There is a fever to the life of this book that is, in my reading, unknown in American literature.” -Michael Tolkin

What Emerson said about genius, that it’s the return of one’s rejected thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho…. An important book.” -Katherine Dunn, bestselling author of Geek Love “A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. A seminal book.” -Fay Weldon, The Washington Post The novelist’s function is to keep a running tag on the progress of culture and he’s done it brilliantly….

In the words of John Le.“Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer American Psycho is a beautifully controlled, careful, important novel…. In most cases these depictions take the reader step-by-step through the process.

In particular, feminists have been outraged at the fact that American Psycho graphically depicts the torturing and murder of women. Of course, not everyone has agreed with Mehta's point of view. Ignoring the charges that the novel lacked artistic value, Mehta claimed that Ellis 'is a significant writer writing in a documentary manner about a particular segment of American society.' Soon after being dropped by Simon and Schuster, Sonny Mehta, the president of Vintage Books, decided to pick up the work and publish it. Because of contract obligations, Ellis was able to keep the $300,000 advance that he received from Simon and Schuster for writing the novel. However, the head of the company, Richard Snyder, decided at the last minute not to publish it. Originally, the book was scheduled to be published by Simon and Schuster. It has been argued that the violence is purely gratuitous and that there is no redeeming social value to the work as a whole. Many people, both before and after publication of American Psycho, have been disturbed by the book.

However, perhaps because the confession is shockingly unbelievable, the information goes unacknowledged. In one passage, for example, Bateman looks an acquaintance right in the face and admits that he has killed and tortured many people. In fact, some of the black humor of the novel centers around Bateman's frequent confessions which are utterly ignored by his friends. Despite Bateman's daring escapades, he is never caught. Using the techniques of 'black humor,' Ellis describes many of Bateman's tortures and slayings in intricate detail. The story is about an investment banker named Patrick Bateman who is secretly a psychotic murderer. The novel American Psycho, by Brett Easton Ellis, has raised a great deal of controversy because of its graphic depictions of violence.

American psycho book pages