American psycho business card scene dissection cultoid. American psycho is a novel that makes a statement about modern society. Overall it is the story of young wealthy investment banker patrick bateman. Download and read online for free american psycho by ellis bret easton. What i consider the ending of american psycho is the point in the film when our unlikely protagonists world starts falling apart, quite literally, and like in nolans inception, the highly fragile dream world that patrick bateman played by a devilishly feisty christian bale built begins collapsing.
And if you like american psycho, try tom wolfes bonfire of the vanities also a pretty bad movie, but the two. The reader is introduced to the novels narrator, patrick bateman, a 27yearold wall street investment banker. The film adaptation of the bret easton ellis novel american psycho was released in 2000, and has been confusing viewers ever since. Patrick bateman is a rich kid who works on wall street. American psycho begins with the words at the entrance to dantes hell, scrawled in blood red lettering on the side of the chemical bank near the corner of eleventh and first. All i wanted was to be ambiguous in the way that the book was. As film adaptations of books go, the movie american psycho released in 2000 is fairly spoton. The ending of american psycho finally explained looper. American psycho by ellis, first edition abebooks passion for books. However, as patrick bateman, the narrator of american psycho. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. This study guide consists of approximately 41 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of american psycho. Patrick bateman christian bale the ending of american psycho 2000 is a classic piece of ambiguity. Bateman, who relays the action of the novel, as well as his innermost thoughts.
Thus there can be no objective analysis of the novel. I think the overall meaning of the novel will be different depending on. Ellis explained that the book was really about the dandification of the american. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. American psycho by bret easton ellis, paperback barnes. All of which are meant to be metaphors for what the books jacket copy sententiously calls.
Its sold more than a million copies in the us, been reprinted more than fifty times, and its antihero is guaranteed to make. Bret easton ellis answers critics of american psycho the new. The opening lines of the book have bateman staring at graffiti on a chemical bank building, reading abandon all hope ye who enter here, an allusion to the gates of hell portrayed in dantes divine comedy. Not only does it perfectly convey the sentiment of bret easton ellis novel, but also reveals all the complex layers of patrick batemans psyche in just 3 minutes. American psycho 5 voice stops, he takes in a breath and then quietly says, his eyes fixed on a beggar at the corner of second and fifth, thats the twentyfourth one ive seen today. Other novels that fall under what i would call the literature of depravity. Reading american psycho can be disturbing at times, but the casualness with which ellis presents the graphic scenes is as horrifying as it is genius. Before we can talk about the ending of american psycho, we need to get one thing straight. After 53 trips back to press, it has sold more than a million copies in the u. Ive been known to be both a picky reader and a finicky film critic, and even i think the movie version of bret easton ellis novel, published in 1991, is faithful to the text its based on. No matter which way you spin it, the things going on in his. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of american psycho by bret easton ellis.
American psycho by bret easton ellis the banned book brigade. Stories similar to american psycho books, stories, and novels like american psycho by bret easton ellis. Now that american psycho, which is the subject of this months guardian book club, has become an established feature of the literary landscape and is generally acknowledged as a modern classic, it. Bret easton ellis american psycho plunges the reader into a world of late 1980s yuppieism. Comedy of menace maybe, but definitely not comedy of manners. American psycho director breaks down that famous business card scene. Its about lifestyle being sold as life, a lifestyle that. American psycho by bret easton ellis books the guardian. As his novel american psycho arrives in stores and death threats are. Aside from the killings, i thought i liked patrick, but now i think i hate him, or maybe.
Bret easton ellis american psycho even people who have never read bret easton ellis american psycho likely do not expect to hear the phrase comedy of manners in reference to it. Later that year, it was picked up and published by vintage books. I think its a failure of mine in the final scene because i just got the emphasis wrong. First of all, the book and movie are both different. I would hold off on the movie until youve read the book the movie isnt completely horrendous, but its focus is solely on the psycho part. Differences between american psycho book vs movie page 1. Irvine welsh american psycho is a modern classic books the. The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of culture. At the end of the movie, what is the deal that emily makes with. American psycho begins with a quote from dantes inferno. Bret easton elliss lurid cult novel american psycho is really a comedy of manners about 80s wall street yuppies.
Look no further than bret easton elliss controversial novel american psycho. In american psycho, bret easton ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity. I was so on the defensive because of the reaction to that book that i wasnt able to talk about it on that level. The book is very well written, and it has a style that creates a world easily accessible to the reader. American psycho by ellis bret easton at the best online ebook storage. American psycho by bret easton ellis november 18, 2015 april 28, 2016 tahersh a waiter takes our drink order the same one who couldnt locate the ice and i find myself saying things, without listening to jean, like protecting the ozone layer is a really cool idea and telling knockknock jokes.
American psycho summary from litcharts the creators of. Bret easton ellis made the choice to seamlessly integrate that fantasy with the real events of patricks life so that the reader has to figure out where the fantasy ends and reality begins. Like doyle, i think the movie is a better execution of the concept than the book precisely because the books performance of batemans tediousness is, itself, tedious in. When published in 1991, bret easton elliss american psycho caused outrage for its. American psycho study guide from litcharts the creators. Now a major motion picture from lions gate films starring christian bale metroland, chloe sevigny the last days of disco, jared leto my so called life, and reese witherspoon cruel intentions, and directed by mary harron i shot andy warhol. How can the chainsawscene of american psycho 2000 be explained. I love reading, but st like this makes me want to stop reading altogether. American psycho is a novel by bret easton ellis, published in 1991. Just finished american psycho and i am pretty confused within myself. American psycho is not only a great critique of the 80s yuppie culture, but it is a scathing criticism of a nations moral decay. In the movie donald kimball is a young detective, almost at the same age as patrick 26 donald kimball is portrait by willem dafoe, turning him into an older character. I have just read a book that has all at once captivated, disgusted and intrigued me.
Although, having worked for people with the same status of affluence as most of the characters in the book, i did find it a bit disconcerting to see how limitless that particular lifestyle. In hindsight, an american psycho looks a lot like us. Then asks without looking over, why arent you wearing the worsted navy blue blazer with the gray pants. Is patrick bateman in american psycho actually a serial. American psycho, bret easton ellis american psycho is a novel, by bret easton ellis, published in 1991. Everything was surface food, clothes that is what defined people. Is patrick bateman actually a serial killer who murdered tons of people, or is he just a loon who imagined the whole thing. Is patrick bateman an accurate representation of a. The book and movie are portrayed in a stream of conscienceness na. American psycho study guide from litcharts the creators of. American psycho, a novel by bret easton ellis, satirizes the apathy. My reading of american psycho is that most of what happens in the book is patricks fantasy.
The book creates a dissonance from real life and the actual plot that leaves the reader questioning if our. American psycho by bret easton ellis, signed abebooks. I still think american psycho should be in my top ten books of all time. Bret easton ellis is the author of several novels, including imperial bedrooms, less than zero, the rules of attraction, american psycho, glamorama and lunar park, and a collection of stories, the informers. American psycho study guide from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. I thought it was kinda odd, since my theory isnt very. Although the book contains horrifying scenes, they must be read in the context of the book as a whole. The story is told in the first person by patrick bateman, a serial killer and manhattan businessman.
What are some similar books if i enjoyed american psycho. In 1991 bret easton ellis published his controversial second novel, american psycho, at age 26. Alison kelly of the observer notes that while some countries deem it so potentially disturbing that it can only be sold shrinkwrapped, critics rave about it and. The question and answer section for american psycho is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. American psycho by ellis, bret easton and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. American psycho somewhat stalled the rise of his career, the books later. Abandon all hope ye who enter here is graffitied across the side of a bank in bloodred paint. However in november of 1990, the company, citing aesthetic differences, dropped the book over its graphic and misogynistic content.
131 1160 216 319 1184 366 1478 206 105 104 1261 747 1497 343 59 57 394 1453 1403 798 1147 745 927 913 859 1221 46 775 559 854 1223 475