With our hectic lives and all of the new books that we are trying to keep on top of, we can often forget about the classics, those books that we loved to re-visit or the books that we just haven’t got to quite yet. Every week, we pick a classic book of the week that is a favourite of ours in the office. This week, we will be looking at the eerily brilliant, American Psycho.
“I have to return some videotapes”
First published in 1991, Bret Easton Ellis‘ American Psycho was one of those novels that everyone was talking about, not just because of its brutal and violent plot, but because it was simply brilliant. According to the Observer, some countries even feel the need to sell the novel “shrink-wrapped” and it is easy to understand why, but there is far more to American Psycho than just brash violence.
American Psycho told the story of one Patrick Bateman, a rich investment banker living in New York during the boom of the 1980’s. There are no two ways about, Bateman was insane.
Despite living an outwardly normal life with the perfect fiancé and perfect group of fairly rich friends, Bateman is, as far as we are concerned, a serial killer. However, because most of the book is told through the first person, we have no idea if the events Bateman is describing have actually happened or if they are taking place in his imagination.
The descriptions of these murders that may or may not take place cause the main controversy surrounding the book; Bateman kills without cause on occasion, literally killing for the thrill of it.
This book is most certainly not for everyone, in fact you may need to leave it down on occasion just to take a break from the honest way it is told. Bateman is inhuman, inconsiderate, brutal and just a downright horrible human being.
However, American Psycho does say a lot about modern society and where we place our values. In fact, Ellis seems to almost be suggesting, do we ignore Bateman’s behaviour purely because he is a rich banker? Is that acceptable?
It won’t be an easy read, but it is certainly a worthy one.
Those album descriptions? Perfect.
