American Psycho - to stick with it?

posy2010 · 13-06-2011 06:25PM #1

Reading American Psycho for the first time, and I have to say the description of every person's article of clothing is driving me mad.

To stick with it or not? Maybe this is Easton Ellis' style of writing but it is incessant and I have never given up on a book before...

Cheers

Agonist · 13-06-2011 06:30PM

posy2010 wrote: »

Reading American Psycho for the first time, and I have to say the description of every person's article of clothing is driving me mad.

To stick with it or not? Maybe this is Easton Ellis' style of writing but it is incessant and I have never given up on a book before...

Cheers

When I read it I promised myself I would never recommend it to anyone. I thought it was vile. Now, with the advent of the Internet, I would liken it to 2 girls 1 cup and similar shock videos. Once you've watched them you can't ever turn the clock back and wipe out the poison out of your mind.

I don't watch those videos either. I want my precious mind to be protected from that which will gouge and scar it.

Just my opinion, since you asked. :cool:

miqeel · 13-06-2011 06:45PM

I found it quite slow to begin with, and the clothing item descriptions were driving me mad too. The book is completely messed up, and calling it 2 girls 1 cup in book form is far and square. It is up to you, really, I read it but i wouldnt do it again, if i knew what i was put up against..

posy2010 · 13-06-2011 07:39PM

miqeel wrote: »

I found it quite slow to begin with, and the clothing item descriptions were driving me mad too. The book is completely messed up, and calling it 2 girls 1 cup in book form is far and square. It is up to you, really, I read it but i wouldnt do it again, if i knew what i was put up against..

Yeah it's the clothing descriptions. I am reading it and zoning out. Like does the reader need to know every.single.bloody.item on every.single. person and brand too? argh. gonna give it a few more chapters

posy2010 · 13-06-2011 07:40PM

Agonist wrote: »

When I read it I promised myself I would never recommend it to anyone. I thought it was vile. Now, with the advent of the Internet, I would liken it to 2 girls 1 cup and similar shock videos. Once you've watched them you can't ever turn the clock back and wipe out the poison out of your mind.

I don't watch those videos either. I want my precious mind to be protected from that which will gouge and scar it.

Just my opinion, since you asked. :cool:

have not even got to the gore yet. that wouldn't bother me. its the clothing sh/te

MagicMarker · 13-06-2011 07:43PM

Just skip the book and watch the movie, definitely one of the best movies in the last couple of decades.

landsleaving · 13-06-2011 07:49PM

If you're not into the more violent aspects of the book I'd say give it a miss, but if you persevere it's a brilliant read. Darkly comic (very dark) and extremely clever. Those long descriptions are part of what makes the book great and while I can see why a lot of people are turned off by them, I was at first too, the book really wouldn't have a lot to say without them. I won't say more because it'd ruin it a bit, but it's worth the effort, for me anyway, because of those meticulous descriptions.

posy2010 · 13-06-2011 08:51PM

landsleaving wrote: »

If you're not into the more violent aspects of the book I'd say give it a miss, but if you persevere it's a brilliant read. Darkly comic (very dark) and extremely clever. Those long descriptions are part of what makes the book great and while I can see why a lot of people are turned off by them, I was at first too, the book really wouldn't have a lot to say without them. I won't say more because it'd ruin it a bit, but it's worth the effort, for me anyway, because of those meticulous descriptions.

hmm well as I said the gore won't bother me so I will stick with it. Although with the descriptions he better kill by designer labels :pac:

posy2010 · 13-06-2011 10:27PM

Right got another 50 pages in and had to stop. I am no little flower but the book just went too far. So American Psycho will now be the one book I could not finish!

Kinski · 13-06-2011 10:46PM

posy2010 wrote: »

hmm well as I said the gore won't bother me so I will stick with it. Although with the descriptions he better kill by designer labels :pac:

Ha, ha! Spoke too soon! That novel doesn't hold back.;)

Otis Driftwood · 13-06-2011 10:55PM

Comparing American Psycho to 2 girls 1 cup?

Seriously like?

:rolleyes:

AP is one of the best novels ever written in my opinion.

Yes,it is graphic but that is such a small piece of the overall work people shouldnt let it cloud their judgement.

I really dislike the film because in the novel,the way Bateman describes everything,the fact that he is so anal that he damn near has a meltdown over the most frivolous of reasons (the business cards scene springs to mind) is brilliantly written and it illustrates wonderfully what a pompous jack ass he is and rips the piss out of the 80s yuppie lifestyle.Things like that are impossible to transfer to film.

2 girls 1 cup,ffs.

amdublin · 13-06-2011 10:58PM

I liked the clothes descriptions

But then, I am a girl.

I thought all the killing descriptions were horrendous and vile

But then again, I am a girl.

apsalar · 13-06-2011 11:07PM

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

Comparing American Psycho to 2 girls 1 cup?

Seriously like?

:rolleyes:

AP is one of the best novels ever written in my opinion.

Yes,it is graphic but that is such a small piece of the overall work people shouldnt let it cloud their judgement.

I really dislike the film because in the novel,the way Bateman describes everything,the fact that he is so anal that he damn near has a meltdown over the most frivolous of reasons (the business cards scene springs to mind) is brilliantly written and it illustrates wonderfully what a pompous jack ass he is and rips the piss out of the 80s yuppie lifestyle.Things like that are impossible to transfer to film.

2 girls 1 cup,ffs.

Dead on, I read it for the first time a few months ago, and while I absolutely love the movie, it comes nowhere near translating the maniacal obsession Bateman has with peer approval and just how shallow his world is. Also, just how nutty he is.

Stick with the book. Yes, it can be somewhat tedious at times, but it's a very darkly comic look at the money/status-obsessed lifestyle that some choose to live. The gore can be excessive (remembering the scene with the electro-fried girl...shudder), but the humour IS there, and I thought it was a very interesting approach to describing madness (e.g. to me Ellis' descriptions of clothing are pretty insane:p)

The business card scene in the film is probably my favourite, and the funniest IMHO.

Kinski · 13-06-2011 11:17PM

This reminds me of a good story about the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her first novel Purple Hibiscus told the story of a young Nigerian girl whose father was a violent bully. Once she was conversing with an American who said, "I have just read your novel. I'm so sorry to discover that Nigerian fathers are all domestic abusers." Adichie testily replied, "I have just read American Psycho. I'm so sorry to discover that young American men are all serial killers!"

RubyRoss · 14-06-2011 01:14AM

I was a fan of Bret Easton Ellis but the shine wears off with each new book,

American Psycho is tough going given the painfully detailed descriptions but for all that I can still recall the great description of Patrick's exposition on Whitney Houston and the bathroom scene in which he is horrified that Carruthers thinks he is gay.

It's part bull**** joke, part great writing - you have to be in the mood for it. (A bit like Martin Amis)

Bateman could be rewritten as a politician - remember the scene where he passionately lists the liberal causes of the world?

Malari · 14-06-2011 10:50AM

I really, really enjoyed this book. I read it on holiday a couple of days and just kept having to comment on it to my boyfriend. I just love the way the mind of the psychopath is detailed and how superficial and crazy he is. I mean, the critique of albums of middle of the road artists like Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis for pages on end is bizarre when you read it, but as a little snapshot into how Bateman categorises his world I think it's brilliant.

I honestly think you have to read it to the end to fully appreciate the ambiguity of the plot and crippled mental state of Bateman. So, OP, if you can stick with it, even glossing over the grisly bits, then I would highly recommend it because you can only really start thinking about the novel as a whole after you finish it, I think.

Eoin · 14-06-2011 12:50PM

RubyRoss wrote: »

I was a fan of Bret Easton Ellis but the shine wears off with each new book

I enjoyed American Psycho, but I've really struggled with some of the other books I tried (I think they were "Less Than Zero" and "Glamorama").

Are they worth persevering with?

Otis Driftwood · 14-06-2011 06:44PM

Ive read most of Ellis's stuff and aside from AP,Id rate The Rules of Attraction as his next best.A different beast altogether from AP but still very enjoyable I thought.

Corkfeen · 14-06-2011 06:52PM

I remember reading this in fifth year and I burst out laughing when it reached the Bono scene. Then one day a teacher picked up the book and I was rather terrified that she'd glance through it as she was a fan of the film. Thankfully she didn't. Imagine if she had come across that scene with the rat, it was a rat right? It's an excellent read once you get into it though.

Be||e · 14-06-2011 06:57PM

Eoin wrote: »

I enjoyed American Psycho, but I've really struggled with some of the other books I tried (I think they were "Less Than Zero" and "Glamorama").

Are they worth persevering with?

I'm surprised that you enjoyed American Psycho but struggled with Less Than Zero!

I found Less Than Zero much easier than American Psycho. It's quite short and it just flows - you could read it in one sitting! I would recommend you give it another go as it is one of my favourite books of all time!

Glamorama is a tougher read; it doesn't appeal to everyone.

Eoin · 14-06-2011 11:05PM

Well, I think I just stopped reading Less than Zero for some reason or another, more than found it hard to get through - I'll try again!. Glamorama just bored me though.

Looking Glass · 16-06-2011 04:24PM

I thought it was hilarious - the second time around! I didn't quite 'get' it during my first read, but then I went into it a second time I started to appreciate Ellis' writing. Sure, the descriptions of clothing and his morning cleansing routine literally go on for pages and mightn't seem necessary, but they're what Patrick is and AP wouldn't have been the same without them.

landsleaving · 16-06-2011 06:06PM

Eoin wrote: »

Well, I think I just stopped reading Less than Zero for some reason or another, more than found it hard to get through - I'll try again!. Glamorama just bored me though.

Glamorama is great until about halfway, and it just becomes a bit of a muddle of ideas. Victor is a great character, but the things that happen to him start to become a bit stupid, even if the idea may have been that it wasn't actually real.

Less than Zero is a fantastic read, and as someone else said it's very quick and flows really well - the opposite to AP really, you feel as mentally dulled as the characters, which I thought was a wonderful use of technique.

Travel is good · 16-06-2011 06:22PM

I've read nearly all of Ellis's books. I really like them. The only one I haven't read yet (on my "to be read" pile) is "Imperial Bedrooms". Has anyone read it? I bought "Less than Zero" to read again, before I try it.

A good article here in the Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0731/1224275865030.html

fontanalis · 16-06-2011 09:26PM

Don't bother you're not missing much.

Be||e · 16-06-2011 10:16PM

Travel is good wrote: »

I bought "Less than Zero" to read again, before I try it.

I did this a few months ago. I re-read Less than Zero and then moved on to Imperial Bedrooms.

I was disappointed. I thought it started well but by the time I was about half way through I just wanted it to be over.

Maybe my expectations were too high. I think I had a preconceived notion of what it would be and it didn't live up to that.

I'm thinking of giving it another go in the future and I hope to appreciate it for what it is, rather than comparing it to what I wanted it to be.

Travel is good · 16-06-2011 11:38PM

You're right, life is too short. I've started giving away some books that I know I'll never get to read. So maybe these two books will be winging their way to another reader soon!

posy2010 · 19-06-2011 03:30PM

I have taken a Boardsie's advice and am continuing with the book and glossing over the extreme violence. I had to LOL at the U2 concert. Without spoiling it the affinity he feels with Bono is brill!

IvyTheTerrible · 21-06-2011 11:30AM

I read this, and it is the only book that made me vomit, literally. I can see why it could be funny with the descriptions etc but the violence just ruined it for me. I actually feel sick just thinking about it.

Hail 2 Da Chimp · 21-06-2011 08:46PM

posy2010 wrote: »

have not even got to the gore yet. that wouldn't bother me. its the clothing sh/te

That's part of the character Ellis builds up with Bateman. Stick with it. I don't understand people reading a book about a psychopath and then complain about the book being vulgar or disgusting.

It's the same thing with the constant scrutiny Bateman describes all of the other character's, Ellis builds up a character reference of a greedy, insecure man with OCD.

enfant terrible · 21-06-2011 09:02PM

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

Comparing American Psycho to 2 girls 1 cup?

Seriously like?

:rolleyes:

AP is one of the best novels ever written in my opinion.

Yes,it is graphic but that is such a small piece of the overall work people shouldnt let it cloud their judgement.

I really dislike the film because in the novel,the way Bateman describes everything,the fact that he is so anal that he damn near has a meltdown over the most frivolous of reasons (the business cards scene springs to mind) is brilliantly written and it illustrates wonderfully what a pompous jack ass he is and rips the piss out of the 80s yuppie lifestyle.Things like that are impossible to transfer to film.

2 girls 1 cup,ffs.

The film is brilliantly written too obviously not compared to the book but should definitely should have won best screenplay that year.

Christian Bale should have won best actor too, he wasn't even nominated, probably because of the bad press the film got.

American Psycho - to stick with it?

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