Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - American Psycho

American Psycho
American Psycho
Author: Bret Easton Ellis
In American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in w...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780679735779
ISBN-10: 0679735771
Publication Date: 3/1/1991
Pages: 416
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 305

3.4 stars, based on 305 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 3
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed American Psycho on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 11
This is truly the sickest most twisted book I've ever read. It's like a 30 car pile up you can't walk away from. I have read it 3 times and must get rid of it before I commit it to memory. Should be tracked by the FBI for suspected serial killers. Much better than the movie. Definitly not for the faint of heart.
boydheather17 avatar reviewed American Psycho on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 11
First off, the movie did not even compare to this book. Forget the movie all together and start here. This book was one of those that you don't want to put down but is so very disturbing that you want to walk away from it. This was a rollercoaster of emotions and just shy of the moment when you put it down and go get sick! I found myself many times gasping with my hand over my mouth, telling my husband how horrible it is to read, and picking it back up again! A fast paced, detailed read that keeps you burning the lamp for HOURS! I do not regret reading it..but safe to say that I don't think that I will ever be able to read it again!
Rowan avatar reviewed American Psycho on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This was a fabulous piece of writing, and I feel 100% positive that it will stay with me the rest of my days. But then again, I'm not so sure that's a good thing. This is the most macabre, gruesome story that I've ever laid eyes upon. Wonderfully glib and funny in places, with the overblown and exaggerated self-absorption of the 1980's, there is virtually no warning when Patrick decides to go on a murderous, torturous, explicit rampage. Not for the faint of heart.
reviewed American Psycho on + 118 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
first off, this is one disturbing book and i completely understand why it's on the banned book list. the crass materialism of the main character and his acquaintances is just as disturbing as the vicious murders he commits (or fantasizes about committing). that said, it's actually a brilliantly written book. it develops the right characters and leaves the right characters mysteriously in the shadows. the pace doesn't run along too fast, but just fast enough for some of the stuff patrick bateman does to take you by surprise. it sucks you in nicely.

the most disturbing thing about this book is that i'm pretty sure i went to high school with a few patrick bateman's and a couple of his friends.
reviewed American Psycho on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
The novel that inspired the 2000 movie with Christian Bale, this is about a young Wall Street broker, handsome and wealthy, who is also a brutal and sadistic killer. It is a really fascinating study in a culture and milieu so shallow and obsessed with appearance that literally nothing else matters, even human life.
Read All 42 Book Reviews of "American Psycho"

Book Wiki

People/Characters
Patrick Bateman (Primary Character)

Genres: