American Psycho

Outline

American Psycho (1991) is a dark satirical novel about Patrick Bateman, a wealthy young professional living in the highly competitive world of 1980s New York. Behind his polished appearance and obsession with status, brands, and social approval lies a deeply disturbed personality increasingly separated from reality. Through an intentionally unsettling narrator, the novel criticises excessive materialism, moral emptiness, social conformity, and a culture in which outward success can conceal profound inner corruption.

• The novel follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy young professional competing for status in 1980s New York.
• Bateman's polished look and obsession with brands and social approval hide a disturbed personality drifting away from reality.
• Ellis tells the story through an intentionally unsettling narrator, which keeps the reader uneasy throughout.
• The book is a dark satire that criticises excessive materialism and moral emptiness.
• It shows how outward success and social conformity can cover deep inner corruption.

Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist, screenwriter, essayist, and cultural commentator known for his sharp portrayals of privilege, consumer culture, and emotional detachment. He gained recognition with his first novel, Less Than Zero, which he published while still in college. His fiction often uses satire and unreliable narrators to examine the darker contradictions beneath wealth, popularity, and modern American life.