American Psycho: Please tell DH that that the film doesn't make the points that the book does.

[Ninks]

He thinks he won't enjoy the book because he has watched the movie.

I read it in the early nineties. Found it really disturbing. Shocking content obviously, but the flat, emotionless prose, the sense of benign neglect that the upper-class NY / Boston brothers endured - all implicit...

And the sense of America post-AIDS when silly money was being earned by silly people. It's worth reading for that alone in this day and age.

Very original style he has too, Mr Easton Ellis. Which is always good. (Apart from when he tries to write other books - I'm not keen on them )

Seems to me that people who liked the social commentary of, "We Need To Talk About Kevin", would be interested in this. I bloody loved that about the book more than the main narrative tbh.

I am obviously forgetting lots of other good things about it. Can you help me out MNers?

I think the film was pretty good but the novel is a masterpiece, so def can and should be read by yr dh.

The book is dense with mundane details which give a wonderful insight into the mind of a high-achieving narcissist. It is full of irony and by humour as well as passages of searing violence.

The main points which can give rise to amzingly fraught discussions are:
-is Patrick a psycho or a pussycat?

• is the book misogynistic or a critique of misogynism?
• does reading about graphic acts of violence brutalise the reader?
• how does the author convey the anti-hero's confused state of mind whilst apparently having him give a hyper realistic account of his daily life?

Loved the book, liked the film. Would highly recommend the book as it is much more challenging and disturbing, as well as funnier. The novel's dialogue is just hysterical.

Good luck convincing dh.

I second that, sal

book = pseudo-intellectual wankfest.film as bad

in the book hated endless product descriptions,i mean how much about huey fuckin lewis or phil collins can one read

i regret i have knowledge of the book or movie

Oh I only skimmed the book after seeing the movie, but god, it was even worse!

Jeez MN-ers don't hold back will you?

Maybe I am rem'bering it bad. I was very young when I read it but 'tis still better than that crappy film surely!

scottishmummy- my sentiments exactly. every copy should be pulped imo.

Hellish book, way too graphic in a not very nice way, completely unappealing.

Don't think I've seen the film, thank goodness.

You've got to admit that this is fucking funny though...

the film was sort of funny, book wasn't iirc

dont pulp em all keep a few as dire warning of wankfest masquerading as fiction

The film was less graphic but er, not - somehow.

Oh I liked the gastroporn, I did. Didn't anybody else love the ironic descriptions of poncey NY food? MN material surely? They ate flowers FGS!

the endless dry description of avaricious consumerism did my head in

i will never get that time back.

book and film gratuitously schlocky and well icky...

Oh scottishmummy, if we are both here and tipsy, can we have a little bonding moment and call a truce to snippiness? I would like to be off your shit list...

i am not tipsy,nor snippy,nor aware you thought there was a terse vibe?at a loss on that one

i am a horribly organised with lists and to do

i have no shit list per se. no mn grudges or gripes

i do have a penchant for nice soft toilet paper.no value one sheet will do here.poncey only

Oh, I did pick that up, but glad it's not the case. And yes, you get what you pay for with bog roll...

with bog roll less is most definitely not more

Tip of the day- don't go the Moists route - expensive blockage issues, not a good idea...

bed calls my name.cheerie

shea butter Andrex is nice.

I'm not sure what we've got in the upstairs toilet at the moment, but it's too thin, and I'm quad-folding it. Can't be an economy.

Suspect it is 'Sainsburys deluxe' or some such.

Enjoying a book IMO is less about the points that it makes as it is about the way in which it is written. Which you can in no way tell from a movie.

The movie is sooo much more superficial than the book. Hard to compare the two. They happen to have the same characters and roughly same events but the tone is utterly different.
The book is incredibly powerful but I think actually much more disturbing because of this.

I agree with you that the book is FAR better and much more intelligent but I wouldn't recommend someone to read it as it's too grim. There are so many other books in the world. A book that is still grim but makes its points without being that nasty and requiring so much crap about cheesy music would be Saramago's 'Blindness'. I am staying well away from that fim.

oh lordy its all coming back all the endless descriptions about hard bodies and font on business cards

and the did he - didnt he do it ending

Book def more in depth than the film.

Wouldn't want to read or watch either ever again though