Review: American Psycho

Title: American Psycho
Author: Bret Easton Ellis
Picador

Well, where do I start?

The problem with a book like this is that on the one hand, it is absolutely brilliant. You might even say a stroke of genius. On the other hand, it's twisted, it's graphic, and in a way, I hated reading it. I'm 99.9% sure I won't read it again. Ever.

It's twisted, it's horrific, the character of Patrick Bateman is dark, masochistic, and the descriptions are graphic and leave nothing to the imagination. The book (and its characters) get darker and more disturbing as it unfolds, and the shorter chapters really sped up the pace towards the end.

The blurb describes the book as 'a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognise but do not wish to confront' ... I think this sums up the novel well, and, having finished the book and having read the more gruesome second half of it, it is easy to almost forget that the beginning of the book was much more light-hearted, actually quite funny.

For me, it was only when I realised exactly how much darker the end of the book was compared to the beginning that I really began to appreciate this book. The most brilliant thing about it is that when it starts, as a reader, you know what you're about to read. It's a book about a psychopath. At the start, it's black comedy, but it's not disturbing in any way. Then gradually, the idea of compassion, sympathy, all sense of personality, is stripped away from the characters and the story descends into... Well, to quote the blurb of the book once again 'America's greatest dream... and its worst nightmare'.

Would I recommend it? Not necessarily. That's not a criticism of the book in any way. I just think that this book is not for everyone. If, when you pick up a book, you want to read a nice story with a resolved ending and a cast of nice characters, then this book is not for you. But if you're prepared to see this through to the end, if you're prepared to read graphic sadomasochism... You can't read 'American Psycho' and expect to enjoy it. It's not a book to be enjoyed. But it is possible to appreciate it, if you're prepared to give it a little thought.