This is another of ALA’s most frequently challenged books, and this is the first book I encountered where I sympathized with the challengers. This doesn’t mean that I would support the banning of this book–it just means that I think it’s a vile piece of writing and the reasons for challenging the book are clear-cut and defensible. Here we go–
I read this book for the same reason that many of you will hopefully read other banned books that I discuss–because someone told me I shouldn’t. Here’s how it happened:
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A lovely young lady that I was quite smitten with some years back was reading American Psycho. I wasn’t familiar with it and said “What’s that?”
“Oh, nothing,” she said, hiding it behind her back.
“What is it?”
“You’re not old enough for this yet,” she said, running away to hide it. I chased her down and grabbed the book from her. Didn’t look so bad. I was familiar with Brett Easton Ellis from the so-so The Rules Of Attraction and the much better Less Than Zero.
“Seriously,” she said. “I hope you don’t read it.” I could tell she was serious but I didn’t have the sense to stop. I’d been challenged in a way that only the insecure man understands. It didn’t help that she was only 4′9″ to my 6′8″ and was a few years older than I was. I didn’t want to be mothered, especially by a tiny playwright.
She went to work, I grabbed the book, and by the next morning I didn’t like much of anything anymore. I felt disgusted with myself for plowing through it and not listening to her. I felt disgusted by Brett Easton Ellis and vowed never to read anything by him again (I broke this rule pretty quickly). I hated the knowledge that real depravity exists and I had spent upwards of 300 pages participating in a relentless horrorshow that others have described to me as a vicarious “thrill.”
I’m not going to go into detail except to say that American Psycho is about a yuppie Wall Street type who murders women at night. The murders go on for pages and pages and pages , as do the really twisted sex scenes, which nearly all end in murders. Children and animals are not spared either.
I have nothing else to say about this book. Its defenders talk about how AP is performance art, or how the experience of reading it is akin to la la la and how Ellis wrote it the way he did to stick it to his publisher and how he’s so courageous because blah blah blah–whatever.
“No, you’ve just got to look at it like this, then you see what he was getting at.”
Nope. I don’t care.
I have no problem with works that are supposed to be “edgy,” although the word means little these days. But there is the edge and then there is revolting, self-serving messes that pass themselves off as “daring.” So what if it is daring? Should you get a trophy for penning the most repellent book of all time?
Anyways, that’s enough of that. I wish I’d been secure enough to take my friend’s advice. But I suspect that many of you can’t turn down a dare. But I’m not going to dare you to read American Psycho. Leave it alone. It shouldn’t be banned, but I hope it is eventually forgotten.
I don’t hate it because I don’t “get it,” as some will suggest. I hate it because it is hateful.
Turn down those dares. I’m embarrassed that I couldn’t.
If you are looking for a great banned book that is equal parts beautiful and distubing, check out Golding’s Lord Of The Flies. I read it once every year. And if you like Lord Of The Flies, you might get a kick out of The Hunger Games.
Josh
PS: The movie of American Psycho is actually quite good, but it is satirical and has some funny moments. More like Dexter than ramped up Marquis De Sade.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I bought the book many years ago and tried reading it. The first two times I stopped because it bored me right at the beginning, the third time because it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever read.
For me this is just plain horror porn crap and has nothing to do with any kind of art. In my opinion there’s no point to get when someone tries to write down the most sick thoughts humans can have just for selling a book because it breaks all taboos and might get banned.
Still, i can’t really throw books away so I hide it now. Sick, huh?
HA! I do have to admit that I have a copy lying around somewhere. I don’t get rid of books either. What a weird compulsion. There are so many books I want to read that I rarely re-read books that I love, let alone the ones I despise. I probably don’t need to have any of them around, but they still feel like family. Even my stupid copy of Flowers In The Attic will probably be with me until I die.
And I don’t even mind horror. There is some horror that I quite enjoy, but I think even “serious” horror writing is still a bit tongue-in-cheek. The author seems to be in on the joke. My favorite books are when I can tell the author had a blast writing them. Even though Stephen King can be hokey and repetitive, I love the guy and still read everything he writes, just because he obviously has so much fun with it. I don’t get that impression from Ellis and American Psycho. If he enjoyed writing it, that’s another weird wrinkle that I want nothing to do with.
“Filth” by Irvine Welsh is one of my favourite books. It’s often described as “horror”, at least it’s pretty tough, but not in the classical sense of horror. It’s so much better that AP. And it’s really psycho.
Marc, you get better and better. I absolutely loved Filth. Welsh is kind of playing his own sport when it comes to weird and trashy. You’re right, it’s a psychotic book. I really don’t have anything I’d compare it to.
Josh, have you read Tours of The Black Clock by Steve Erickson? Just wondering…
My current fav horror is Threshold by Caitlin Kiernan. That book rocks.
AP is just useless/boring/sleazy, though perhaps what he was aiming for is what they shot of the movie-if so he certainly failed.
I used to have some friends who grew up with Brett, and said that a lot of Less Than Zero was stories from their youths together. Said it was very interesting to read bits of your life reworked…
Craig, I haven’t read either. Looks like the library has them both. I requested them and should have them by this afternoon. Thanks for the recommends. Never heard of either book, so that’s exciting. Always, always looking for something new. How’s everything going?
Oh, also! I tried some of those sandbag slams onto the tire that you mentioned. Oh good grief those are hideous and great.
I’ll take your word for it and not bother with this one. You say the movie is worth watching, though?
Lord of the Flies is a long-overdue read for me. I make a point of never reading books that we were ordered to read in High School, and I guess it passed me by that way.
Things are good, and rather intense right now. Seems like the universe has decided to set me on the path to my future slightly ahead of schedule and fire the bridge behind me! No complaints.
On the sandbag slams -you being a foot taller adds about 20 inches to the motion, at least! But they are great. It’s one of those moves where you can feel the metabolic changes almost instantly…
I read this about 3/4 of the way through while I was in the Marines. Someone stole it out of the duty hut while I was in the head, so I didn’t finish it. What the hell is that? Books are usually like kryptonite to Marines! I liked the movie better. The business card scene is priceless.
Agreed. “It even has a watermark.”
I have never read American Pyscho but now that you’ve said I shouldn’t I want to. As my brother you should talk me down if it really is as bad as you say. Oh and by the way I haven’t read Lord of the Flies either. Would I like it?
Anyone should like Lord of The Flies. It’s short and excellent.