While insanely controversial and critically bludgeoned in 1991, Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho has remained a classic in modern satire. The book follows the story of Patrick Bateman, a respected businessman who also likes to kill and torture people in his spare time. The first person narrative gets you inside the mind of this monster, making the reading experience both disturbing and profound. Ellis’ token cold but strangely poetic writing style is at its finest here, being comparable to the works of Nabokov and Dostoyevsky. Yet American Psycho would be more comparable to the works of Jonathan Swift, for it is truly A Modest Proposal for the 1980’s.
Great book and a nice review! I like that you made the Dostoevsky connection. I also liked that you brought up the fact that it the book is largely satire. I know a lot of people were and still are confused as to what exact genre that it falls into as the humor or satire in the film and book often go over many peoples heads.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! It would have been nice to read what you thought about the book. Did you like it, or did you just think it was interesting?
ReplyDeleteGreat comparisons but now I have to go look up who the references are to. BLAH! What are your real thoughts about this book?
ReplyDeleteNicely written review. Your comparisons were smart and well-thought out.
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