Ellis’ writing style. Not even a year after its original publication date Simon and Schumer sold the rights to the novel to Vintage Books NY for undisclosed reasons. Popular as an author in the 90’s and early 2000’s Bret Easton Ellis is also well known as an American screenwriter and short story writer. The publication of American Psycho, Ellis’ most popular piece of writing, led to him being blacklisted in the writing world for a number of years.
The disturbing, graphic content that portrays extreme violence against women was later recognised by critics as “creative” following the 2000 release of the film based on Ellis’ novel. Many still deem this book unacceptable, Ellis has received hate mail and even death threats surrounding the novel and the United States is one of the only countries where the novel can be sold, lent, or rented to anyone under the age of 18.
After the discovery that real-life Canadian serial killer Paul Bernardo owned a copy of Ellis’ novel and read it as his bible, the book faced renewed controversy.
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This story is of Patrick Bateman, a Manhattan businessman in the late 80’s. Bateman is an egotistical, narcissistic, sociopath with a loaded god complex. He believes that he is of the utmost importance and those around him are simply inferior, he feels that he is a god among men. This feeling of sheer superiority along with his declining mental state leads to the murders of countless people - Bateman feels “some people truly do not need to be here” (p226).
Bateman continues with these murders that mean nothing to him, in which he truly believes that he is doing the world a service.
He escalates into heinous violence against women and eventually slips up and commits a violent crime with several police officers as witnesses. Told in first person through Bateman’s point of view, the reader is exposed to graphic accounts of the murders that Bateman commits and many of his disturbing thoughts. Bateman is fully aware of the fact that he has gone insane, “he’s the boy next door, aren’t you honey?” “No I’m not,” I whisper to myself. “I’m a f--king evil psychopath (p20)”, adding to the disturbing element of this novel. In addition to the graphic descriptions of his murders, the reader is also exposed to the disturbing thoughts of the mentally ill protagonist. When in an argument with his girlfriend, Evelyn, Bateman says directly to her “oh honey… the things I could do to you with a coat hanger (p197)”.
This threat is just the tip of the iceberg in a sense of the actions that Bateman carries out in his murderous killing spree, only worsened by his heavy drug use and declining mental state. Ellis’ writing is utterly disturbing. The graphic detail and the many brutal acts vividly described in the novel are a weakness of the book. Most people cannot handle reading of the heinous violence against women or the cold blooded murders that Bateman commits and in turn many begin the book, never to finish it. This is understandable, though, one should expect this of a book that in almost every country besides the United States is R18. Besides the graphic, violent content, the book is a very powerful piece of writing. It dives deeply into topics of violence against women, drug abuse, self-awareness and mental illness.
Overall, I personally found the book too disturbing to fully enjoy. Although, I would recommend this book to anyone who feels that they can handle it. If you’re looking for a creepy, horror-thriller novel with a crazy twisted ending, American Psycho is for you. Although very controversial and lacking any kind of a filter, the book is well written and Ellis is a very talented author. Having the ability to create such vivid, descriptive imagery that a book can be illegal for a minor to read in almost every country is truly a talent. After being adapted into a popular film in the United States in 2000, the book gained new, more positive, critique and became much more popular among the public and critics. Overall, what Ellis wrote is a great horror-thriller novel that skillfully adds elements of satire throughout.
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. (2022, Jan 20). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/american-psycho-by-bret-easton-ellis-essay
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