American Psycho The controversial cult horror classic and unforgettable black comedy

American Psycho ist mitunter das widersprüchlichste Buch, das ich je gelesen habe. Dieser derart geniale Schreibstil von Ellis, macht es dem Leser sehr schwer das Buch aus der Hand zu legen, brachte mich aber trotzdem oft genug dazu, genau das zu machen. Die Oberflächlichkeit und gesamte Persönlichkeit des Protagonisten Patrick Bateman, ist absolut erschreckend, sowie einschüchternd, spiegelt aber zu einem großen Teil unsere Gesellschaft wider. Seitenlange Beschreibungen über die Pflegeroutine, die Kleidungsauswahl, die perfekte Visitenkarte... Das Buch ist absolut oberflächlich, aber genau das wollte der Autor damit erreichen. Uns vor Augen führen, dass wir vielleicht gar nicht so unterschiedlich sind, wie jeder von sich selbst behaupten würde.

Zugegeben, dieses Buch hat ziemlich unnötige detaillierte Szenen die einfach nur lang sind und man überspringen möchte, aber wenn man einmal reinkommt ist es echt interessant. Besonders bei einem schwarzen Humor kann man dieses Buch nicht loslassen. Man sollte aber nicht alles ernst nehmen, der Erzähler soll ja auch ein Psychopath sein und bringt Kommentare die man einfach niemals laut sagen würde.

Patrick Bateman is a successfull business man in a prospering company central New York. He's clothed in designer wardrobe from head to toe and is not the least shy to say so that even his underwear cost 60$ a piece. He's a hunter: During the day he competes with his colleagues for the most prestige clients, who's got the most elegants business cards and who has the biggest knowledge about proper attire and labels, in the evening he's in search for the best hardbody model-like companion for dinner in the best and hottest restaurants in the city. No dinner cost under 400$. He attends the hippest clubs with his colleagues and enjoy some lines of cocaine, typical evening routine for Bateman. During the night his greatest hunts occure, he's living his fantasies about killing homeless people and torturing prostitutes and escorts before murdering them. It's the story of a most peculiar and odd American Dream where men only differ in the labels they wear and otherwise try to be are so much alike, nearly equal that they wish to outstand and be something singular in a most strange way. Reading American Psycho was a very controversial task for me. On the one hand it was interesting to discover the nature of this character Bateman, on the other hand it was a bit of a pain in the ass to read for pages and pages to go on about his morning routine in the shower about how many different washes, gels, creams and other beauty products he uses or reading about a debate what to properly wear to a lunch business meating but I guess it's a neccessity in order to create the picture of a character so occupied with things that secretly bore him so much to death that he developed killing fantasies of the most perverse kind. Actually Bateman as a character is not that important, the name could be randomized with all his other office colleagues since they don't differ so much from each other. Reading about his torturing methods is not for the soft-hearted people, because other than just following whats current at the moment in fashion, beauty, nightlife he's very creative when it comes to dismember bodies.