T Y P

P HY
5
2
O G R A
tiffany pan
design media arts 25
willem henri lucas
fall 07
0
research
introduction &
fact
fction
With a name like Typography, Desma 25 seemed straightforward
enough. But 18 groggy mornings, about a hundred designs, and just
as many prirnting problems later, a more appropriate refection might
be: Who knew it would involve more than just typing?
Perhaps a more accurate description would be Desma 25: Form, Bal-
ance, Motion, Weight, Color, Composition, Column Setting, Hierar-
chy, Letterspacing, Leading, Legibility and Visual Vernacular.
Or Desma 25: Chop, Maim, Shock, Bellini, Kill.
Or even Desma M25: InDesign 101.
As such, Tuesday/Thursdays 9-12 were dedicated to an exploration
of everything from hiring Julia Roberts (the importance of focus-
ing on a central component), a seminal American novel (a criticism
of consumerism and and the pornographic degeneration of modern
society), to learning inDesign inside and out (mostly sink or swim)
and withstanding class critiques (more sink than swim).
What follows is good, bad, ugly the culmination of a quarter.
introduction & conclusion
Times New Roman
This typeface rst appeared in 1932 in The Times of London
newspaper, for which it was designed. It has subsequently become
one of the worlds most successful type creations. The original draw-
ings were made under Stanley Morisons direction by Victor Lardent
at The Times.
Based on experiments Morison had conducted using Perpet-
ua and Plantin, it has many old style characteristics but was adapted
to give excellent legibility coupled with good economy. Widely used
in books and magazines, for reports, ofce documents and also for
display and advertising. (Microsoft typography)
In 2004, the U.S. State Department
announced that as of February 1,
2004, all U.S. diplomatic documents
would use 14 point Times New Ro-
man instead of the previous 12 point
Courier New. (wikipedia)
tnr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Times_Roman.png
CATEGORY
CLASSIFICATION
PANOSE
DESIGNER(S)
COMMISSIONED BY
FOUNDRY
DATE RELEASED
Serif
Transitional
2263545234
Stanley Morison
Starling Burgess
Victor Lardent
The Times
Monotype
1931
There should be an
apostrophe in that name,
Times Roman, I suppose,
though no-one uses it.
-Charles Bigalow
http://www.truetype-typography.com/articles/times.htm
the lazy brown fox jumped over the lazy dog
the lazy brown fox jumped over the lazy dog
the lazy brown fox jumped over the lazy dog
the lazy brown fox jumped over the lazy dog
Feminist activist Gloria Steinem
was among those opposed to the release of Ellis' book because of its portrayal of violence towards women. Of all works pub-
lished in the U.S.A. at that time, including those clearly carrying X ratings, the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organiza-
tion for Women (NOW) selected American Psycho for special notice, stating that the book legitimizes inhuman and savage
violence masquerading as sexuality. Judging the book the most misogynistic communication the organisation had ever
encountered, and on the grounds that violence against women in any form is no longer socially acceptable, NOW called for
a boycott of the entire Random House catalogue for the remainder of 1991. Naomi Wolf agreed, calling the novel a violation
not of obscenity standards, but of womens civil rights, insofar as it results in conditioning male sexual response to female
suffering or degradation. It is interesting to note however that Steinems stepson Christian Bale portrayed Bateman in the flm
adaptation of the novel. (http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0610/01-brien.php)
Time and Spy magazines
printed excerpts from the
book before publication.
Time chose a passage in which a woman is skinned alive, Spy a scene
in which the narrator removes a victim's head and sodomizes it. Simon
and Schuster, Ellis' publishing house, paid him a $300,000 advance
on the book and then refuse d to publish the delivered manuscript
after women in the firm and outside women's groups began protesting;
before the protests the editors were simply performing the same revi-
sions on the book that they would with any other novel. (http://www-
tech.mit.edu/V111/N18/jackso.18o.html)
on the
other
hand,
The New York Times:
American Psycho lacks such a moral framework. Mr. Ellis teases us near the end into
believing that Patrick Bateman may finally be brought to justice. But he isnt; at the
books close he is still at large. The author is saying that today such monstrous criminal-
ity is indistinguishable from the general behavior of society. But Mr. Elliss true offense
is to imply that the human mind has grown so corrupt that it can no longer distinguish
between form and content. He has proved himself mistaken in that assumption by writing
a book whose very confusion of form and content has caused it to fail, and for that of-
fense and no other does one have cause to excoriate American Psycho.(nytimes.com)
is a 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis. It is a rst-
person narrative of the life of a wealthy young
Manhattanite and self-proclaimed serial killer.
The graphic violence and sexual content was
widely commented upon at the novel's release.
Set in Manhattan in the late 1980s, American
Psycho spans roughly two years of the life of
wealthy young investment banker Patrick Bate-
man. Bateman, 26 years old when the story be-
gins, narrates his serial-killer antics; though the
reliability is intentionally ambiguous, particu-
larly toward the books end. Bateman works as
a Vice President at a ctional Wall Street invest-
ment bank, Pierce & Pierce, and lives in an ex-
pensive Manhattan apartment on the Upper West
Side. He embodies the 1980s yuppie culture.
Through the stream-of-consciousness narrative
he describes his conversations with colleagues in
bars and cafes, his ofce, and nightclubs, satiriz-
ing the vanity of Manhattan yuppies. Batemans
narrative revolves around his murderous and
other seemingly normal activities including
renting and returning video tapes, reservations
at trendy restaurants, the pursuit of cocaine in
dance clubs, dates with various women, rivalries
with colleagues, parties with vacuous associates,
avoiding Luis (a closeted homosexual colleague
of Batemans who confesses his secret love for
him), and pointless disputes at restaurants and
Interviewer: I always dislike the gay characters in your books.
BRET: I DONT LIKE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN MY BOOKS.
THATS WHAT I IMMEDIATELY THINK WHEN YOU SAY THAT. AND
THERE REALLY ARENT THAT MANY GAY CHARACTERS.
Interviewer: Luis Carruthers in American Psycho.
BRET: I GUESS HE IS. BUT YOU HAVE TO REALIZE YOURE SEE-
ING EVERYTHING IN AMERICAN PSYCHO THROUGH PATRICK
BATEMANS CRAZED, WARPED MIND PATRICK THINKS EV-
ERYONES IN LOVE WITH HIM. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUNNY
AND INSTRUCTIVE TO HAVE AMAN BE ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO
PATRICK SEES AS WANTING HIM. I MEAN, I WAS INTERESTED IN
UNDERSCORING SOME OF THE HOMOEROTIC THINGS THAT WERE
GOING ON IN THE CULTURE AT THE TIME, PARTICULARLY THE
DANDIFICATION OF AMERICAN MALES. THATS WHAT AMERI-
CAN PSYCHO IS ABOUT MALE NARCISSISM, AND WHERE THAT
MIGHT LEAD.
Interviewer: It seems like a really hard book to translate into flm.
BRET: I THINK THE MOVIE GOT PRETTY CLOSE TO THE TEMPERA-
MENT OF THE BOOK. BUT
THE FILM IS A LIGHTER, FLASHIER, FUNNIER, NOT AS HARD-TO-
TAKE EXPERIENCE. ITS NOT AS CRUEL AND NOT AS VIOLENT, OB-
VIOUSLY.
Interviewer: One of the attributes of your characters, especially in that book,
is their lack of empathy, their inability to connect.
BRET: THIS IS TRUE. AS AWRITER, IM NOT REALLY INVESTIGAT-
ING ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS OR LOVE. MY WORK IS REALLY
ABOUT A CULTURE THAT PISSES ME OFF, AND AWORLD THAT WE
LIVE IN THAT VALUES ALL THE WRONG THINGS. I MEAN, THATS
WHAT SATIRISTS WRITE ABOUT. YET IVE BEEN IN LOVE, AND IVE
HAD RELATIONSHIPS. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT IVE
EXPERIENCED THAT IVE NOT WRITTEN ABOUT BECAUSE I JUST
DONT FIND THEM THAT INTERESTING AS SUBJECTS.
(http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/bret_easton_ellis.shtml)
bars over pop culture and fashion trivia. Bateman
dates several women besides his ance Evelyn,
though without any deep feelings for anyone. He
frequently solicits sex with attractive women (or
hardbodies). He spends excessive time on his
appearance, and persistently tries to outclass his
colleagues, though the only signicant differ-
ence between him and them is his preoccupation
with criminal acts of rape, torture and murder.
Batemans serial killer interests are the subject
of popular derision from his workmates and male
friends, who view this interest as a macabre spe-
cialty hobby sideline, rather than as a sign that
Bateman is a psychopathic serial killer. In the
end, Bateman descends into despair as he ponders
the futility of his actions. He cannot convince his
own attorney of his murderous nature, and re-
ceives taunts for making up an unbelievable and
absurd story. In the nal paragraph, the closing
image is of a sign in a bar that declares This Is
Not An Exit. It remains unclear at the end wheth-
er his crimes were real or imaginary. (Wikipedia)
its arguable that
Those who condemn it for be-
ing violent miss the point- its a
fantasy. Those who praise it for
being a satire miss the point-
its a fantasy. Its best predeces-
sor is not Fyodor Dostoevskys
Notes From The Underground,
but Franz Kafkas The Meta-
morphosis, another symbolic
work that explores what a
protagonist who feels the world
shuns him will act like.
(http://www.yetanotherbookreview.
com/american_psycho.htm)
index interview
1
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
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spot color
typesize II
A M E R I C A N
P S Y C H O
a novel
by Bret Easton Ellis
Vintage Contemporaries
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
Vintage Books a Division of
Random House, Inc.
I live in the American
Gardens Building on
W. 81st Street on the
11th foor. My name is
Patrick Bateman. Im
27 years old. I believe
in taking care of myself
and a balanced diet and
rigorous exercise rou-
tine. In the morning if
my face is a little puffy
Ill put on an ice pack
while doing stomach
crunches. I can do 1000
now. After I remove the
ice pack I use a deep
pore cleanser lotion. In
the shower I use a water
activated gel cleanser,
then a honey almond
body scrub, and on the
face an exfoliating gel
scrub. Then I apply an
herb-mint facial mask
which I leave on for 10
minutes while I prepare
the rest of my routine.
I always use an after
shave lotion with little
or no alcohol, because
alcohol dries your face
out and makes you look
older. Then moisturizer,
then an anti-aging eye
balm followed by a fnal
moisturizing protective
lotion.
I live in the American Gardens Building on W.
81st Street on the 11th foor. My name is Patrick
Bateman. Im 27 years old. I believe in taking
care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous
exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little
puffy Ill put on an ice pack while doing stomach
crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the
ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the
shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then
a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an
exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint
facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while
I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an
after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because
alcohol dries your face out and makes you look
older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm
followed by a fnal moisturizing protective lotion.
Vintage Books a Division of Random House, inc.
Vintage Contemporaries
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
A Novel by Bret Easton Ellis
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
I live in the American Gardens
Building on W. 81st Street
on the 11th foor. I believe
in taking care of myself and
a balanced diet and rigorous
exercise routine. In the morn-
ing if my face is a little puffy
Ill put on an ice pack while
doing stomach crunches.
I can do 1000 now. After I re-
move the ice pack I use a deep
pore cleanser lotion. In the
shower I use a water activat-
ed gel cleanser, then a honey
almond body scrub, and on the
face an exfoliating gel scrub.
Then I apply an herb-mint fa-
cial mask which I leave on for
10 minutes while I prepare the
rest of my routine. I always
use an after shave lotion with
little or no alcohol, because
alcohol dries your face out and
makes you look older. Then
moisturizer, then an anti-aging
eye balm followed by a fnal
moisturizing protective lotion.
A Novel by Bret Easton Ellis
My name is Patrick Bateman.
Im 27 years old.
Vintage Books a Division of
Random House, Inc.
Vintage Contemporaries
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
I always use an after shave lotion with little or
no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older.
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street
Im 27 years old.
I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet
and rigorous exercise routine.
In the morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack
I can do 1000 now.
My name is
After I remove the ice
In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body
Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave for 10 minutes.
Then moisturizer,
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
a novel by Bret Easton Ellis
doing stomach crunches.
pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion.
scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub.
while
on
then an anti-aging eye balm
followed by
a fnal
moisturizing
protective
lotion.
11th foor.
on the
Patrick Bateman.
Vintage Contemporaries Vintage Books a Division
of Random House, Inc. New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
a novel by Bret Easton Ellis
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the
11th foor. My name is Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years old. I believe
in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise
routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on an
ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After
I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the
shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond
body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply
an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I
prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion
with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and
makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye
balm followed by a fnal moisturizing protective lotion.
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
Vintage Books a Division of Random House, Inc. New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
v i n t a g e c o n t e m p o r a r i e s
2
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
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composition & space
rules & blocks
spot color
typesize II
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a Division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
I live in the
American
Gardens Building
on W. 81st Street
on the 11th foor.
My name is
Patrick Bateman.
Im 27 years old.
I believe in
taking care of
myself and a
balanced diet and
rigorous exercise
routine. In the
morning if my
face is a little
puffy Ill put on
an ice pack while
doing stomach
crunches. I can
do 1000 now.
After I remove
the ice pack
I use a deep pore
cleanser lotion. In
the shower I use
a water activated
gel cleanser, then
a honey almond
body scrub, and
on the face
an exfoliating
gel scrub. Then
I apply an herb-
mint facial mask
which I leave on
for 10 minutes
while I prepare
the rest of my
routine. I always
use an after shave
lotion with little
or no alcohol,
because alcohol
dries your face
out and makes
you look older.
Then moisturizer,
then an anti-
aging eye balm
followed by a
fnal moisturizing
protective lotion.
ANovel by Bret Easton Ellis
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th
foor. My name is Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years old. I believe in taking
care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the
morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack while doing
stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use
a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel
cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating
gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for
10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after
shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out
and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm
followed by a fnal moisturizing protective lotion.
A Novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a Division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
I live in the American Gardens
Building on W. 81st Street
on the 11th foor. My name is
Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years
old. I believe in taking care of
myself and a balanced diet and
rigorous exercise routine. In the
morning if my face is a little
puffy Ill put on an ice pack
while doing stomach crunches.
I can do 1000 now. After I
remove the ice pack I use a
deep pore cleanser lotion. In the
shower I use a water activated
gel cleanser, then a honey
almond body scrub, and on the
face an exfoliating gel scrub.
Then I apply an herb-mint
facial mask which I leave on
for 10 minutes while I prepare
the rest of my routine. I always
use an after shave lotion with
little or no alcohol, because
alcohol dries your face out and
makes you look older. Then
moisturizer, then an anti-aging
eye balm followed by a fnal
moisturizing protective lotion.
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
A Novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a Division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
a novel by
bret easton ellis
a me r i c a n p s y c h o
vintage contemporaries
vintage books a division of
random house, inc.
new york isbn 0-679-73577-1
my name is patrick
i live in the american gardens
building on w. 81st street on
the 11th floor. im 27 years
old. i believe in taking care of
myself and a balanced diet
and rigorous exercise routine.
in the morning if my face is
a little puffy ill put on an ice
pack while doing stomach
crunches. i can do 1000 now.
after i remove the ice pack
i use a deep pore cleanser
lotion. in the shower i use a
water activated gel cleanser,
then a honey almond body
scrub, and on the face an
exfoliating gel scrub. then
i apply an herb-mint facial
mask which i leave on for 10
minutes while i prepare the
rest of my routine. i always
use an after shave lotion with
little or no alcohol, because
alcohol dries your face out
and makes you look older.
then moisturizer, then an anti-
aging eye balm followed by a
final moisturizing protective
lotion.
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a Division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
I live in the American Gardens
Building on W. 81st Street on the
11th foor. My name is Patrick
Bateman. Im 27 years old. I
believe in taking care of myself
and a balanced diet and rigorous
exercise routine. In the morning if
my face is a little puffy Ill put on
an ice pack while doing stomach
crunches. I can do 1000 now. After
I remove the ice pack I use a deep
pore cleanser lotion. In the shower
I use a water activated gel cleanser,
then a honey almond body scrub,
and on the face an exfoliating gel
scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint
facial mask which I leave on for
10 minutes while I prepare the
rest of my routine. I always use an
after shave lotion with little or no
alcohol, because alcohol dries your
face out and makes you look older.
Then moisturizer, then an anti-
aging eye balm followed by a fnal
moisturizing protective lotion.
a novel by Bret Easton Ellis
3
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
italics
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spot color
typesize II
Vintage Contemporaries Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th foor. My name is Patrick
Bateman. Im 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous
exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack while doing
stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser
lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and
on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for
10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little
or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer,
then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a fnal moisturizing protective lotion.
a m e r i c a n p y c h o s
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
Vintage Contemporaries Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gar dens
Bui l di ng on W. 81st St r eet
on t he 11t h f l oor. My name i s
Pat r i ck Bat eman. I m 27 year s
ol d. I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e
of mysel f and a bal anced di et
and r i gor ous exer ci se r out i ne.
I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s
a l i t t l e puff y I l l put on an
i ce pack whi l e doi ng st omach
cr unches. I can do 1000 now.
Af t er I r emove t he i ce pack
I use a deep por e cl eanser l o-
t i on. I n t he shower I use a wa-
t er act i vat ed gel cl eanser, t hen
a honey al mond body scr ub,
and on t he f ace an exf ol i at -
i ng gel scr ub. Then I appl y an
her b- mi nt f aci al mask whi ch I
l eave on f or 10 mi nut es whi l e
I pr epar e t he r est of my r ou-
t i ne. I al ways use an af t er
shave l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no
al cohol , because al cohol dr i es
your f ace out and makes you
l ook ol der. Then moi st ur i zer,
t hen an ant i - agi ng eye bal m
f ol l owed by a f i nal moi st ur i z-
i ng pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
a m e r i c a n p y c h o s
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
a novel by Bret Easton Ellis
I LIVE IN THE AMERICAN GARDENS
BUILDING ON W. 81ST STREET ON THE 11TH
FLOOR. MY NAME IS PATRICK BATEMAN.
IM 27 YEARS OLD. I BELIEVE IN TAKING
CARE OF MYSELF AND A BALANCED DIET
AND RIGOROUS EXERCISE ROUTINE. IN THE
MORNING IF MY FACE IS A LITTLE PUFFY
ILL PUT ON AN ICE PACK WHILE DOING
STOMACH CRUNCHES. I CAN DO 1000 NOW.
AFTER I REMOVE THE ICE PACK I USE A DEEP
PORE CLEANSER LOTION. IN THE SHOWER
I USE A WATER ACTIVATED GEL CLEANSER,
THEN A HONEY ALMOND BODY SCRUB, AND
ON THE FACE AN EXFOLIATING GEL SCRUB.
THEN I APPLY AN HERB-MINT FACIAL MASK
WHICH I LEAVE ON FOR 10 MINUTES WHILE I
PREPARE THE REST OF MY ROUTINE. I ALWAYS
USE AN AFTER SHAVE LOTION WITH LITTLE
OR NO ALCOHOL, BECAUSE ALCOHOL DRIES
YOUR FACE OUT AND MAKES YOU LOOK
OLDER. THEN MOISTURIZER, THEN AN ANTI-
AGING EYE BALM FOLLOWED BY A FINAL
MOISTURIZING PROTECTIVE LOTION.
A M E R I C A N P Y C H O
S

A M E R i C A N P S Y C H O
VINTAGE CONTEMPORARIES
VINTAGE BOOKS A DIVISION OF
RANDOM HOUSE, INC.
NEW YORK ISBN 0-679-73577-1
a novel by bret easton ellis
im 27 years old. i believe in taking care of myself
and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine.
in the morning if my face is a little puffy ill put on
an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. i can do
1000 now. after i remove the ice pack i use a deep pore
cleanser lotion. in the shower i use a water activated
gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on
the face an exfoliating gel scrub. then i apply an herb-
mint facial mask which i leave on for 10 minutes while
i prepare the rest of my routine. i always use an after
shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol
dries your face out and makes you look older. then
moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by
a fnal moisturizing protective lotion.
i live in the american gardens building
on w. 81st street on the 11th foor.
my name is patrick bateman.
a novel by
bret easton ellis
americanpsycho
vintage contemporaries
vintage books a division of
random house, inc.
new york isbn 0-679-73577-1
my name is patrick
i live in the american gardens
building on w. 81st street on
the 11th floor. im 27 years
old. i believe in taking care of
myself and a balanced diet
and rigorous exercise routine.
in the morning if my face is
a little puffy ill put on an ice
pack while doing stomach
crunches. i can do 1000 now.
after i remove the ice pack
i use a deep pore cleanser
lotion. in the shower i use a
water activated gel cleanser,
then a honey almond body
scrub, and on the face an
exfoliating gel scrub. then
i apply an herb-mint facial
mask which i leave on for 10
minutes while i prepare the
rest of my routine. i always
use an after shave lotion with
little or no alcohol, because
alcohol dries your face out
and makes you look older.
then moisturizer, then an anti-
aging eye balm followed by a
final moisturizing protective
lotion.
4
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
italics
composition & space
rules & blocks
spot color
typesize II
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
a novel by Bret Easton Ellis
l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gardens
Bui l di ng on W. 81s t St reet on t he
11t h f l oor. My name i s Pat r i ck Bat e-
man. I m 27 year s ol d. I bel i eve i n
t aki ng care of mys el f and a bal anced
di et and r i gorous exerci s e rout i ne.
I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s a l i t t l e
puf f y I l l put on an i ce pack whi l e
doi ng s t omach cr unches . I can do
1000 now. Af t er I remove t he i ce pack
I us e a deep pore cl eans er l ot i on. I n
t he s hower I us e a wat er act i vat ed
gel cl eans er, t hen a honey al mond
body s cr ub, and on t he f ace an ex-
f ol i at i ng gel s cr ub. Then I appl y an
her b- mi nt f aci al mas k whi ch I l eave
on f or 10 mi nut es whi l e I prepare t he
res t of my rout i ne. I al ways us e an
af t er s have l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no
al cohol , becaus e al cohol dr i es your
f ace out and makes you l ook ol der.
Then moi s t ur i z er, t hen an ant i - agi ng
eye bal m f ol l owed by a f i nal moi s t ur-
i z i ng prot ect i ve l ot i on.
A M E R I C A N P Y C H O
S
I
vintage contemporaries
vintage books a division of random house, inc.
new york isbn 0-679-73577-1
a novel by bret easton ellis
IM 27 YEARS OLD. I BELIEVE IN TAKING CARE
OF MYSELF AND A BALANCED DIET AND RIG-
OROUS EXERCISE ROUTINE. IN THE MORNING
IF MY FACE IS A LITTLE PUFFY ILL PUT ON AN
ICE PACK WHILE DOING STOMACH CRUNCH-
ES. I CAN DO 1000 NOW. AFTER I REMOVE THE
ICE PACK I USE A DEEP PORE CLEANSER LO-
TION. IN THE SHOWER I USE A WATER ACTIVAT-
ED GEL CLEANSER, THEN A HONEY ALMOND
BODY SCRUB, AND ON THE FACE AN EXFOLI-
ATING GEL SCRUB. THEN I APPLY AN HERB-
MINT FACIAL MASK WHICH I LEAVE ON FOR 10
MINUTES WHILE I PREPARE THE REST OF MY
ROUTINE. I ALWAYS USE AN AFTER SHAVE LO-
TION WITH LITTLE OR NO ALCOHOL, BECAUSE
ALCOHOL DRIES YOUR FACE OUT AND MAKES
YOU LOOK OLDER. THEN MOISTURIZER, THEN
AN ANTI-AGING EYE BALM FOLLOWED BY A
FINAL MOISTURIZING PROTECTIVE LOTION.
a m e r i c a n p s y c h o
I LIVE IN THE AMERICAN GARDENS BUILDING
ON W. 81ST STREET ON THE 11TH FLOOR.
MY NAME IS PATRICK BATEMAN.
A M E R I C A N P Y C H O
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
A Novel by Br et Eas t on El l i s
I live in the American Gardens
Building on W. 81st Street
on the 11th foor. My name is
Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years
old. I believe in taking care
of myself and a balanced diet
and rigorous exercise routine.
In the morning if my face is a
little puffy Ill put on an ice
pack while doing stomach
crunches. I can do 1000 now.
After I remove the ice pack
I use a deep pore cleanser
lotion. In the shower I use a
water activated gel cleanser,
then a honey almond body
scrub, and on the face an
exfoliating gel scrub. Then
I apply an herb-mint facial
mask which I leave on for 10
minutes while I prepare the
rest of my routine. I always
use an after shave lotion with
little or no alcohol, because
alcohol dries your face out
and makes you look older.
Then moisturizer, then an
anti-aging eye balm followed
by a fnal moisturizing
protective lotion.
S
I always use an after shave lotion with little or
no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older.
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street
Im 27 years old.
I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet
and rigorous exercise routine.
In the morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack
I can do 1000 now.
My name is
After I remove the ice
In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body
Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave for 10 minutes.
Then moisturizer,
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
doing stomach crunches.
pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion.
scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub.
then an anti-aging eye balm
followed by
a fnal
moisturizing
protective
lotion.
a novel by bret east on el l i s
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc.
New York ISBN 0-679-73577-1
a novel by Bret Easton Ellis
I live in the American Gardens Build-
ing on W. 81st Street on the 11th foor.
My name is Patrick Bateman. Im 27
years old. I believe in taking care of
myself and a balanced diet and rigorous
exercise routine. In the morning if my
face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice
pack while doing stomach crunches. I
can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice
pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion.
In the shower I use a water activated
gel cleanser, then a honey almond body
scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel
scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial
mask which I leave on for 10 minutes
while I prepare the rest of my routine.
I always use an after shave lotion with
little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries
your face out and makes you look older.
Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye
balm followed by a fnal moisturizing
protective lotion.
A M E R I C A N P Y C H O
S
5
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
italics
composition & space
rules & blocks
spot color
typesize II
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
I live in the
American
Gardens Building
on W. 81st Street
on the 11th foor.
My name is
Patrick Bateman.
Im 27 years old.
I believe in
taking care of
myself and a
balanced diet and
rigorous exercise
routine. In the
morning if my
face is a little
puffy Ill put on
an ice pack while
doing stomach
crunches. I can
do 1000 now.
After I remove
the ice pack
I use a deep pore
cleanser lotion. In
the shower I use
a water activated
gel cleanser, then
a honey almond
body scrub, and
on the face
an exfoliating
gel scrub. Then
I apply an herb-
mint facial mask
which I leave on
for 10 minutes
while I prepare
the rest of my
routine. I always
use an after shave
lotion with little
or no alcohol,
because alcohol
dries your face
out and makes
you look older.
Then moisturizer,
then an anti-
aging eye balm
followed by a
fnal moisturizing
protective lotion.
a novel by Bret Easton Ellis
A
M
E
R
I
C
A
N

P
S
Y
C
H
O
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... Aseminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
Amasterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
Agreat novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
B
r
e
t

E
a
s
t
o
n

E
l
l
i
s
educated, intelligent. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement
the one he was born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin to fathom. He is
twenty-six years old and living his own American Dream.
P A T R I C K B A T E M A N I S H A N D S O M E , W E L L -
a novel by Bret East on El l i s
l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gardens Bui l di ng
on W. 81s t St reet on t he 11t h f l oor. My
name i s Pat r i ck Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d.
I bel i eve i n t aki ng care of mys el f and a bal -
anced di et and r i gorous exerci s e rout i ne. I n
t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s a l i t t l e puf f y I l l put
on an i ce pack whi l e doi ng s t omach cr unches .
I can do 1000 now. Af t er I remove t he i ce
pack I us e a deep pore cl eans er l ot i on. I n t he
s hower I us e a wat er act i vat ed gel cl eans er,
t hen a honey al mond body s cr ub, and on t he
f ace an exf ol i at i ng gel s cr ub. Then I appl y an
her b- mi nt f aci al mas k whi ch I l eave on f or
10 mi nut es whi l eI prepare t he res t of my
rout i ne. I al ways us e an af t er s have l ot i on
wi t h l i t t l e or no al cohol , becaus e al cohol dr i es
your f ace out and makes you l ook ol der. Then
moi s t ur i z er, t hen an ant i - agi ng eye bal m f ol -
l owed by a f i nal moi s t ur i z i ng prot ect i ve l ot i on.
A M E R I C A N
P Y C H O
S
I
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
hands ome, wel l - educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He wor ks by
day on Wal l St reet , ear ni ng a f or t une t o compl ement
t he one he was bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he s pends i n
ways we cannot begi n t o f at hom. He i s t went y- s i x
year s ol d and l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can Dream.
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... Aseminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
Amasterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
Agreat novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
PATRI CK BATEMAN I S

A
M
E
R
I
C
A
N






P
Y
C
H
O
S
B
r
e
t

E
a
s
t
o
n

E
l
l
i
s
fction
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
american
psycho
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on
the 11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years old.
I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous
exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on
an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now.
After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the
shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond

body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then
I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for
10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I
always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol,
because alcohol dries your face out and makes you
look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye
balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin

b
r
e
t

e
a
s
t
o
n

e
l
l
i
s
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
patrick bateman is
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on
Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was
born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin
to fathom. He is twenty-six years old and living his own
American Dream.
ho
rican
psyc
american
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gar dens Bui l di ng on W. 81st St r eet
on t he 11t h f l oor. My name i s Pat r i ck Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d.
I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e of mysel f and a bal anced di et and r i gor ous
exer ci se r out i ne. I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s a l i t t l e puff y I l l put on an
i ce pack whi l e doi ng st omach cr unches. I can do 1000 now. Af t er I r emove
t he i ce pack I use a deep por e cl eanser l ot i on. I n t he shower I use a wat er
act i vat ed gel cl eanser, t hen a honey al mond body scr ub, and on t he f ace an
exf ol i at i ng gel scr ub. Then I appl y an her b- mi nt f aci al mask whi ch I l eave
on f or 10 mi nut es whi l e I pr epar e t he r est of my r out i ne. I al ways use an
af t er shave l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no al cohol , because al cohol dr i es your
f ace out and makes you l ook ol der. Then moi st ur i zer, t hen an ant i - agi ng
eye bal m f ol l owed by a f i nal moi st ur i zi ng pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
fction
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
pat r i ck bat eman i s hands ome,
wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He wor ks by day on Wal l St r eet , ear ni ng a
f or t une t o compl ement t he one he was bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he spends
i n ways we cannot begi n t o f ant hom. He i s t went y- si x year s ol d and
l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can Dr eam.
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
b
r
e
t

e
a
s
t
o
n

e
l
l
i
s
I always use an after shave lotion with little or
no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older.
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street
Im 27 years old.
I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet
and rigorous exercise routine.
In the morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack
I can do 1000 now.
My name is
After I remove the ice
In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body
Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave for 10 minutes.
Then moisturizer,
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O
doing stomach crunches.
pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion.
scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub.
then an anti-aging eye balm
followed by
a fnal
moisturizing
protective
lotion.
a novel by bret east on el l i s
and living his own American Dream.
fction
a

n
o
v
e
l

b
y

b
r
e
t

e
a
s
t
o
n

e
l
l
i
s
is handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on
fortune to complement the one he was born
P A T R I C K B A T E M A N
he spends in ways we cannot begin to fathom.
Wall Street, earning a with. His nights
He is twenty-six years old
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
A
M
E
R
I
C
A
N

P
S
Y
C
H
O
6
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
italics
composition & space
rules & blocks
spot color
typesize II
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can
Gar dens Bui l di ng on W.
81st St r eet on t he 11t h
f l oor. My name i s Pat r i ck
Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d.
I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e
of mysel f and a bal anced
di et and r i gor ous exer ci se
r out i ne. I n t he mor ni ng i f
my f ace i s a l i t t l e puff y I l l
put on an i ce pack whi l e
doi ng st omach cr unches.
I can do 1000 now. Af t er
I r emove t he i ce pack I use
a deep por e cl eanser l ot i on.
I n t he shower I use a wat er
act i vat ed gel cl eanser,
t hen a honey al mond body
scr ub, and on t he f ace an
exf ol i at i ng gel scr ub. Then
I appl y an her b- mi nt f aci al
mask whi ch I l eave on f or
10 mi nut es whi l e I pr epar e
t he r est of my r out i ne.
I al ways use an af t er shave
l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no
al cohol , because al cohol
dr i es your f ace out and
makes you l ook ol der. Then
moi st ur i zer, t hen an ant i -
agi ng eye bal m f ol l owed
by a f i nal moi st ur i zi ng
pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
american
psycho
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Nor man Mai l er, Vani t y Fai r
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Wel don, The Washi ngt on Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with
an alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is,
unknown in American literature.
Mi chael Tol ki n
patrick bateman is
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Kat her i ne Dunn
handsome, wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He wor ks by day
on Wal l St r eet , ear ni ng a f or t une t o compl ement t he
one he was bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he spends i n ways we
cannot begi n t o f at hom. He i s t went y- si x year s ol d and
l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can Dr eam.
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
b
r
e
t

e
a
s
t
o
n

e
l
l
i
s
fction
a
p
I live in the American Gardens Building on
W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is
Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years old. I believe in
taking care of myself and a balanced diet and
rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my
face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack while
doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After
I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser
lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel
cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and
on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply
an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10
minutes whileI prepare the rest of my routine. I
always use an after shave lotion with little or no
alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and
makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an
anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moistur-
izing protective lotion.
B
r
e
t

E
a
s
t
o
n

E
l
l
i
s
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
fction
The frst novel to come along in years that
takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes...
[Ellis] is showing older authors where the
hands have come to on the clock.

Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer
[and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The
novelists function is to keep a running tag on
the progress of the culture; and hes done it
brilliantly... A seminal book.

Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about
genius, that its the return of ones rejected
thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true
for American Psycho... There is a fever to the
life of this book that is, unknown in American
literature.
Michael Tolkin
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious,
ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which
has large elements of Jane Austen at her
vitriolic best. An important book.

Katherine Dunn
handsome, well educated, intelligent.
He works by day on Wall Street, earning
a fortune to complement the one he was
born with. His nights he spends in ways
we cannot begin to fathom. He is twenty-
six years old and living his own American
Dream.
P A T R I C K B A T E M A N I S
AMERICAN
PSYCHO
Bret Easton Ellis
A
M
E
R
I
C
A
N










P
S
Y
C
H
O
fction
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
american
psycho
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on
the 11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years old.
I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous
exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy Ill put on
an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now.
After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the
shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond

body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then
I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for
10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I
always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol,
because alcohol dries your face out and makes you
look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye
balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin

b
r
e
t

e
a
s
t
o
n

e
l
l
i
s
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
patrick bateman is
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on
Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was
born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin
to fathom. He is twenty-six years old and living his own
American Dream.
a
p
ho
rican
psyc
american
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gar dens Bui l di ng on W. 81st St r eet
on t he 11t h f l oor. My name i s Pat r i ck Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d.
I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e of mysel f and a bal anced di et and r i gor ous
exer ci se r out i ne. I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s a l i t t l e puff y I l l put on an
i ce pack whi l e doi ng st omach cr unches. I can do 1000 now. Af t er I r emove
t he i ce pack I use a deep por e cl eanser l ot i on. I n t he shower I use a wat er
act i vat ed gel cl eanser, t hen a honey al mond body scr ub, and on t he f ace an
exf ol i at i ng gel scr ub. Then I appl y an her b- mi nt f aci al mask whi ch I l eave
on f or 10 mi nut es whi l e I pr epar e t he r est of my r out i ne. I al ways use an
af t er shave l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no al cohol , because al cohol dr i es your
f ace out and makes you l ook ol der. Then moi st ur i zer, t hen an ant i - agi ng
eye bal m f ol l owed by a f i nal moi st ur i zi ng pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
pat r i ck bat eman i s hands ome,
wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He wor ks by day on Wal l St r eet , ear ni ng a
f or t une t o compl ement t he one he was bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he spends
i n ways we cannot begi n t o f ant hom. He i s t went y- si x year s ol d and
l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can Dr eam.
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
a
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Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
fction
P A T R I C K B A T E M A N I S
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
A
M
E
R
I C
A
N
P
S
Y
C
H
O
a novel by bret east on el l i s
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gar dens Bui l di ng on W. 81st St r eet on t he 11t h f l oor. My name
i s Pat r i ck Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d. I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e of mysel f and
a bal anced di et and r i gor ous exer ci se r out i ne. I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s
a l i t t l e puff y I l l put on an i ce pack whi l e doi ng st omach cr unches. I can do
1000 now. Af t er I r emove t he i ce pack I use a deep por e cl eanser l ot i on.
I n t he shower I use a wat er act i vat ed gel cl eanser, t hen a honey al mond
body scr ub, and on t he f ace an exf ol i at i ng gel scr ub.
Then I appl y an her b- mi nt f aci al mask whi ch
I l eave on f or 10 mi nut es whi l e I pr epar e t he
r est of my r out i ne. I al ways use an af t er shave
l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no al cohol , because al cohol
dr i es your f ace out and makes you l ook ol der. Then
moi st ur i zer, t hen an ant i - agi ng eye bal m f ol l owed by
a f i nal moi st ur i zi ng pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He works by day on Wal l St reet ,
earni ng a fort une t o compl ement t he one he was born wi t h.
Hi s ni ght s he spends i n ways we cannot begi n t o fant hom.
He i s t went y-si x years ol d and l i vi ng hi s own Ameri can
Dream.
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A
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7
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
italics
composition & space
rules & blocks
spot color
typesize II
a
p
ho
rican
psyc
ame
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gar dens Bui l di ng on W. 81st St r eet
on t he 11t h f l oor. My name i s Pat r i ck Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d.
I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e of mysel f and a bal anced di et and r i gor ous
exer ci se r out i ne. I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s a l i t t l e puff y I l l put on an
i ce pack whi l e doi ng st omach cr unches. I can do 1000 now. Af t er I r emove
t he i ce pack I use a deep por e cl eanser l ot i on. I n t he shower I use a wat er
act i vat ed gel cl eanser, t hen a honey al mond body scr ub, and on t he f ace an
exf ol i at i ng gel scr ub. Then I appl y an her b- mi nt f aci al mask whi ch I l eave
on f or 10 mi nut es whi l e I pr epar e t he r est of my r out i ne. I al ways use an
af t er shave l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no al cohol , because al cohol dr i es your
f ace out and makes you l ook ol der. Then moi st ur i zer, t hen an ant i - agi ng
eye bal m f ol l owed by a f i nal moi st ur i zi ng pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
pat r i ck bat eman i s hands ome,
wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He wor ks by day on Wal l St r eet , ear ni ng a
f or t une t o compl ement t he one he was bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he spends
i n ways we cannot begi n t o f ant hom. He i s t went y- si x year s ol d and
l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can Dr eam.
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is
showing older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled,
careful, important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the
culture; and hes done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has
large elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts
with an alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this
book that is, unknown in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
b
y

b
r
e
t

e
a
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o
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e
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s
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
ho
rican
psyc
american
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gar dens Bui l di ng on W. 81st St r eet
on t he 11t h f l oor. My name i s Pat r i ck Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d.
I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e of mysel f and a bal anced di et and r i gor ous
exer ci se r out i ne. I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s a l i t t l e puff y I l l put on an
i ce pack whi l e doi ng st omach cr unches. I can do 1000 now. Af t er I r emove
t he i ce pack I use a deep por e cl eanser l ot i on. I n t he shower I use a wat er
act i vat ed gel cl eanser, t hen a honey al mond body scr ub, and on t he f ace an
exf ol i at i ng gel scr ub. Then I appl y an her b- mi nt f aci al mask whi ch I l eave
on f or 10 mi nut es whi l e I pr epar e t he r est of my r out i ne. I al ways use an
af t er shave l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e or no al cohol , because al cohol dr i es your
f ace out and makes you l ook ol der. Then moi st ur i zer, t hen an ant i - agi ng
eye bal m f ol l owed by a f i nal moi st ur i zi ng pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
fction
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
pat r i ck bat eman i s hands ome,
wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He wor ks by day on Wal l St r eet , ear ni ng a
f or t une t o compl ement t he one he was bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he spends
i n ways we cannot begi n t o f ant hom. He i s t went y- si x year s ol d and
l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can Dr eam.
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is showing
older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an
alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown
in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
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A
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P AT R I C K
B AT E MA N I S
hands ome, wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He
wor ks by day on Wal l St r eet , ear ni ng a
f or t une t o compl ement t he one he was
bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he spends i n
ways we cannot begi n t o f ant hom.
He i s t went y- si x year s ol d and
l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can
Dr eam.
A
M
E
R
I
C
A
N

P
S
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C
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O
A masterful
satire and a
ferocious, hi-
larious, ambitious,
inspiring piece of
writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at
her vitriolic best. An impor-
tant book.
Katherine Dunn
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American
Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful, important novel... The nov-
elists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture;
and hes done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
The frst novel to come along in years
that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian
themes... [Ellis] is showing older authors
where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that
its the return of ones rejected thoughts with an alienated
majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever
to the life of this book that is, unknown in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
fction
b
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a
s
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o
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l
l
i
s
I
live
in the
American Gardens
Building on W. 81st Street on the
11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. Im
27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself and a
balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my
face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches.
I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion.
In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body
scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint
facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of
my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol,
because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then
moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final
moisturizing protective lotion.
a novel by
bret east on el l i s
a
p
I live in the American Gardens Building on
W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is
Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years old. I believe in
taking care of myself and a balanced diet and
rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my
face is a little puffy Ill put on an ice pack while
doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After
I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser
lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel
cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and
on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply
an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10
minutes whileI prepare the rest of my routine. I
always use an after shave lotion with little or no
alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and
makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an
anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moistur-
izing protective lotion.
B
r
e
t

E
a
s
t
o
n

E
l
l
i
s
Vintage Contemporaries
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
fction
The frst novel to come along in years that
takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes...
[Ellis] is showing older authors where the
hands have come to on the clock.

Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer
[and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The
novelists function is to keep a running tag on
the progress of the culture; and hes done it
brilliantly... A seminal book.

Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about
genius, that its the return of ones rejected
thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true
for American Psycho... There is a fever to the
life of this book that is, unknown in American
literature.
Michael Tolkin
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious,
ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which
has large elements of Jane Austen at her
vitriolic best. An important book.

Katherine Dunn
handsome, well educated, intelligent.
He works by day on Wall Street, earning
a fortune to complement the one he was
born with. His nights he spends in ways
we cannot begin to fathom. He is twenty-
six years old and living his own American
Dream.
P A T R I C K B A T E M A N I S
AME R I C AN
P S YC HO
Bret Easton Ellis
A
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P
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american
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
psycho
a novel by br et eas t on el l i s
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes...
[Ellis] is showing older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on
the progress of the culture; and hes done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing,
which has large elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected
thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to
the life of this book that is, unknown in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
patrick bateman is
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on
Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was
born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin
to fathom. He is twenty-six years old and living his own
American Dream.
b
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e
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s
t
o
n

e
l
l
i
s
face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I
leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use
an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face
out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm
followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My
name is Patrick Bateman. Im 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself
and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a
little puffy Ill put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000
now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower
fction
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
ame
rican

psyc
a novel
pat r i ck bat eman i s hands ome,
ame
The first novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is
showing older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
nor man mai l e r, vani t y f ai r
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the
progress of the culture; and hes done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
f ay we l don, t he wa s hi ngt o n po s t
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has
large elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
kat he r i ne dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts
with an alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this
book that is, unknown in American literature.
mi c hae l t ol ki n
ho
psyc
ho
I l i ve i n t he Amer i can Gar dens Bui l di ng on W. 81st St r eet on t he 11t h f l oor. My name i s Pat r i ck
Bat eman. I m 27 year s ol d I bel i eve i n t aki ng car e of mysel f and a bal anced di et and r i gor ous
exer ci se r out i ne. I n t he mor ni ng i f my f ace i s a l i t t l e puff y I l l put on an i ce pack whi l e doi ng
st omach cr unches. I can do 1000 now. Af t er I r emove t he i ce pack I use a deep por e cl eanser
l ot i on. I n t he shower I use a wat er act i vat ed gel cl eanser, t hen a honey al mond body scr ub, and
on t he f ace an exf ol i at i ng gel scr ub. Then I appl y an her b- mi nt f aci al mask whi ch I l eave on f or
10 mi nut es whi l e I pr epar e t he r est of my r out i ne. I al ways use an af t er shave l ot i on wi t h l i t t l e
or no al cohol , because al cohol dr i es your f ace out and makes you l ook ol der. Then moi st ur i zer,
t hen an ant i - agi ng eye bal m f ol l owed by a f i nal moi st ur i zi ng pr ot ect i ve l ot i on.
wel l educat ed, i nt el l i gent . He wor ks by day on
Wal l St r eet , ear ni ng a f or t une t o compl ement t he
one he was bor n wi t h. Hi s ni ght s he spends i n
ways we cannot begi n t o f at hom. He i s t went y- si x
year s ol d and l i vi ng hi s own Amer i can Dr eam.
rican

fction
br et eas t on el l i s
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
a
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b
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8
typeface
typesize
full color & graphics
bold
italics
composition & space
rules & blocks
spot color
typesize II
american
psycho
a novel by
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes... [Ellis] is
showing older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which has large
elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones rejected thoughts with
an alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho... There is a fever to the life of this book that is,
unknown in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
patrick bateman is
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on
Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was
born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin
to fathom. He is twenty-six years old and living his own
American Dream.
br et eas t on el l i s
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully controled, careful,
important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag on the progress of the culture; and hes
done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
fction
a
m
e
r
i
c
a
n

p
s
y
c
h
o
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A ME R I C A N P S Y C H O
a novel by bret east on el l i s
A
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A
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P
S
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C
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O
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P A T R I C K B A T E M A N I S
fction
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by
day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement
the one he was born with. His nights he spends in
ways we cannot begin to fathom. He is twenty-six
years old and living his own American Dream.
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
The frst novel to come along in years that
takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes...
[Ellis] is showing older authors where the
hands have come to on the clock.

Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer
[and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The
novelists function is to keep a running tag on
the progress of the culture; and hes done it
brilliantly... A seminal book.

Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about
genius, that its the return of ones rejected
thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true
for American Psycho... There is a fever to the
life of this book that is, unknown in American
literature.
Michael Tolkin
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious,
ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which
has large elements of Jane Austen at her
vitriolic best. An important book.

Katherine Dunn
american
psycho
The frst novel to come along in years that
takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes...
[Ellis] is showing older authors where the
hands have come to on the clock.

Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer
[and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The
novelists function is to keep a running tag on
the progress of the culture; and hes done it
brilliantly... A seminal book.

Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about
genius, that its the return of ones rejected
thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true
for American Psycho... There is a fever to the
life of this book that is, unknown in American
literature.
Michael Tolkin
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious,
ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which
has large elements of Jane Austen at her
vitriolic best. An important book.

Katherine Dunn
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works
by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to
complement the one he was born with. His nights
he spends in ways we cannot begin to fathom.
He is twenty-six years old and living his own
American Dream.
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
fction
a
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e
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a
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p
s
y
c
h
o
bret east on el l i s
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s
patrick bateman is
The frst novel to come along in years that takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes...
[Ellis] is showing older authors where the hands have come to on the clock.
Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer [and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The novelists function is to keep a running tag
on the progress of the culture; and hes done it brilliantly... A seminal book.
Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about genius, that its the return of ones
rejected thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true for American Psycho...
There is a fever to the life of this book that is, unknown in American literature.
Michael Tolkin
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious, ambitious, inspiring piece of writing,
which has large elements of Jane Austen at her vitriolic best. An important book.
Katherine Dunn
fction
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by
day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement
the one he was born with. His nights he spends in
ways we cannot begin to fathom. He is twenty-six
years old and living his own American Dream.
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
patrick bateman is
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P A T R I C K B A T E M A N I S
fction
handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by
day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement
the one he was born with. His nights he spends in
ways we cannot begin to fathom. He is twenty-six
years old and living his own American Dream.
Vintage Books a division of Random House, Inc
Vintage Contemporaries
The frst novel to come along in years that
takes on deep and Dostoyevskian themes...
[Ellis] is showing older authors where the
hands have come to on the clock.

Norman Mailer, Vanity Fair
Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good writer
[and] American Psycho is a beautifully
controled, careful, important novel... The
novelists function is to keep a running tag on
the progress of the culture; and hes done it
brilliantly... A seminal book.

Fay Weldon, The Washington Post
A great novel. What Emerson said about
genius, that its the return of ones rejected
thoughts with an alienated majesty, holds true
for American Psycho... There is a fever to the
life of this book that is, unknown in American
literature.
Michael Tolkin
A masterful satire and a ferocious, hilarious,
ambitious, inspiring piece of writing, which
has large elements of Jane Austen at her
vitriolic best. An important book.

Katherine Dunn
B R E T E A S T O N E L L I S
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column settting
business card scene
& conclusion
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1


Shall we consider New York, 1990? (New York
today, every city in the world tomorrow.) Abandon
Hope All Ye Who Enter Here scrawled in blood red
lettering on the wall of a fne upstanding branch of
The Chemical Bank? Fear, ditto, on the MacDon-
alds on Fourth and Seventh? In the newspapers,
on the radio, on TV, snippets of murders, mayhem,
torture, the cruelty of nice literary editors abusing
babies, of beggars, buggers, and brutality. Love me
tender, love me true, gone down the plughole. AIDS
pulled out that saving plug so now were flthy: cant
wash ourselves clean.
Lets enjoy the dirt. Film and record post-
ers showing more, yet more: as if we couldnt get
enough, dont get enough. Screaming women and
crazed men (the paraphenalia of blood, sex, bond-
age, and violence) looking down from the hoardings.
Look up, not at the stars, but at a tortured, torturing
humanity. Not just life but the human imagination (let
me qualify that, the young mans imagination) slip-
ping, so far as we can see, out of control, over the
cliff into chaos. Money, restaurants, designer labels,
smart clothes, things: thats all weve got, we smart
young things, to cheer us up. And nobody is shocked.
Nothing shocks. We are stunned, we are brutalised.
Only the military, strangely (and mores the pity for
the rest of the world, who havent got to this stage
yet, not quite) with their clean lined elegant weapons
of death, their promise of purity and a neat, swift f-
nality (if only they knew), seems able to return us our
dignity and hope.
Shall we now consider the society hostesses of
Manhattan, who, assuming Bret Easton Elliss novel
American Psycho, featuring a cannibal murderer, to
be autobiographical, continue to ask him to parties?
He has been heard of. Thats what counts. A little ex-
citement, a little thrill. Okay for him to eat my sisters
brains, shes on the game anyway, more or less, but I
dont suppose hell do it to me amongst the canapes.
And if he did, and if he did, is life really so much
worse than death? Do come in, smart Mr Bret Easton
Ellis, serial killer! Its the year of the serial killing,
isnt it? Arent the flms of the year about serial kill-
ers: murder for the fun of it? And we all clap and
cheer. Me too, me too. All very well for Mailer to
complain that the works legitimate theme needs a
greater writer than Bret Easton Ellis to do it prop-
erly, but I reckon hes done it properly; hes done it
proud. This man Bret Easton Ellis is a very, very good
writer. He gets us to a T. And we cant stand it. Its our
problem, not his. American Psycho is a beautifully
controlled, careful, important novel which revolves
about its own nasty bits. Brilliant.
Because whats the fuss about? Have you read
any Clive Barker? Or have you read The Silence Of
The Lambs, by Thomas Harris? Martin Cruzs book
about the Vampires? Everyones eating everyone (in
the cannibalistic sense) because one thing leads to
another, folks. These are good books, good writers
Im talking about. Blood everywhere! Stephen Kings
fairly fearful. Such a nice guy, too: wouldnt say boo
to a goose. One fap of a ganders wing and hed apol-
ogise. Kind to little children too.
Read the King novel about the woman and child
who spend a week in a car while a crazed killer dog
pads around? Cujo, I think its called. The woman
gets devoured. Cujos pretty male. Slaver, slaver,
fangs and prick. Bats and rats and dogs today, people
tomorrow. Look, I read all these books on the way
home from Paddington Station. Youve got to read
something: and some of them are pretty good. Rats
up ladies vaginas are nothing to me.
Had you wondered, folks, had you wondered? All
those children up in the sequestered North: where did
they get their funny peculiar Satanic stories from?
Why, from the video nasties. Fit meat for the chil-
drens suppers. You ever seen a video nasty, all you
people who get upset because Brat Easton Ellis, in a
novel of 399 pages devoted almost entirely to the ob-
sessive consolations offered by a society, itself in the
grip of a psychotic ft of sado-masochism, scattered
throughout a novel delineating why the serial killer
kills, actually describes the detail of the killings. Why
have you got so squeamish all of a sudden?
Of all the things you ought to censor, should have
censored - because we now live in a world so terrible,
so full of Abandon Hope scrawled blood red on
our city walls, someone has to start crying enough
- why pick on wretched, brilliant Bret Easton Ellis?
Young BEE? Ill tell you why. Its because theres
always been someone in the other books to play lip
service to respectability: to the myth that the world
we now live in is still capable of affect. The serial
killer gets discovered, punished, stopped. There are
people around to throw up their hands in horror, who
can still distinguish between what is psychotic and
what is not. Justice is done. There is remorse. Just
not in American Psycho. And we hate him for say-
ing it. In American Psycho not so. Nobody cares.
Slaughtered bodies lie undiscovered. The city has
fallen apart. Nobody takes much notice. The police
have other things to do. Those who are killed dont
rate - they are the powerless, the poor, the wretched,
the sick in mind, the sellers of fesh for money: their
own and other peoples. The tides of the city wash
over them, erase their traces. The landlady, seeing her
blood- spattered walls, is vexed because she needs
to re-let quick. She doesnt want a fuss, she wants
her rent. Docilely, our anti-hero of the nineties (pray
God), our hero of the eighties (young, unscrupulous,
talented, highly-motivated, highly skilled, an asset to
society) cleans up the walls, able to respond to this
desire at least. Nowhere else can he fnd a response.
No matter what he does there is no effect.
So what do we cry? Ban the book! Disgusting!
Pervert! Lets ask BEE to our party, watch him buzz.
After that well take ourselves off to the cinema,
watch a few fayed bodies; work ourselves in with
Nightmare On Elm Street. The books and the flms
dont create society, I promise you. They refect it.
Our yuppie hero kills an abandoned dog, slices it with
a knife, walks on. No one cares. Women get their
kicks from bondage. Yuppie goes too far, the women
get to bleed a bit, but they get paid. Thats enough
for them. The whole worlds into bondage. Altzheim-
ers or Armani, spermicidal lubricant or Ralph Lau-
ren, everything on the same level. So he goes fur-
ther. Whats the odds? Not a nice book, no, not at all,
this portrait of psychotic America, psychotic us. Just
enough to touch a dulled nerve or two, get an article
or so written.
Picador, which is publishing American Psycho
over here, is keeping the price high, or so one hears,
to keep the dreaded thing out of the hands of those
who might, eschewing the video nasty, use scenes
of torture and cannibalism as a tool for masturbation
(though they dont put it quite like that, of course,
who does?) and then escalate to the real thing, in the
same spirit as people escalate (or so they say) from
dope to heroin.
Such dreadful unliterary people Picador seem to
assume, are poor, uneducated. The wankers of the
world. Cant afford the hardback. Too abashed to
go into a proper bookshop where the hardbacks sell.
Well, thats hopeful of Picador. Publishers are nice
folk. They see a world in which wealth and education
will stop people being mass murderers and perverts.
Perhaps theyre right. I reckon Picador is publishing
it because its a good book, this Book of BEEs, this
buzzer of a book. A seminal book.
The feminists, thats me too, see BEEs book as
anti-woman. So it is. Sos the world increasingly.
Dead women, the stuff of fction. Its anti-dog too,
and anti-beggar, and anti-child. Women, in BEEs
book, just seem to queue up to be murdered: tie me
up and tie me down, as young men, joining the army,
queue up to murder. I reckon if we can ban Ameri-
can Psycho as anti-women, and perhaps we should,
a whole lot of anti-men books could be banned too.
Lets ban Mailer. Incitement to murder the male . . .
incitement to war, the other pornography.
Look, I dont want you to actually read BEEs
book. I did it for you. I expect you have enough
trouble with your own fantasies of revenge, as you
wonder whether youre brave enough to walk down
your street late at night, take a trip on the Under-
ground without taking BEEs on board. Its upsetting
all right. Just dont insult a novel without reading it
frst, thats all I ask.
I wouldnt go to the stake for it, as I would for
Salman Rushdies right to publish The Satanic Vers-
es. American Psycho is a novel written out of the
American tradition - the novelists function to keep
a running tag on the progress of the culture: and hes
done it brilliantly, but others are doing it too. And
anyway no one is suggesting that Bret Easton Ellis
should be killed, eaten alive, for writing it. Or not yet.
The Satanic Verses comes more out of a European
tradition; its function not just to collate the world, but
make sense of it: move it on a little further towards
civilisation. Not much, but all weve got. God knows
its an uphill struggle.
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Hopefully the work speaks for itself
Instead, this space is more suited to thank:
Professor Henri Lucas
Xarene Eskandar
Various caffeinated beverages
Peers (and professors) who pretend not to notice the tardiness
Dunder & Miffin
conclusion