this is one of the most fascinating character studies i’ve ever read. everyone is familiar with it, christian bale dancing to huey lewis in a raincoat but this book is so much more than that. patrick bateman is an empty shell of a man, but is this due to his mind or at the fault of society? the beginning & end are cyclical, nothing really changes from the start of the story but that’s how everything’s always been: no arcs, just terrible people being terrible. at times i would read the disgusting opinions of bateman’s coworkers and was relieved that this is a dystopian story where men dont think about women like that, then i remembered that there are men out there just like them all around. it makes you observe that bateman is actually a smart person, but with a weak mind & the people he’s surrounded by almost dumb him down to the stereotypical businessmen talking about nothing & everything all the time. all i can do is applaud ellis in his writing, a dark satire that can be ridiculously hilarious on one page (i especially enjoyed the tom cruise appearance), then watch it unfold into an unnerving graphic horror on the next, & at times it’s difficult to digest. the pure genius is down to the unreliable narrator of bateman himself & the psychotic undertone of the question between if he’s a serial killer or a paranoid  schizophrenic. this is evident by how the narrative was clear & coherent at first but gradually became absurd & vague through a descent into madness. a fascinating read if you can sit through the gruesome scenes & bigoted language.