American Psycho Book Review

Book+cover+done+by+Vintage

Book cover done by Vintage

Isabella Kimball

American Psycho is a piece of postmodern satire that follows the life of yuppie Patrick Bateman. During the day, Patrick is an ordinary business man that attends extravagant dinners and dates with beautiful women. But behind the shadows, he is an unhinged serial killer with a twisted and cynical mind. I enjoyed this piece because aside from the explicit details of murder, was a quite easy and quick piece to get through. When you take a second to step back and realize why the author portrays Patrick this way, it really gets you to think about what a human is truly capable of. Some things I disliked were the chapters where he describes his favorite bands or celebrities in immense detail. I found them to drag and not enhance the plot in any way, but upon finishing the book, I can understand why the author added it to the story. Additionally, the blatant racism, homophobia, sexism, classism, and countless other flaws present in society jump out as you read. However, these topics are present in this piece to play on the satire, and how nobody genuinely acts the way Bateman does. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys satire pieces, especially about consumerism and capitalism. Additionally, there is gore, murder, and other heinous acts committed in this piece, so this is not for someone with a sensitive stomach. I give this book 4 stars.