a challanging but good listen

i really stuggled with reading the book with endless lists of who is wearing what and reviews of bands but the audio book makes this all so much easier to get through. the book is violent so if you are faint hearted dont bother. its well read by nick landrum who when needed matchs the bored tone of the character. book transition quickly from a story of a high living well dressed male to that of butchery. i love it you should give it a try.

31 people found this helpful

First review ever.

What made the experience of listening to American Psycho the most enjoyable?

I am a massive fan of reading by word of mouth. By this I mean that if a book is recommended to me then I feel the book has done its job in entertain the reader. However, that being said American Psycho" was a book that when recommended to me I was dubious of.

When I started to read the book I was unable to really lose myself as is the case with most books that I choose to read. Thoroughly wanting to embrace this new genre of book I had been introduced to gave me a perfect reason to try Audible.

This being my first ever audio book I was not prepared for how much I would actually enjoy being read a story, as so many of us are read to when we were children. In summation I can say the thing that I have enjoyed the most about this listening experience is that I now feel that a whole plethora of genres and stories have been opened up to me.

What other book might you compare American Psycho to, and why?

This is the first book of this style of writing I have ever read or listened to and so unfortunately I am unable to compare it to anything. I am aware though that this was a popular style of writing within this era and will endeavor to try similar stories.

Did Nick Landrum do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

I did like Nick Landrum's differentiation between male and female characters but felt that the males characters seemed to be very similar. This did not detract from my enjoyment of the book though.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The strongest emotion I felt was that of complete disgust. The graphic nature of the book and the focus on the materialism, perfectionism and vanity of the main character made for some truly horrific scenes.

This was perfectly shown in the chapter where Patrick disembowels a shar-pei dog and murders the owner to try ans satiate his need for violence. It was during this scene that i had to stop and allow my stomach to settle before carrying on my walk home from work.

Any additional comments?

Whilst this book was not a book that I would normally choose i did enjoy it. I am a complete convert for audio books and i am avidly awaiting my next credit so that I may get my teeth into another great read.

16 people found this helpful

Superb

A brutal, brooding and laugh out loud funny book that is a worryingly accurate snapshot of 80's New York excess.
Brilliantly written, brilliantly read.

4 people found this helpful

I need to return some video tapes!

As a fan of the movie I've been wanting to check this out for a long time. I really enjoyed it, the murder scenes make the movie equivalent seem very tame in comparison. Patrick Bateman's descent into madness was a joy to listen to. My only complaint was that Patrick's inner monologue although enjoyable at first often spent far too long talking about the same subject i.e genesis albums and so on. The book as a whole was very well written!

4 people found this helpful

Hard Listen

I was equally disappointed and relived when the book finished. I don't know if it's due to me listening as I was working, but I found it hard to get an idea of any arch of storytelling. No character development. I guess that is part of authors plan to emphasise psychosis?

The murder scenes are hard listening. And SPOILERS the story just abruptly ends. No comeuppance, no consequences just 17 hours of in depth fashion discussions, album reviews, arguments over dinner reservations in between tonnes of vile gore.

26 people found this helpful

A most uncomfortable and gripping listen!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This book constantly caught me by surprise, and in the process shredded my nerves to breaking point. This book is intelligently written and not a comfortable listen, but is incredibly compelling.

What was one of the most memorable moments of American Psycho?

Ellis throws very disturbing comments into the mundane descriptions of the lead characters behaviour. In one scene he talks about Bateman arriving at his flat, performing some everyday tasks and then torturing a small dog to death, completely catching the reader by surprise.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The second sex scene with the prostitute and another female character. Far from being an erotic encounter, I found myself apprehensively awaiting the scene to descend to the brutality we have come to expect from Bateman, shredding my nerves in the process.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Ellis' reflection of every other character around Bateman not recognising each other, calling each other by incorrect names and generally being so self absorbed and in their own worlds that no one is missed when they disappear. This includes Bateman himself, greeting people who he thinks are others throughout the novel. In this instance the most real characters are the ones on the periphery, making it much easier to relate to them and caring more about their fates.

Any additional comments?

Buy this book. It is highly intelligent and is guaranteed to catch you out, shred your nerves and make you dread what is about to happen.

10 people found this helpful

The years have not been kind

Having read this myself many moons ago as a teenager and believing myself to be sophisticated and urbane at the time. I thought I would use my monthly credit to re visit it.

I really wish I hadn't, what took for irony and a polemic against the yuppie generation turned out to be with the benefit of age just misogyny and verbal pornography.

20 people found this helpful

Nick Landrum's Great Yuppy Voice

Really good film but the book for me blows it out the water especially when narrated by someone who does such a good job at pulling off the monotone yet still capable of amazing emotion voice of Bateman.

1 person found this helpful

Difficult

Another reviewer has described this book as both boring and gruesome. It is both. The story is composed largely of lists of who's wearing what by which designer, punctuated by scenes of extreme violence both physical and/or sexual. It is not for the faint-hearted.



The protagonist – Patrick Bateman – is a thoroughly dislikeable character, completely without redeeming features. Leaving aside the psychosis, some psychotics can be utterly charming, he treats everyone mercilessly and his actions are without repercussion. He is utterly self-absorbed, sexist, homophobic and racist. I read a review of this book elsewhere that suggested that the violence does not actually happen and I feel that it is completely plausible that these scenes are cocaine-fuelled fantasies.



There are recurrent themes throughout the book, the subject of the "Patti Winters Show" televised each morning; getting a reservation in an exclusive restaurant; monologues on the merits of the band Genesis and singer Whitney Houston. The characters’ conversations are beyond banal, a discussion on brands of bottled waters, for instance.



Had I set out to read the physical book, I wouldn't have got past page 20 it is so mind-numbing, however, the narration is good and this is a help towards the finish, which I will do, if only to see how depraved or conversely, boring, it can get. It goes without saying that the book in itself is very well written, descriptive passages leave nothing to the imagination.

8 people found this helpful

Not for everyone.

If you could sum up American Psycho in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, Pychocotic, Gory

Who was your favorite character and why?

Patrick Bateman just trying to work out how this guy ticks was interesting to me, people who are studying pychology have done whole case studys on him he has many issues.

What about Nick Landrum’s performance did you like?

His voice fits Patrick perfectly and kind of reminded me of Christian Bales voice.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The murders why? you think the film is messed up well the book describes these scenes in a much more graphic manner and there are much worse murders than are shown in the film.

Any additional comments?

If you really enjoyed the film and want to learn more about Patrick you will enjoy this book but a thing to keep in mind is this is like a diary of a psychopath and Patrick is very vein and so talks about fashion and what people are wearing a lot, so there are many times in the book where there are whole paragraphs dedicated to him simply describing what people are wearing, myself I did not mind this as I found it really got me in his mind set but others may find this boring.

3 people found this helpful