American Psycho

Patrick Bateman is twenty-six and works on Wall Street; he is handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. Taking us to a head-on collision with America's greatest dream - and its worst nightmare - "American Psycho" is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront. "Serious, clever and shatteringly effective." - "Sunday Times." ""American Psycho" is a beautifully controlled, careful, important novel...The novelist's function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and he's done it brilliantly...A seminal book." - Fay Weldon, "Washington Post." "For its savagely coherent picture of a society lethally addicted to blandness, it should be judged by the highest standards." - John Walsh, "Sunday Times." "That the book's contents are shocking is downright undeniable, but just as Bonfire of the Vanities exposed the corruption and greed engendered in eighties politics and high living, "American Psycho" examines the mindless preoccupations of the nineties preppy generation." - "Time Out."

ISBN 0330448013   Pages 416 ISBN13 9780330448017 (What's this?)   Published in London Publisher Pan Macmillan   Previous ISBN 9780330319928 Imprint Picador   Height (mm) 197 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 130 Publication date 03 Nov 2006   Academic level General DEWEY 813.54   Alternative ISBN 9781441806321 DEWEY edition DC22

I have never read anything quite like American Psycho and probably never will again. On the surface, it is a truly horrible tale of murder and yuppie society but there is so much more that lies below the surface. The narrative is absolutely spell-binding. Being told in first person, you are seeing the world through Patrick Bateman's eyes and it is often very hard to cope with. On the one hand, he is a twisted, sadistic man who you couldn't possibly like but on the other, we almost AGREE with the way he views things! That is some clever (and slightly worrying!) writing. A lot of it is satirical of the 80's culture in America so it isn't to be taken seriously, like the exaggerated importance of business cards and what people are wearing, it really emphasises the shallowness of the yuppie culture. And it leaps around all over the place too. The fact that Patrick isn't exactly in his right mind, chapters will end halfway through sentences and the story may be half complete as he mis-hears something or loses interest. The most interesting part is near the end when the book completely changes voice and it becomes 3rd person. It is a serious jolt to the reader and makes it even more unsettling. It's interesting how you are never quite sure what is real and what isn't as you only have his word. A really mesmerising book and well worth reading if you can see past the extreme violence and other hideous deeds. - Catherine Benham



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