This is your warning before you attempt to read ‘American Psycho’

With Luca Guadagnino directing a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, you might want to dive into the novel for Austin Butler’s take on Bateman. This is your warning: It isn’t for the faint of heart.

I am someone who has read the novel and watched the Mary Harron film too many times to count. I saw the musical 6 times during its short run on Broadway and I even have a tattoo in dedication to my love of this piece of literature. That being said, the novel took me years to actually finish and for good reason: It is nearly impossible to stomach. You’re living in Patrick Bateman’s head and it feels impossible to escape at times.

Ellis’ wrote the novel for a number of reasons. One thing bleeding into the work was Ellis’ own hatred of New York City. But it was a commentary on the 80s “yuppie” lifestyle as well as Ellis working out his own inability to be true to himself. He wrote the novel while he was not yet open about his sexuality and that does play a part in who Patrick Bateman is.

More than Ellis’ own feelings, the novel is a lot darker and more sinister than other adaptations of it. There is an entire storyline about a rat that Patrick finds in his home that he starves for the purpose of using it to kill someone later in the novel. It is disgusting and hard to read. Hence why it took me years to finish.

But living in Bateman’s mind for the length of Ellis’ work isn’t for everyone and the film and musical are drastically different in that regard. As will be the Guadagnino version with Scott Z. Burns’ script. You’re watching a character, not living in his mind.

You might want to skip the novel

Look, again, this is my favorite piece of media out there. The movie is my favorite, I love the musical very dearly, and even the novel does work for me. But it is not the same as watching Patrick Bateman killing someone on screen and understanding that he is a man separate from our own reality. When you’re reading the novel, the use of first-person is eerie and terrifying. You cannot escape what Bateman thinks.

This isn’t a story about a killer you want to love or “fix.” It is about a man who benefits from a society that sees white men as the most powerful creatures. Patrick uses his privilege to prey on those he sees as “weaker” beings. Reading the novel and seeing how someone can think like this about others is unnerving enough but add in the horrifying kills and it leaves you feeling hollow.

If you can stomach the deranged mind of Patrick Bateman, it is a worthy read. Especially if, like me, you are fascinated by the commentaries that can exist within the piece. But do not go into the novel thinking that the, frankly, lighter kills from the film will be what you find. It is truly and honestly one of the more gory and upsetting things I’ve ever picked up. And this is coming from someone who LOVES American Psycho.