--- product_id: 1674811 title: "American Psycho (Vintage Contemporaries)" price: "B/.30" currency: PAB in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1674811-american-psycho-vintage-contemporaries store_origin: PA region: Panama --- # 4.3/5 from 15K+ reviews Top #19 Fiction Satire Classic 1980s Manhattan setting American Psycho (Vintage Contemporaries) **Price:** B/.30 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Unlock the dark side of 80s Manhattan—where power meets madness. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** American Psycho (Vintage Contemporaries) - **How much does it cost?** B/.30 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.pa](https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1674811-american-psycho-vintage-contemporaries) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Join the Conversation:** Over 15,000 readers rate it 4.3 stars—don’t miss out on this cultural phenomenon. - • **Unmatched Genre Fusion:** Blends satire, horror, and literary fiction for a uniquely thrilling read. - • **A Cult Classic Reimagined:** Dive into the dark psyche of 1980s Wall Street’s most infamous antihero. - • **Social Commentary with Edge:** Explore the madness beneath the surface of success and excess. - • **Critically Acclaimed Masterpiece:** Praised by The Washington Post and The Atlantic as a defining American novel. ## Overview American Psycho (Vintage Contemporaries) is a critically acclaimed novel ranked #19 in Fiction Satire and #184 in Horror Literature. With over 15,000 reviews averaging 4.3 stars, it offers a gripping exploration of 1980s Wall Street through the eyes of Patrick Bateman, blending satire, horror, and literary fiction into a modern classic. ## Description INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this modern classic, the acclaimed author of The Shards explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. "A seminal book.” — The Washington Post One of The Atlantic ’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront. “A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing.... An important book.” —Katherine Dunn, bestselling author of Geek Love Review: MISOGYNISTIC. CONTROVERSIAL. GRATUITOUS. SENSATIONAL AWESOMENESS - Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, American Psycho, has just about as a precarious history as the contents held within its blood splattered pages. First released by Simon & Schuster in early 1991 and soon after quickly sold to Vintage by the publisher for undisclosed reasons and for an undisclosed sum of money. For us folks doing a review in 2015, almost a quarter of a century down the road, this sounds quite bizarre for a publisher to boot such a phenomenal piece of horror fiction -- however, apparently during the early 90’s, American Psycho was received a tad bit differently than one might expect today. Today, American Psycho is heralded as a postmodern cult classic, used no less in hip English lit classes and sociology classes, hell maybe even psychology classes, and if teachers were really smart, criminology classes! Its very strange looking back at American Psycho’s first release and reading all the vile contemptuous swings reviewers and readers and the media alike took at Ellis. Especially considering how during the same year Silence of the Lambs was released theatrically and went on to win dozens of awards, including: The Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, etc. etc. How can a movie and book about cannibalism, the most taboo thing imaginable, shine with audiences while at the same time American Psycho can be chased away by a mob with flaming torches and pitch forks? According to Ellis, who stated in a somewhat recent interview, “It was feminists and The New York Times. Hand-wringing liberals [who] were upset about ‘American Psycho.’ I don't think there was a single peep from conservatives or anyone like that. It was a liberal witch hunt and I was at the center of it” (The Oregonian, 2010). In a previous interview with Roger Cohen, from the New York Times, back during his books initial release, in response to the numerous death threats he had received in the mail, Mr. Ellis said that he “had no idea the novel would provoke the reception it's gotten, and I still don't quite get it” (New York Times, 1991). It is so bizarre how Anthony Hopkins chewing some dudes face off can be considered highbrow, while American Psycho, which had more to say regarding the quiet submission to consumerism and desensitization of the silent majority than any other work of fiction at the time, can be held with such contempt. In retrospect of heavy criticisms, Mr. Ellis follows with one of the most profound statements regarding the craft of writing, something I believe all writers should well remember, when he states: “You do not write a novel for praise, or thinking of your audience. You write for yourself; you work out between you and your pen the things that intrigue you” (New York Times, 1991). And with American Psycho, as this humble reviewer understands it, Ellis was “working out” how society during the late 1980’s had considered the “surface” things, such as: food, clothes, money, etc., to be the only means in which a person can be defined. And this comment on society becomes obviously apparent and satirically metaphorical when you begin to read his book. In the very first pages, Ellis numbs the mind by using the narrator, Patrick Bateman, who also so happens to be a complete lunatic, to list off in excruciating detail all the many “surface” things he sees on the day to day, such as: designer suits, Walkman’s, music, movies, furniture, TV shows, restaurants, food, etc., etc. These things are important to him, while at the same time, not important. Even the murders are so brutally detailed, eventually at least (the book does have a sense of pace to it), that we become, in a way, desensitized to the violence just as much as we are desensitized to the material. Everything becomes banal. Here is what Pat Bateman has to say for himself towards the end of the book after he emerges from a near-psychotic break: “There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there…” (American Psycho, pgs. 376-377). The above statement was made popular with the release of the theatrical version of the book, staring Christian Bale, back in 2000. And the madman goes on, of course. Bateman questions the very banality of evil, “is evil something we are or something we do?” etc. etc. And by the end, he finds what we “normal” folks might consider to be the deeper things in life, such as: war and politics, family, discoveries, sunrises, heroes, falling in love, blah-blah-blah, to be also utterly dull. Bateman can only find one clear emotion within him, greed – oh and perhaps, as he suggested -- disgust. The most pungent scene, for me, that invokes this macabre bland worldview is at the beginning of the book. Patrick is waiting on Patricia who so happens to be late for their date. When she finally arrives, Patrick narrates, nonchalantly, that she is safe from his knife, safe from him cutting open her throat and watching her bleed with mild disinterest, not because of any kind of luck, and not really because she comes from a wealthy stock, but simply and callously because Bateman made the choice. Bateman states: “Patricia will stay alive, and this victory requires no skill, no leaps of the imagination, no ingenuity on anyone’s part. This is simply how the world, my world, moves” (American Psycho, pg. 282). When I first read this line…my bones were chilled by the eerie ordinariness of it. The stylization is so humdrum you can actually feel madness slipping on like an old pair of slippers as you read the narrators ghastly horrific plunge further down into the rabbit-hole. When he finally emerges, you’re expecting some earth shattering revelation, but his only revelation is that nothing matters. It is what it is. He is what he is. The world is what it is. And there is nothing special in that. And there is nothing special in monotony. When thinking what American Psycho means to me in 2015, I’m struck by an overwhelming sadness in how some horror books and movies are never appreciated in their day. The heinous reception of American Psycho in 1991 and how it has now become this beloved cult classic reminds me so much of John Carpenter’s adaptation of “Who Goes There” with The Thing (1982). Both were completely hated and bashed by not only critics (which we should expect) but also by audiences. American Psycho stands out to me, not only because of its quip attitude toward yuppie culture during the 1980’s, an excellent timepiece for modern day writers to resource, but also because you can feel the character, the crazed loon, desperately trying to be normal even though he is anything but normal, till the end when he finally snaps and the story whips from first person to third and finally back to first when Pat Bateman realizes there is no “normal.” It’s oddly human and somewhat farcical, something we might even call dark comedy. Everyone around Bateman is, in a lot of ways, similar to one another. They have little to no empathy towards others, not even with each other. This is often seen in not only how they talk and what they discuss, what’s of importance to them, but in how grossly they mistreat the homeless, which during the 80’s was witness to some of the highest percentages in American history. And the very same brutal detail in what they wear and what they eat and who they sleep with. In this, they are mirror images. The only difference, the only way Patrick sets himself apart, is his murderous and sexual appetites (though you could argue his sexual desires are also in line with everyone else). But this is all beneath the “surface,” and when it comes to the criticisms of the book, perhaps those same voices who threatened Bret’s life could only see what was floating on top. On the “surface” are the boring albeit grim details of every little aspect in Pat Bateman’s life, the clothes, the music, the food, the women, and even the way he imagines lacerating those same women. Beneath are metaphors, how we see society, how we place value on meaningless things, how we look at those around us as things, how we’ve become completely callous toward suffering. This is why the book is still so popular and important for readers today. If we can get past the brutality and sink our heads beneath the lapping waves of the mundane, to peer into the depths of consequentialism, for a moment at least, before we’re gasping up for air, we can walk away with some realization or dare I say an awakening. If even for only a moment. If you have yet to read Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 masterpiece, American Psycho -- well, as the saying goes: there is no time like the present. Just be forewarned that the book is written from the first person perspective. Today, few stories are told from the first person narration. Personally, the only first person stories I’ve read are Lovecraftian. However, I suggest you give the book a fair amount of patience. And patience you will need. As mentioned in my review above, the author goes into grave detail about everything. You will be numbed -- but isn’t that the point? Review: Ellis is Fantastic. - SPOILER FREE. So you've heard it all before... This is the big one; American Psycho. Instead of telling you things you've probably already heard, I will just give you my insight and two cents on why I loved this book. As I write this review in 2026, for the better part of the last 15 years there has been a theme in the clique-esq book world of those who "run the show" and what is viewed as "Acceptable" or "Unacceptable" in regards to being silenced for certain speech. I, for one, do not subscribe to that personally. I believe in all forms of speech...and the reason I'm bringing this up is because Ellis does as well—and I admire that. American Psycho is about a Wall Street narcissist, Patrick Bateman, who admires and strives for the utmost affluence in his everyday life and whose primary focus is on things that most people see as secondary. What I love about this book is that it is in the first person... Bateman is talking to you about it directly from his vantage point, and although it is often viewed as chauvinistic and deplorable over his views of women and animals, I think it's also secretly an allegory for how men process their thoughts of rage, sex, domination, money and ego to the highest degree. It's not about glorifying it, as it is about simultaneously showing its absurdity within the public eye, but also showing people what is brewing under the male cap so to speak in the most over-the-top way; a processing of wild emotions. Despite the fact that Ellis is gay in real life and Bateman is straight, I feel deep down, that just like Fight Club from Chuck Palahniuk, this is a book for men, (Although women can enjoy it). (Mini line spoiler) - - - - In relation to what I said above, I think the fact that this particular quote said by Bateman, "But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis; my punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing," is an oxymoron for what it's really doing—an outlet for men. Saying things that men might actually think in the heat of the moment that society would "shun" and "banish" them for when they're provoked, poked, prodded and shown little mercy for the pressures that go unnoticed, for the idea of even thinking it even though they actually do to process what is happening to them. - - - - I say all of this because this book is outrageously unapologetic and it allows the reader to "go there" under the cover of darkness to say "Hey, people really DO think these things, and it's just heighten ten fold for absurdity". However, and this is a big deal, Ellis DOES show what the consequences are indirectly (which I will let you discover). Bret Easton Ellis is a wordsmith and a literary craftsman. His sleek style is easy to read. Just remember, in this book, if you come across a section that might seem to "drag on" a bit, just remember who's talking to you. Enjoy. 5 incredibly big stars. ## Features - Great product! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #4,861 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #23 in Fiction Satire #267 in Horror Literature & Fiction #330 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 15,205 Reviews | ## Images ![American Psycho (Vintage Contemporaries) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/716pemZtSHL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ MISOGYNISTIC. CONTROVERSIAL. GRATUITOUS. SENSATIONAL AWESOMENESS *by T***S on March 13, 2015* Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, American Psycho, has just about as a precarious history as the contents held within its blood splattered pages. First released by Simon & Schuster in early 1991 and soon after quickly sold to Vintage by the publisher for undisclosed reasons and for an undisclosed sum of money. For us folks doing a review in 2015, almost a quarter of a century down the road, this sounds quite bizarre for a publisher to boot such a phenomenal piece of horror fiction -- however, apparently during the early 90’s, American Psycho was received a tad bit differently than one might expect today. Today, American Psycho is heralded as a postmodern cult classic, used no less in hip English lit classes and sociology classes, hell maybe even psychology classes, and if teachers were really smart, criminology classes! Its very strange looking back at American Psycho’s first release and reading all the vile contemptuous swings reviewers and readers and the media alike took at Ellis. Especially considering how during the same year Silence of the Lambs was released theatrically and went on to win dozens of awards, including: The Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, etc. etc. How can a movie and book about cannibalism, the most taboo thing imaginable, shine with audiences while at the same time American Psycho can be chased away by a mob with flaming torches and pitch forks? According to Ellis, who stated in a somewhat recent interview, “It was feminists and The New York Times. Hand-wringing liberals [who] were upset about ‘American Psycho.’ I don't think there was a single peep from conservatives or anyone like that. It was a liberal witch hunt and I was at the center of it” (The Oregonian, 2010). In a previous interview with Roger Cohen, from the New York Times, back during his books initial release, in response to the numerous death threats he had received in the mail, Mr. Ellis said that he “had no idea the novel would provoke the reception it's gotten, and I still don't quite get it” (New York Times, 1991). It is so bizarre how Anthony Hopkins chewing some dudes face off can be considered highbrow, while American Psycho, which had more to say regarding the quiet submission to consumerism and desensitization of the silent majority than any other work of fiction at the time, can be held with such contempt. In retrospect of heavy criticisms, Mr. Ellis follows with one of the most profound statements regarding the craft of writing, something I believe all writers should well remember, when he states: “You do not write a novel for praise, or thinking of your audience. You write for yourself; you work out between you and your pen the things that intrigue you” (New York Times, 1991). And with American Psycho, as this humble reviewer understands it, Ellis was “working out” how society during the late 1980’s had considered the “surface” things, such as: food, clothes, money, etc., to be the only means in which a person can be defined. And this comment on society becomes obviously apparent and satirically metaphorical when you begin to read his book. In the very first pages, Ellis numbs the mind by using the narrator, Patrick Bateman, who also so happens to be a complete lunatic, to list off in excruciating detail all the many “surface” things he sees on the day to day, such as: designer suits, Walkman’s, music, movies, furniture, TV shows, restaurants, food, etc., etc. These things are important to him, while at the same time, not important. Even the murders are so brutally detailed, eventually at least (the book does have a sense of pace to it), that we become, in a way, desensitized to the violence just as much as we are desensitized to the material. Everything becomes banal. Here is what Pat Bateman has to say for himself towards the end of the book after he emerges from a near-psychotic break: “There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there…” (American Psycho, pgs. 376-377). The above statement was made popular with the release of the theatrical version of the book, staring Christian Bale, back in 2000. And the madman goes on, of course. Bateman questions the very banality of evil, “is evil something we are or something we do?” etc. etc. And by the end, he finds what we “normal” folks might consider to be the deeper things in life, such as: war and politics, family, discoveries, sunrises, heroes, falling in love, blah-blah-blah, to be also utterly dull. Bateman can only find one clear emotion within him, greed – oh and perhaps, as he suggested -- disgust. The most pungent scene, for me, that invokes this macabre bland worldview is at the beginning of the book. Patrick is waiting on Patricia who so happens to be late for their date. When she finally arrives, Patrick narrates, nonchalantly, that she is safe from his knife, safe from him cutting open her throat and watching her bleed with mild disinterest, not because of any kind of luck, and not really because she comes from a wealthy stock, but simply and callously because Bateman made the choice. Bateman states: “Patricia will stay alive, and this victory requires no skill, no leaps of the imagination, no ingenuity on anyone’s part. This is simply how the world, my world, moves” (American Psycho, pg. 282). When I first read this line…my bones were chilled by the eerie ordinariness of it. The stylization is so humdrum you can actually feel madness slipping on like an old pair of slippers as you read the narrators ghastly horrific plunge further down into the rabbit-hole. When he finally emerges, you’re expecting some earth shattering revelation, but his only revelation is that nothing matters. It is what it is. He is what he is. The world is what it is. And there is nothing special in that. And there is nothing special in monotony. When thinking what American Psycho means to me in 2015, I’m struck by an overwhelming sadness in how some horror books and movies are never appreciated in their day. The heinous reception of American Psycho in 1991 and how it has now become this beloved cult classic reminds me so much of John Carpenter’s adaptation of “Who Goes There” with The Thing (1982). Both were completely hated and bashed by not only critics (which we should expect) but also by audiences. American Psycho stands out to me, not only because of its quip attitude toward yuppie culture during the 1980’s, an excellent timepiece for modern day writers to resource, but also because you can feel the character, the crazed loon, desperately trying to be normal even though he is anything but normal, till the end when he finally snaps and the story whips from first person to third and finally back to first when Pat Bateman realizes there is no “normal.” It’s oddly human and somewhat farcical, something we might even call dark comedy. Everyone around Bateman is, in a lot of ways, similar to one another. They have little to no empathy towards others, not even with each other. This is often seen in not only how they talk and what they discuss, what’s of importance to them, but in how grossly they mistreat the homeless, which during the 80’s was witness to some of the highest percentages in American history. And the very same brutal detail in what they wear and what they eat and who they sleep with. In this, they are mirror images. The only difference, the only way Patrick sets himself apart, is his murderous and sexual appetites (though you could argue his sexual desires are also in line with everyone else). But this is all beneath the “surface,” and when it comes to the criticisms of the book, perhaps those same voices who threatened Bret’s life could only see what was floating on top. On the “surface” are the boring albeit grim details of every little aspect in Pat Bateman’s life, the clothes, the music, the food, the women, and even the way he imagines lacerating those same women. Beneath are metaphors, how we see society, how we place value on meaningless things, how we look at those around us as things, how we’ve become completely callous toward suffering. This is why the book is still so popular and important for readers today. If we can get past the brutality and sink our heads beneath the lapping waves of the mundane, to peer into the depths of consequentialism, for a moment at least, before we’re gasping up for air, we can walk away with some realization or dare I say an awakening. If even for only a moment. If you have yet to read Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 masterpiece, American Psycho -- well, as the saying goes: there is no time like the present. Just be forewarned that the book is written from the first person perspective. Today, few stories are told from the first person narration. Personally, the only first person stories I’ve read are Lovecraftian. However, I suggest you give the book a fair amount of patience. And patience you will need. As mentioned in my review above, the author goes into grave detail about everything. You will be numbed -- but isn’t that the point? ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ellis is Fantastic. *by D***S on May 30, 2026* SPOILER FREE. So you've heard it all before... This is the big one; American Psycho. Instead of telling you things you've probably already heard, I will just give you my insight and two cents on why I loved this book. As I write this review in 2026, for the better part of the last 15 years there has been a theme in the clique-esq book world of those who "run the show" and what is viewed as "Acceptable" or "Unacceptable" in regards to being silenced for certain speech. I, for one, do not subscribe to that personally. I believe in all forms of speech...and the reason I'm bringing this up is because Ellis does as well—and I admire that. American Psycho is about a Wall Street narcissist, Patrick Bateman, who admires and strives for the utmost affluence in his everyday life and whose primary focus is on things that most people see as secondary. What I love about this book is that it is in the first person... Bateman is talking to you about it directly from his vantage point, and although it is often viewed as chauvinistic and deplorable over his views of women and animals, I think it's also secretly an allegory for how men process their thoughts of rage, sex, domination, money and ego to the highest degree. It's not about glorifying it, as it is about simultaneously showing its absurdity within the public eye, but also showing people what is brewing under the male cap so to speak in the most over-the-top way; a processing of wild emotions. Despite the fact that Ellis is gay in real life and Bateman is straight, I feel deep down, that just like Fight Club from Chuck Palahniuk, this is a book for men, (Although women can enjoy it). (Mini line spoiler) - - - - In relation to what I said above, I think the fact that this particular quote said by Bateman, "But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis; my punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing," is an oxymoron for what it's really doing—an outlet for men. Saying things that men might actually think in the heat of the moment that society would "shun" and "banish" them for when they're provoked, poked, prodded and shown little mercy for the pressures that go unnoticed, for the idea of even thinking it even though they actually do to process what is happening to them. - - - - I say all of this because this book is outrageously unapologetic and it allows the reader to "go there" under the cover of darkness to say "Hey, people really DO think these things, and it's just heighten ten fold for absurdity". However, and this is a big deal, Ellis DOES show what the consequences are indirectly (which I will let you discover). Bret Easton Ellis is a wordsmith and a literary craftsman. His sleek style is easy to read. Just remember, in this book, if you come across a section that might seem to "drag on" a bit, just remember who's talking to you. Enjoy. 5 incredibly big stars. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Ascent of Consumerism *by P***A on September 5, 2013* Patrick Bateman, albeit a sociopath, is a plausible product of contemporary society. Fair enough it’s the eighties so there are no smart phones or tablets but the principle is the same. The use of the first person narrative and the incessant, page-upon-page mindless listing of fashion items, clothing, accessories, gadgets, furniture and even more mindless pursuit for the "hippest", "hottest" restaurant reservation, is an invaluable part of understanding the level of obsessive, neurotic narcissism plaguing the main character and adding brilliant hilarity to his and perhaps our condition. The focus remains on Patrick throughout the book although every character in Bateman’s “circle” is depicted as self-absorbed, distant and incapable of any true interaction or real intimacy. Through the subtle but unmistaken exponential increase in detailed descriptions of Patrick's homicidal explosions as the book progresses, Ellis tests the reader's limits, shifting the attention from this imaginary character to the reader, effectively turning an initial question of "how far will this guy go?" into a question of "how jaded are you?". Ellis points a finger to society, to this culture of apathy and individualism that has allowed for Patrick to be nurtured into an unchecked monster. It seems that to Ellis, as well as Patrick Bateman, there is no such thing as an innocent bystander. Everyone is at fault, everyone is to blame, no one is exempt. Ellis's social commentary is also evidenced in his use of the (fictional) Patty Winter's Show, with which Patrick is obsessed. Just as Ellis slyly warms up to the crazy of Patrick Bateman, we are also forced to look at the rest of the world, increasingly being made aware of the crazy of society by the use of the disturbingly familiar discussion topics on this daily tv-program, ranging from, "Women with multiple personalities" to "Concentration Camp Survivors" to "The Possibility of Nuclear War" to "Teenage Girls who Trade Sex for Crack" to "People Who Weigh Over Seven Hundred Pounds- What Can We Do About Them?" The ultimate successes of this book for me has to be that, although Ellis describes a life, a state of mind, a character that is so horrific, so awfully shallow and devoid of empathy, he nevertheless effortlessly escapes from providing a motive, an explanation or reasoning for its existence -in itself horrifying once acknowledged. It should be noted that the unrestrained description in the torture and murder scenes in the book, particularly the ones involving women, may not be tolerable to everyone. I read that the book received a lot of criticism from feminist groups when it was first published in 1991 although I cannot understand why. Patrick does not discriminate in choosing his victims. The argument that the torture is particularly creative -to say the least- when it comes to him female victims may hold some ground but that is easily countered by the fact that, by their very nature his interactions with women offer more possibilities. My own observation is that it seems in Patrick's mind, women were considered to bare a greater share of blame for failing to be an effective alternative to being homicidal, to entertain him, to arouse him, to keep him from pulling off his "mask of sanity". However, as the book progresses the sanity and lucidity of our narrator becomes more and more questionable to the point that in the end the reader is left wondering how much of what has been conveyed, isn’t some fantasy or figment of a mentally unwell mind. In one chapter, for instance, Patrick starts referring to himself in the third person and in another, one of his "friends" claims to have had dinner twice with a man Patrick had supposedly killed. It could even be said that this book –published in 1991- reads as a prelude to “Fight Club” -published in 1996 – (even though I have yet to read it and I’m referring to the movie). The theme seems the same. The main character is driven crazy by his own condition, his aimless consumerist, shallow existence and is forced to live a double life either real or imaginary. All in all, I found the book engaging, surprisingly funny considering you know ...all the torture, cannibalism, substance abuse, manipulation and murder involved...and I would –given some time to recover- definitely read it again. ## Frequently Bought Together - American Psycho - Fight Club: A Novel - Less Than Zero --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1674811-american-psycho-vintage-contemporaries](https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1674811-american-psycho-vintage-contemporaries) --- *Product available on Desertcart Panama* *Store origin: PA* *Last updated: 2026-10-26*