
American Psycho
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Patrick Bateman is 26 and works on Wall Street. He is handsome, sophisticated, charming, and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. And he is taking us to a head-on collision with America's greatest dream - and its worst nightmare...
©1991 Bret Easton Ellis (P)2009 Recorded Books LLC
- Listening Length17 hours and 5 minutes
- Audible release date17 March 2011
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB00NX5EGWM
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 17 hours and 5 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Bret Easton Ellis |
Narrator | Nick Landrum |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com.au Release Date | 17 March 2011 |
Publisher | W. F. Howes Ltd |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B00NX5EGWM |
Best Sellers Rank | 783 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 3 in Urban Fiction 3 in Satire Fiction 7 in Dark Humour Literature & Fiction |
Customer reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
5,740 global ratings
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Top reviews from Australia
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Reviewed in Australia on 9 May 2022
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I am an avid reader, having read literally thousands of books, and this would have to be by far the most boring, repetitive, confusing, and soporific book I have ever read. Ninety percent of the book deals with what the characters are wearing, and where they want to dine, often confused over who they are actually seeing or talking to, and as for the gore and violence, it is so over the top as to be totally disgusting and adds nothing to the book. Just a complete waste of time and money.
Helpful
Reviewed in Australia on 24 November 2019
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I get that the author wanted to build the image of the character and his obsessive nature, but there was just too much detail on who was wearing what. It felt like the narrative of a red carpet event and I ended up skipping pages and pages just to get to the meat of the story. Often I'd overshoot and have to dial back to get some crucial information. Loved the journey, but I really don't think he had to delve into that much detail of the elements of fashion.
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Reviewed in Australia on 13 June 2021
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I’m 15 and I bought this after watching the movie. Love it! It’s a bit long but overall a great read. It definitely goes more in-depth into how truly insane Patrick Bateman is. Definitely buy this book.
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Reviewed in Australia on 10 March 2021
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Don't read it. It's the most disturbing book I've read. Ever. It's well written and captures the decay of the time and place in which it is set, but seriously, it's too much.
Reviewed in Australia on 30 December 2016
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A true classic although not for the light hearted .... very graphic but interestingly still holds up even today.... very dark
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Reviewed in Australia on 23 April 2017
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Great writing. Take you on a bizarre journey that normalises murder and torture from the perspective of a sociopathic high-end consumer.
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Reviewed in Australia on 22 February 2019
I saw the movie first then bought the book to explain the movie better - it didnt much. It did, however, thrill albeit in an extreme and very graphic sense. There is a pervasive dark humour amongst extreme violence that is most certainly not for everyone's taste.
I'd recommend watching the movie. If you enjoyed that and weren't squeamish in any way, imagine the book is similar but turned way up in detail.
My one complaint is some of the purposefully boring sections - entire rants on music or guns etc. The can bog down the reading. Beyond that, you have the story of a sexual serial killer and his day to day interactions with people he despises in 1980s.
Overall it's good, for the right audience.
I'd recommend watching the movie. If you enjoyed that and weren't squeamish in any way, imagine the book is similar but turned way up in detail.
My one complaint is some of the purposefully boring sections - entire rants on music or guns etc. The can bog down the reading. Beyond that, you have the story of a sexual serial killer and his day to day interactions with people he despises in 1980s.
Overall it's good, for the right audience.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in Australia on 3 November 2015
Bateman is an emotionally bankrupt, handsome and intelligent Wall Street yuppie, setting the scene for a disturbing plummet into psychosis.
We get the gist when he nonchalantly claims that his secretary (and other women) are in love with him. He simply sees them as ‘hardbodies’, victims of his cloying charms. The characters remain oblivious to the black hole within Bateman, instead, preoccupied with their ambitions.
He has an OCD attitude to vanity, being an expert in clothing and grooming. I imagine his bachelor pad to be grossly clinical, full of perpendicular lines and shiny surfaces. The simple beauty of a sunset has no place here. His religion remains with his platinum credit card; if any of his colleagues dare to outdo him in this area, Bateman fantasizes about smashing their faces in.
Bateman’s OCD attitude leaches into his music tastes, where we encounter his in depth reviews of artists such as Whitney Houston and Genesis. But something is missing in his evaluations. There is no mention of how a chord progression or vocal arpeggio has tweaked the hairs on his nape. His cannot be tweaked.
His friends share soulless values: where to dine, what to wear, even what mineral water to drink. Everyone is good looking, seen at the right places and the result is that everyone acts the same – like drones.
But this syrupy perfection contrasts starkly with Bateman’s inner thoughts which are so ugly to be blackly comical. After slaughtering a Japanese cook, Bateman bequeaths his ditzy girlfriend, Evelyn a bloodied fortune cookie, stating the red substance is sweet and sour sauce. A work colleague, Carruthers, hopelessly infatuated with Bateman, clasps Bateman’s ankle in Barney’s bar, like an overgrown toddler expressing his love for an object fully behind his rose-tinted glasses.
Meanwhile, Bateman slays tramps, prostitutes and colleagues that no one notices has gone missing. Reflecting Batemans disintegration of his identity, he keeps getting mistaken for someone else. The story of Bateman grows ever darker, his slayings growing more frantic, grisly and psychotic, involving eyeballs and private parts. I found myself wishing that something would break the spell.
Bateman’s girlfriend, Evelyn should have been the ideal bait, being ditzy, naive and gullible, yet this seemed to be the saving of her. She then glimpses the real Bateman when she tries to reminisce on their long courtship. But Bateman shows no sentiment, for history is synonymous with nostalgia.
The latter part of the book did become like a bludgeon to the head, where Bateman’s inner thoughts repeat like acid reflux. He has becomes the black hole version of the void fed by the blurring of contentment and greed. Does this define the true qualities of the psychopath? It seemed fitting that Bateman’s story would be set in the Yuppie Eighties.
We get the gist when he nonchalantly claims that his secretary (and other women) are in love with him. He simply sees them as ‘hardbodies’, victims of his cloying charms. The characters remain oblivious to the black hole within Bateman, instead, preoccupied with their ambitions.
He has an OCD attitude to vanity, being an expert in clothing and grooming. I imagine his bachelor pad to be grossly clinical, full of perpendicular lines and shiny surfaces. The simple beauty of a sunset has no place here. His religion remains with his platinum credit card; if any of his colleagues dare to outdo him in this area, Bateman fantasizes about smashing their faces in.
Bateman’s OCD attitude leaches into his music tastes, where we encounter his in depth reviews of artists such as Whitney Houston and Genesis. But something is missing in his evaluations. There is no mention of how a chord progression or vocal arpeggio has tweaked the hairs on his nape. His cannot be tweaked.
His friends share soulless values: where to dine, what to wear, even what mineral water to drink. Everyone is good looking, seen at the right places and the result is that everyone acts the same – like drones.
But this syrupy perfection contrasts starkly with Bateman’s inner thoughts which are so ugly to be blackly comical. After slaughtering a Japanese cook, Bateman bequeaths his ditzy girlfriend, Evelyn a bloodied fortune cookie, stating the red substance is sweet and sour sauce. A work colleague, Carruthers, hopelessly infatuated with Bateman, clasps Bateman’s ankle in Barney’s bar, like an overgrown toddler expressing his love for an object fully behind his rose-tinted glasses.
Meanwhile, Bateman slays tramps, prostitutes and colleagues that no one notices has gone missing. Reflecting Batemans disintegration of his identity, he keeps getting mistaken for someone else. The story of Bateman grows ever darker, his slayings growing more frantic, grisly and psychotic, involving eyeballs and private parts. I found myself wishing that something would break the spell.
Bateman’s girlfriend, Evelyn should have been the ideal bait, being ditzy, naive and gullible, yet this seemed to be the saving of her. She then glimpses the real Bateman when she tries to reminisce on their long courtship. But Bateman shows no sentiment, for history is synonymous with nostalgia.
The latter part of the book did become like a bludgeon to the head, where Bateman’s inner thoughts repeat like acid reflux. He has becomes the black hole version of the void fed by the blurring of contentment and greed. Does this define the true qualities of the psychopath? It seemed fitting that Bateman’s story would be set in the Yuppie Eighties.
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NotSherlock
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unreadable - as it should be
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 December 2016Verified Purchase
I wonder if there is any other book that I could describe as “unreadable” and still mean it as a compliment. The writing is meticulously crafted to let us watch Patrick Bateman losing himself to his psychopathy. That it is unreadable is only natural.
The soullessly pornographic play-by-play commentary of the sex scenes, and the unflinchingly matter-of-fact descriptions of torture and mutilation; these passages become harder and harder to read, until finally I could only skim them as lightly as possible, and yet they’re so necessary to give you a frank representation of Patrick Bateman’s mind, and his unblinking detachment from these acts.
Even in his more mundane day-to-day dealings, his compulsion to break down the components of outfits, the catalogue-like descriptions of home furnishings and technology, and especially the whole chapters dedicated to his reviews of music artists – these also wear thin over time, but are just as important to show that in which he consistently places value, and on which he relies to maintain his mask of human sanity.
Although Patrick makes for a difficult narrator, Ellis’ skilful writing comes into play outside of this narrative too, in giving a fuller sense of the world he moves in: the repetitive, shallow conversation topics; the interchangeability of Bateman and his peers; how he can give blunt warnings and even admissions of guilt without ever being heard. It’s these touches, as well as Bateman’s increasingly frantic and futile attempts to retain control of himself, that make this book compelling in spite of Patrick’s narrative.
The soullessly pornographic play-by-play commentary of the sex scenes, and the unflinchingly matter-of-fact descriptions of torture and mutilation; these passages become harder and harder to read, until finally I could only skim them as lightly as possible, and yet they’re so necessary to give you a frank representation of Patrick Bateman’s mind, and his unblinking detachment from these acts.
Even in his more mundane day-to-day dealings, his compulsion to break down the components of outfits, the catalogue-like descriptions of home furnishings and technology, and especially the whole chapters dedicated to his reviews of music artists – these also wear thin over time, but are just as important to show that in which he consistently places value, and on which he relies to maintain his mask of human sanity.
Although Patrick makes for a difficult narrator, Ellis’ skilful writing comes into play outside of this narrative too, in giving a fuller sense of the world he moves in: the repetitive, shallow conversation topics; the interchangeability of Bateman and his peers; how he can give blunt warnings and even admissions of guilt without ever being heard. It’s these touches, as well as Bateman’s increasingly frantic and futile attempts to retain control of himself, that make this book compelling in spite of Patrick’s narrative.
54 people found this helpful
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A.J. Sefton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disturbing, anti-materialistic tale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 May 2020Verified Purchase
American Psycho is the modern equivalent of The Great Gatsby, where money is king and shallow appearances are the only thing that matter. Where Gatsby focuses on the American Jazz era, Psycho is the Yuppie (Young, Upwardly-mobile Professional) decade of the 1980s, set in Wall Street, New York, at the time of the great economic boom.
The first half of the book demonstrates, in great tedious detail, the superficial lifestyle of the wealthy. Every character in every scene is described by their designer clothes, from their sunglasses to their underwear and socks; grooming and television rituals; where and what they eat in expensive trendy restaurants and hotels; their crass and vacuous conversations about other rich people and how to match handkerchiefs and socks.
However, underneath this frivolity is a very dark and disturbing theme. There is plenty of wealth but no value. Racism is cruelly obvious as the homeless and low-paid workers are not part of the Yuppie elite and are ridiculed, mutilated and murdered for no other reason than that. The grotesque objectification of women is taken to the level where they are literally bought and treated as things to be used and discarded in obscene scenes of depravity and horror.
The protagonist talks about how he would like to murder, or has murdered or tortured people, but none of his peers listens or takes him seriously. There are frequent cases of mistaken identity or name confusion. Characters swap partners as there are no emotional bonds. None of this matters because everyone is the same and therefore interchangeable.
As the story develops, the violence, obscenity and murder increase. Sometimes the protagonist feels as if he is a film, another superficial and fake version of reality, and he refers to himself in the third person with exciting action scenes typical of Hollywood. He is not sure what has taken place is in his head or not and tests his peers about missing persons he believes he has murdered. He obviously thinks the ramifications would be more satisfying or at least acknowledged.
This is very much an anti-materialistic tale. These characters have everything money can buy, but they are empty and hollow inside, devoid of love, compassion and fulfilment. Perhaps torture and murder is a way to connect with the living and life because the designer clothes and gadgets don't fill the hole. What is missing is a heart, something the American Psycho, the consumerist capitalist, does not have.
The first half of the book demonstrates, in great tedious detail, the superficial lifestyle of the wealthy. Every character in every scene is described by their designer clothes, from their sunglasses to their underwear and socks; grooming and television rituals; where and what they eat in expensive trendy restaurants and hotels; their crass and vacuous conversations about other rich people and how to match handkerchiefs and socks.
However, underneath this frivolity is a very dark and disturbing theme. There is plenty of wealth but no value. Racism is cruelly obvious as the homeless and low-paid workers are not part of the Yuppie elite and are ridiculed, mutilated and murdered for no other reason than that. The grotesque objectification of women is taken to the level where they are literally bought and treated as things to be used and discarded in obscene scenes of depravity and horror.
The protagonist talks about how he would like to murder, or has murdered or tortured people, but none of his peers listens or takes him seriously. There are frequent cases of mistaken identity or name confusion. Characters swap partners as there are no emotional bonds. None of this matters because everyone is the same and therefore interchangeable.
As the story develops, the violence, obscenity and murder increase. Sometimes the protagonist feels as if he is a film, another superficial and fake version of reality, and he refers to himself in the third person with exciting action scenes typical of Hollywood. He is not sure what has taken place is in his head or not and tests his peers about missing persons he believes he has murdered. He obviously thinks the ramifications would be more satisfying or at least acknowledged.
This is very much an anti-materialistic tale. These characters have everything money can buy, but they are empty and hollow inside, devoid of love, compassion and fulfilment. Perhaps torture and murder is a way to connect with the living and life because the designer clothes and gadgets don't fill the hole. What is missing is a heart, something the American Psycho, the consumerist capitalist, does not have.
13 people found this helpful
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Emma
1.0 out of 5 stars
Pointless
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2021Verified Purchase
I don't believe the point the writer is trying to make comes across at all. He does explain his point in the afterword but I'm afraid it was lost on me. I saw the film years ago and enjoyed it, so I expected the source material to be even better. Ellis explains in the afterword that this book is meant to be how men are expected to look, behave and dress a certain way, an unattainable standard men are held to and their struggle with it. This didn't come across in the book at all, in fact all the characters seem to enjoy the materialism and shallowness, never once is it described as an annoyance or something they resent. If it was written better, he wouldn't have needed to make his point separately!
Only once have I ever given up on a book, and this was almost a second time.
The painful monotony and repetition makes this a very frustrating read. Only because I'd seen the film did I understand why we were subjected to paragraph after paragraph describing every item of clothing, furniture, drink and everything else - I don't think this was clear from the writing alone. From the readers point of view this was a tedious waste of time. On top of this, 20 plus mentions of Les Misérables. For a book based in New York City, I'd expect the author to be able to name at least one other Broadway show, for crying out loud. If I missed the point of this repetition, I'm way past caring.
There were 3 chapters that served absolutely zero purpose, and they were describing the songs and albums of Genesis, Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News. My goodness, that was boring, and again, no explanation as to why the reader was subjected to it. The film definitely does this better and it doesn't feel quite so random.
The violence portrayed is certainly shocking, but that is what the author wants as far as I can tell. He wants to shock, to offend, to revolt - in this, he is successful. I am no stranger to crime, horror and thriller novels but the degree of violence in this book is excessive. The animal abuse, the defilement of women, all makes for very uncomfortable reading. How any of it related to his point made in the afterword, I'm afraid I really didn't understand.
In summary, I despised this book, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy. Quite frankly a very poor execution of what should have been a great story.
Only once have I ever given up on a book, and this was almost a second time.
The painful monotony and repetition makes this a very frustrating read. Only because I'd seen the film did I understand why we were subjected to paragraph after paragraph describing every item of clothing, furniture, drink and everything else - I don't think this was clear from the writing alone. From the readers point of view this was a tedious waste of time. On top of this, 20 plus mentions of Les Misérables. For a book based in New York City, I'd expect the author to be able to name at least one other Broadway show, for crying out loud. If I missed the point of this repetition, I'm way past caring.
There were 3 chapters that served absolutely zero purpose, and they were describing the songs and albums of Genesis, Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News. My goodness, that was boring, and again, no explanation as to why the reader was subjected to it. The film definitely does this better and it doesn't feel quite so random.
The violence portrayed is certainly shocking, but that is what the author wants as far as I can tell. He wants to shock, to offend, to revolt - in this, he is successful. I am no stranger to crime, horror and thriller novels but the degree of violence in this book is excessive. The animal abuse, the defilement of women, all makes for very uncomfortable reading. How any of it related to his point made in the afterword, I'm afraid I really didn't understand.
In summary, I despised this book, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy. Quite frankly a very poor execution of what should have been a great story.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Vacuous & horrific
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2020Verified Purchase
A colleague told me that after she finished reading American Psycho she ripped the book up. She destroyed it. She hated it so much that she violently tore it apart.
There were times during the most obscene scenes of torture, rape and murder that I understood her need to wipe it out.
I can see why it sits in a cannon of modern classics, it is in and of itself a unique comment on the materialistic focus of the late 20th century, the emptiness and futility of life when brands and restaurants are rated more highly than kindness, friendship and love.
From a 2020 perspective, the relentless Trump references and Bateman's hero worship of him is telling. A president placed on a pedestal for cut throat money making and phallic over compensating with his tower.
Women are dehumanized. Only Paul Owen's disappearance is investigated, only Solly the male taxi driver's death drives another to revenge, only the murder of a male child results in public weeping. Female victims don't matter. To Bateman or to anyone else in the novel.
If I'd not already seen the film a long time ago I'd have spent more time thinking it's all a delusion, that Bateman has made it all up.
Bret Easton Ellis made a statement. It's vacuous and horrific on purpose.
There were times during the most obscene scenes of torture, rape and murder that I understood her need to wipe it out.
I can see why it sits in a cannon of modern classics, it is in and of itself a unique comment on the materialistic focus of the late 20th century, the emptiness and futility of life when brands and restaurants are rated more highly than kindness, friendship and love.
From a 2020 perspective, the relentless Trump references and Bateman's hero worship of him is telling. A president placed on a pedestal for cut throat money making and phallic over compensating with his tower.
Women are dehumanized. Only Paul Owen's disappearance is investigated, only Solly the male taxi driver's death drives another to revenge, only the murder of a male child results in public weeping. Female victims don't matter. To Bateman or to anyone else in the novel.
If I'd not already seen the film a long time ago I'd have spent more time thinking it's all a delusion, that Bateman has made it all up.
Bret Easton Ellis made a statement. It's vacuous and horrific on purpose.
9 people found this helpful
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Ms T
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bonkers
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 May 2018Verified Purchase
To say I enjoyed this story would be incorrect (how can one enjoy such violence?) but I did enjoy being inside the head of a maniac. The main character is, for want of a better description, batshit crazy, going from an image conscious, well-groomed high achiever to drug-addled torturer and murder in the clink of a champagne flute.
The format of the book is bonkers yet it works so well in further cementing the image of a psychopath: chapters which are polished and full of intellect are followed by disjointed chapters full of dark imagery and darker actions. Then there are the chapters concerning the music of Genesis, Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News. Completely random and totally inspired! On a serious note though, this book contains every trigger possible. Read it with extreme caution - it’s easy to see why this book has been, and in some places continues to be, a banned book. Having said that, it’s only a story.
So, decapitated coffee, anyone?
The format of the book is bonkers yet it works so well in further cementing the image of a psychopath: chapters which are polished and full of intellect are followed by disjointed chapters full of dark imagery and darker actions. Then there are the chapters concerning the music of Genesis, Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News. Completely random and totally inspired! On a serious note though, this book contains every trigger possible. Read it with extreme caution - it’s easy to see why this book has been, and in some places continues to be, a banned book. Having said that, it’s only a story.
So, decapitated coffee, anyone?
12 people found this helpful
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