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Celebrating Fifty Years of Picador Books I like to dissect girls. Did you know I’m utterly insane? Patrick Bateman has it all: good looks, youth, charm, a job on Wall Street, and reservations at every new restaurant in town. He is also a psychopath. A man addicted to his superficial, perfect life, he pulls us into a dark underworld where the American Dream becomes a nightmare . . . With an introduction by Irvine Welsh, Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho is one of the most controversial and talked-about novels of all time. A multi- million-copy bestseller hailed as a modern classic, it is a violent and outrageous black comedy about the darkest side of human nature. Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature. Read more
Publisher : Picador
Publication date : February 17, 2022
Edition : New Edit/Cover
Language : English
Print length : 386 pages
ISBN-10 : 152907715X
ISBN-13 : 55
Item Weight : 11.4 ounces
Reading age : 18 years and up
Dimensions : 5.16 x 1.26 x 7.72 inches
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Top Amazon Reviews
Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, American Psycho, has just about as a precarious history as the contents held within its blood splattered pages. First released by Simon & Schuster in early 1991 and soon after quickly sold to Vintage by the publisher for undisclosed reasons and for an undisclosed sum of money. For us folks doing a review in 2015, almost a quarter of a century down the road, this sounds quite bizarre for a publisher to boot such a phenomenal piece of horror fiction -- however, apparently during the early 90’s, American Psycho was received a tad bit differently than one might expect today. Today, American Psycho is heralded as a postmodern cult classic, used no less in hip English lit classes and sociology classes, hell maybe even psychology classes, and if teachers were really smart, criminology classes! Its very strange looking back at American Psycho’s first release and reading all the vile contemptuous swings reviewers and readers and the media alike took at Ellis. Especially considering how during the same year Silence of the Lambs was released theatrically and went on to win dozens of awards, including: The Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, etc. etc. How can a movie and book about cannibalism, the most taboo thing imaginable, shine with audiences while at the same time American Psycho can be chased away by a mob with flaming torches and pitch forks? According to Ellis, who stated in a somewhat recent interview, “It was feminists and The New York Times. Hand-wringing liberals [who] were upset about ‘American Psycho.’ I don't think there was a single peep from conservatives or anyone like that. It was a liberal witch hunt and I was at the center of it” (The Oregonian, 2010). In a previous interview with Roger Cohen, from the New York Times, back during his books initial release, in response to the numerous death threats he had received in the mail, Mr. Ellis said that he “had no idea the novel would provoke the reception it's gotten, and I still don't quite get it” (New York Times, 1991). It is so bizarre how Anthony Hopkins chewing some dudes face off can be considered highbrow, while American Psycho, which had more to say regarding the quiet submission to consumerism and desensitization of the silent majority than any other work of fiction at the time, can be held with such contempt. In retrospect of heavy criticisms, Mr. Ellis follows with one of the most profound statements regarding the craft of writing, something I believe all writers should well remember, when he states: “You do not write a novel for praise, or thinking of your audience. You write for yourself; you work out between you and your pen the things that intrigue you” (New York Times, 1991). And with American Psycho, as this humble reviewer understands it, Ellis was “working out” how society during the late 1980’s had considered the “surface” things, such as: food, clothes, money, etc., to be the only means in which a person can be defined. And this comment on society becomes obviously apparent and satirically metaphorical when you begin to read his book. In the very first pages, Ellis numbs the mind by using the narrator, Patrick Bateman, who also so happens to be a complete lunatic, to list off in excruciating detail all the many “surface” things he sees on the day to day, such as: designer suits, Walkman’s, music, movies, furniture, TV shows, restaurants, food, etc., etc. These things are important to him, while at the same time, not important. Even the murders are so brutally detailed, eventually at least (the book does have a sense of pace to it), that we become, in a way, desensitized to the violence just as much as we are desensitized to the material. Everything becomes banal. Here is what Pat Bateman has to say for himself towards the end of the book after he emerges from a near-psychotic break: “There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there…” (American Psycho, pgs. 376-377). The above statement was made popular with the release of the theatrical version of the book, staring Christian Bale, back in 2000. And the madman goes on, of course. Bateman questions the very banality of evil, “is evil something we are or something we do?” etc. etc. And by the end, he finds what we “normal” folks might consider to be the deeper things in life, such as: war and politics, family, discoveries, sunrises, heroes, falling in love, blah-blah-blah, to be also utterly dull. Bateman can only find one clear emotion within him, greed – oh and perhaps, as he suggested -- disgust. The most pungent scene, for me, that invokes this macabre bland worldview is at the beginning of the book. Patrick is waiting on Patricia who so happens to be late for their date. When she finally arrives, Patrick narrates, nonchalantly, that she is safe from his knife, safe from him cutting open her throat and watching her bleed with mild disinterest, not because of any kind of luck, and not really because she comes from a wealthy stock, but simply and callously because Bateman made the choice. Bateman states: “Patricia will stay alive, and this victory requires no skill, no leaps of the imagination, no ingenuity on anyone’s part. This is simply how the world, my world, moves” (American Psycho, pg. 282). When I first read this line…my bones were chilled by the eerie ordinariness of it. The stylization is so humdrum you can actually feel madness slipping on like an old pair of slippers as you read the narrators ghastly horrific plunge further down into the rabbit-hole. When he finally emerges, you’re expecting some earth shattering revelation, but his only revelation is that nothing matters. It is what it is. He is what he is. The world is what it is. And there is nothing special in that. And there is nothing special in monotony. When thinking what American Psycho means to me in 2015, I’m struck by an overwhelming sadness in how some horror books and movies are never appreciated in their day. The heinous reception of American Psycho in 1991 and how it has now become this beloved cult classic reminds me so much of John Carpenter’s adaptation of “Who Goes There” with The Thing (1982). Both were completely hated and bashed by not only critics (which we should expect) but also by audiences. American Psycho stands out to me, not only because of its quip attitude toward yuppie culture during the 1980’s, an excellent timepiece for modern day writers to resource, but also because you can feel the character, the crazed loon, desperately trying to be normal even though he is anything but normal, till the end when he finally snaps and the story whips from first person to third and finally back to first when Pat Bateman realizes there is no “normal.” It’s oddly human and somewhat farcical, something we might even call dark comedy. Everyone around Bateman is, in a lot of ways, similar to one another. They have little to no empathy towards others, not even with each other. This is often seen in not only how they talk and what they discuss, what’s of importance to them, but in how grossly they mistreat the homeless, which during the 80’s was witness to some of the highest percentages in American history. And the very same brutal detail in what they wear and what they eat and who they sleep with. In this, they are mirror images. The only difference, the only way Patrick sets himself apart, is his murderous and sexual appetites (though you could argue his sexual desires are also in line with everyone else). But this is all beneath the “surface,” and when it comes to the criticisms of the book, perhaps those same voices who threatened Bret’s life could only see what was floating on top. On the “surface” are the boring albeit grim details of every little aspect in Pat Bateman’s life, the clothes, the music, the food, the women, and even the way he imagines lacerating those same women. Beneath are metaphors, how we see society, how we place value on meaningless things, how we look at those around us as things, how we’ve become completely callous toward suffering. This is why the book is still so popular and important for readers today. If we can get past the brutality and sink our heads beneath the lapping waves of the mundane, to peer into the depths of consequentialism, for a moment at least, before we’re gasping up for air, we can walk away with some realization or dare I say an awakening. If even for only a moment. If you have yet to read Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 masterpiece, American Psycho -- well, as the saying goes: there is no time like the present. Just be forewarned that the book is written from the first person perspective. Today, few stories are told from the first person narration. Personally, the only first person stories I’ve read are Lovecraftian. However, I suggest you give the book a fair amount of patience. And patience you will need. As mentioned in my review above, the author goes into grave detail about everything. You will be numbed -- but isn’t that the point?
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Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2015 by Thomas S Flowers
I love this book, the way it almost makes fun of the Ego’s of these rich bankers while at the same time depicting the way a psychopath relates is amazing. It’s also very violent and f’d up, which i like but you might not. also has a good twist at the end
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2026 by Ian Schuring
I am by no means squeamish. I've read some of the darkest and most disturbing novels ever written (I prefer them, actually), and I tend to gravitate towards the macabre in every aspect of life. It doesn't help my sleep or my opinions on humankind, but this relentless investigation of the ugliest corners of the human spirit has at least made it possible for me to stomach some of the more gruesome photographs and descriptions of catastrophe I've come across... Or so I thought. American Psycho is, without a doubt, the most sickeningly gruesome book I have ever read. It relentlessly describes the most disturbing and disgusting acts I have ever heard of in perfectly analytical and brutal prose, to the point that I truly wanted to stop reading the book because of it - and, to some degree, I still wish I hadn't read it. The problem is, American Psycho is a very good book on several different levels. It's engrossing, well-written, and serves as a fairly apt metaphor for the shallowness of the eighties (or the upper-crust businessmen of any decade, for that matter). The story is fairly easy to sum up: Patrick Bateman, a New York executive with a six-figure salary and a designer lifestyle, is secretly a homicidal maniac in his spare time, and as the story progresses he spirals deeper and deeper into his own madness and bloodlust. His acquaintances (he has no real friends) are all so completely materialistic and absorbed by outdoing each other on every level that they are totally oblivious to the fact that Bateman is psychotic, even when he makes it fairly obvious to them. This aspect of the story is often very amusing and serves as a respite from the horribly revolting and graphic murders that occur with increasing frequency throughout the book. From purely a technical standpoint, Ellis is an excellent writer. While you may get sick of the constant and exhaustive description of every brand name item of clothing every character wears, it is relatively easy to skim over these parts as the book goes on, and they are an important reminder of the two obsessions in Bateman's life: death and status. The dialogue always has a clever snap to it that that emphasizes the moral vacuum each person operates in without overdoing it to the point of being redundant or ludicrous. In fact, the best compliment I could give Mr. Ellis' writing is that it makes you want to continue reading the book even though you truly don't want to know what horrid form of torture and execution is waiting for you next. All of this being said, I really can't come to a conclusion as to whether to recommend the book or not. Anyone who was ever even slightly squeamish in their life, ever, would do best to give this book a wide berth, as would anyone who would rather not read a book that gives them nightmares or makes them sick to their stomach. Still, if you can manage to make it through the lurid murder scenes, you'll find this book to be quite good and one that you will think about for long after you've read it, whether you want to or not.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2003 by AA
The book arrived in good condition. You know what this book is, but you haven't read it. When you do, be prepared for some graphic imagery, concepts, and horrifying realization that your inner psyche is far darker than you realize. Bret Easton Ellis delivered a book that managed to make me recoil and gag, while also making me chuckle and smile. Perhaps Bret should be on a list? Or, rather, perhaps most of us should...
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Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2026 by Nick
Format: Kindle
I didn't think I would ever read anything that would make me think that an age restriction for a book could be realistically justified. And then I read Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. Patrick Bateman is a New York City banking bro in the 1980s. It would seem like he has a pretty great life: his job is prestigious and pays well, he has a pretty fiancee, he works out regularly and is in good shape, he has a nice apartment. But what Patrick also has going on is a gnawing emptiness at his center, and violent urges he's not quite able to control. He lashes out at first against the powerless: poor people, prostitutes. But his need to hurt people escalates farther and farther until he's committing actual atrocities against even people he knows, while somehow still trying to keep it together enough to go to work and live his life as normally as possible. I'm not usually overly puritanical about depictions of sex and violence in books. Sex and violence are (fortunately and unfortunately, respectively) parts of life. And I'd seen the movie! I thought I had a handle on what was in store. But this book doesn't just flounce right over the line of being gratuitous, it goes into actively stomach-churning territory. There are things I read in this book that gave me pictures in my head I will never unsee and honestly gave me heaves. And part of it, I think, is deliberate...besides being just gross, the book is also a razor-sharp satire. A recurring motif are Bateman's much-stressed-about trips to the video store, where he rents violent pornography which desensitizes him both towards normal sex and violence against women. Living in a culture where depictions of outlandish acts of sex and violence are easy to access means that it requires yet more extreme examples to achieve the titillating/disturbing effect...examples, of course, that the text itself provides. It's clever, if also very off-putting. I had a really hard time deciding how I felt about this book. As a cutting send-up of the consumer culture of the 1980s, particularly in the heart of the NYC finance scene, it was extremely effective and often entertaining. The agonies about getting a table at the latest bougie restaurant serving the most unappetizing-seeming "exotic" food combinations were dead on. The way the book played with identity, with Patrick both constantly mistaking people he sees for people he knows and being wrong, and himself being called by the incorrect name, because as seriously as he takes his outfits (most of which are described in detail), the end result is that he looks just like everyone else, was smart and insightful. I would be pulled in and admiring the craft of it...and then there would be a gruesome murder and I would pulled back out again. Even just skimming much of the over-the-top portions of the book (it gets worse and worse as it goes along), it was a reading experience I found really difficult. This book has age restrictions for access in several countries, and I'm actually not mad about it. I might have found one of the few things I actually don't think a teenager should read without an adult having to be a part of the process. I don't know that I would affirmatively recommend that anyone read this book, it's that messed up. Which is a pity, because the parts of it that are satirical are incredibly well-executed (pun sort-of intended) and effective. But the rest of it is just too much. Yes, it's worse than the movie. Much, much worse. If your interest in still piqued and you have an iron stomach, there is merit here. But be prepared.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2022 by Gabby M
SPOILER FREE. So you've heard it all before... This is the big one; American Psycho. Instead of telling you things you've probably already heard, I will just give you my insight and two cents on why I loved this book. As I write this review in 2026, for the better part of the last 15 years there has been a theme in the clique-esq book world of those who "run the show" and what is viewed as "Acceptable" or "Unacceptable" in regards to being silenced for certain speech. I, for one, do not subscribe to that personally. I believe in all forms of speech...and the reason I'm bringing this up is because Ellis does as well—and I admire that. American Psycho is about a Wall Street narcissist, Patrick Bateman, who admires and strives for the utmost affluence in his everyday life and whose primary focus is on things that most people see as secondary. What I love about this book is that it is in the first person... Bateman is talking to you about it directly from his vantage point, and although it is often viewed as chauvinistic and deplorable over his views of women and animals, I think it's also secretly an allegory for how men process their thoughts of rage, sex, domination, money and ego to the highest degree. It's not about glorifying it, as it is about simultaneously showing its absurdity within the public eye, but also showing people what is brewing under the male cap so to speak in the most over-the-top way; a processing of wild emotions. Despite the fact that Ellis is gay in real life and Bateman is straight, I feel deep down, that just like Fight Club from Chuck Palahniuk, this is a book for men, (Although women can enjoy it). (Mini line spoiler) - - - - In relation to what I said above, I think the fact that this particular quote said by Bateman, "But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis; my punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing," is an oxymoron for what it's really doing—an outlet for men. Saying things that men might actually think in the heat of the moment that society would "shun" and "banish" them for when they're provoked, poked, prodded and shown little mercy for the pressures that go unnoticed, for the idea of even thinking it even though they actually do to process what is happening to them. - - - - I say all of this because this book is outrageously unapologetic and it allows the reader to "go there" under the cover of darkness to say "Hey, people really DO think these things, and it's just heighten ten fold for absurdity". However, and this is a big deal, Ellis DOES show what the consequences are indirectly (which I will let you discover). Bret Easton Ellis is a wordsmith and a literary craftsman. His sleek style is easy to read. Just remember, in this book, if you come across a section that might seem to "drag on" a bit, just remember who's talking to you. Enjoy. 5 incredibly big stars.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2026 by David Alan Jacobs
The PHYSICAL quality of the book is great. Paper-back, doesn’t fall apart, great whatever. The book itself though? **SPOILERS AHEAD** As a read I find it so incredibly boring, pretentious and self indulgent (to an extent). I tried giving it the benefit of doubt when the main character patrick bateman would go on and on endlessly, ceaselessly, RELENTLESSLY on and on… and on and on and ON about clothing/fashion, accessories, “good music”, stereo systems, shoes, buttons, designer socks, underwear, tie pins, pocket squares, food, restaurants, drinks, clubs, etc… but it was so boring and repetitive. I get that this is a critique about 80s yuppie lifestyle and the detachment of people like bateman and his colleagues as they live on in the drone like lifestyle of wall street corporate culture. But come on… could you have been more creative? Showcased BETTER just how bateman was losing his mind? The way the author would monotonously go from fashion to random gorey murder and sexual exploits was just so messy. There was no pace or progression to bateman. I know he is supposed to come off as just a shallow no-depth character but I feel like the reader could have experienced or seen more: some sort of understanding? Connection maybe? Something. But no. This was mindless nonsense. The author could have showcased his points, criticisms and perspectives better and all he managed to do was bore the reader to death or disturb them. There is absolutely no plot to follow. Some positives i guess were the creativity of the murder scenes and how he would enact them in gorey detail. Also the way the author would get the reader confused between who is who and what is what, in a sense putting us in batemans confused and disturbed mind. This way a decent way of showing how all the people in his world were just like him. Another thing was I guess it showed how he used murder as a way to maybe escape his world and that everyone was basically just like him or similar also using things like affairs and drugs to escape the cycle. Overall everything is too repetitive. It gets to a point where the reader just rolls their eyes and wants to scream out “OH MY GOD WE GET IT! YOU LOVE GIORGIO ARMANI!” Bateman is really crazy. We can clearly see that. But if you want a book with more pace and depth this is definitely not it. If you want a book that critiques American society, the rich, the 80s yuppie life, the treatment of wealthy vs poor, etc. eh… i guess this ok. There is definitely something better out there. Way better… in my opinion this was painfully boring. No stimulation whatsoever. The few cases where the movie was better if not at the very least more entertaining. It sums up everything that happens in the book. You get the point. People who love bateman clearly have never read the book because not even bateman likes bateman. No one does. Hes boring, the book is boring, hes shallow, so is the book. Those who idolize Bateman probably have as much depth to them as a puddle. I cant express to you enough how mind numbing this book was
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Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2024 Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2024 by Tima Al Enizy
Patrick Bateman, albeit a sociopath, is a plausible product of contemporary society. Fair enough it’s the eighties so there are no smart phones or tablets but the principle is the same. The use of the first person narrative and the incessant, page-upon-page mindless listing of fashion items, clothing, accessories, gadgets, furniture and even more mindless pursuit for the "hippest", "hottest" restaurant reservation, is an invaluable part of understanding the level of obsessive, neurotic narcissism plaguing the main character and adding brilliant hilarity to his and perhaps our condition. The focus remains on Patrick throughout the book although every character in Bateman’s “circle” is depicted as self-absorbed, distant and incapable of any true interaction or real intimacy. Through the subtle but unmistaken exponential increase in detailed descriptions of Patrick's homicidal explosions as the book progresses, Ellis tests the reader's limits, shifting the attention from this imaginary character to the reader, effectively turning an initial question of "how far will this guy go?" into a question of "how jaded are you?". Ellis points a finger to society, to this culture of apathy and individualism that has allowed for Patrick to be nurtured into an unchecked monster. It seems that to Ellis, as well as Patrick Bateman, there is no such thing as an innocent bystander. Everyone is at fault, everyone is to blame, no one is exempt. Ellis's social commentary is also evidenced in his use of the (fictional) Patty Winter's Show, with which Patrick is obsessed. Just as Ellis slyly warms up to the crazy of Patrick Bateman, we are also forced to look at the rest of the world, increasingly being made aware of the crazy of society by the use of the disturbingly familiar discussion topics on this daily tv-program, ranging from, "Women with multiple personalities" to "Concentration Camp Survivors" to "The Possibility of Nuclear War" to "Teenage Girls who Trade Sex for Crack" to "People Who Weigh Over Seven Hundred Pounds- What Can We Do About Them?" The ultimate successes of this book for me has to be that, although Ellis describes a life, a state of mind, a character that is so horrific, so awfully shallow and devoid of empathy, he nevertheless effortlessly escapes from providing a motive, an explanation or reasoning for its existence -in itself horrifying once acknowledged. It should be noted that the unrestrained description in the torture and murder scenes in the book, particularly the ones involving women, may not be tolerable to everyone. I read that the book received a lot of criticism from feminist groups when it was first published in 1991 although I cannot understand why. Patrick does not discriminate in choosing his victims. The argument that the torture is particularly creative -to say the least- when it comes to him female victims may hold some ground but that is easily countered by the fact that, by their very nature his interactions with women offer more possibilities. My own observation is that it seems in Patrick's mind, women were considered to bare a greater share of blame for failing to be an effective alternative to being homicidal, to entertain him, to arouse him, to keep him from pulling off his "mask of sanity". However, as the book progresses the sanity and lucidity of our narrator becomes more and more questionable to the point that in the end the reader is left wondering how much of what has been conveyed, isn’t some fantasy or figment of a mentally unwell mind. In one chapter, for instance, Patrick starts referring to himself in the third person and in another, one of his "friends" claims to have had dinner twice with a man Patrick had supposedly killed. It could even be said that this book –published in 1991- reads as a prelude to “Fight Club” -published in 1996 – (even though I have yet to read it and I’m referring to the movie). The theme seems the same. The main character is driven crazy by his own condition, his aimless consumerist, shallow existence and is forced to live a double life either real or imaginary. All in all, I found the book engaging, surprisingly funny considering you know ...all the torture, cannibalism, substance abuse, manipulation and murder involved...and I would –given some time to recover- definitely read it again.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2013 by Polina