If you are in my group of friends, you already celebrate the movie American Psycho. The movie is a very hilarious, and ominous satire about an 80's Wall Street Yuppie, who is just trying to 'fit in.' I was introduced to the movie, which stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, and was immediately hooked. The catchy lines in it are somewhat offensive, and in the overall scheme of things, is really not a movie for everyone. I think that it takes a certain personality, a certain sense of humor to even understand the film.
After being somewhat obsessed with, now one of my favorite movies of all time, I decided after learning the majority of the lines and working on my best impression of Patrick Bateman, and even leaving dinner reservations under names like Clint Huxtable, and Marcus Halberstram, that I would read the book. I started and finished the book when I was still just growing hair on my chin, and couldn't get any on my chest. Generally books that are made into movies, the correlation between the two, is usually not recognizable, and the intent of the author and the screenplay writer are very different. Having seen the movie first, and then reading the book, by the wonderful Bret Easton Ellis, I was neither disappointed with the somewhat long reading, nor was I disappointed at the job that was done of the movie. Parts of the book were disgusting, and evening sickening or morose, but the entire book was so well written that even the most gut curdling parts were somewhat of a pleasure to read. Sick, I know.
I had almost forgotten how great and ingenious a writer like Ellis was, and when my sister offered up an Amazon purchase on her, I was stumped at what to read, and so asked for another book by Bret, that also had been made into a movie, which I only caught about the last 25 minutes of when my roommate, at the time, Charlie was watching it. It looked interesting, and I didn't fully understand it, but it had the cute guy from Dawson's Creek, as well as the lovely Jessica Biel, and quite possibly even lovelier Rosario Dawson, who the creek was not named after, but definitely could've been without any opposition.
The movie, which I caught just enough to now ruin my image of every character within the book, is called Rules of Attraction, and much like American Psycho, the screenwriter didn't find any reason to change the name of the movie from the book. I received the book, as somewhat of a surprise, because I had forgotten what book my sister was sending me, and even more of a surprise when I was told I had a package here waiting for me at our secluded base. I immediately picked up this book with a soft cover, and flipped quickly through the book that wasn't going to give any encyclopedia competition in girth, and yet still wouldn't even out one side of your coffee table if you needed it too. I read the first, um, chapter isn't the right word, but I'll use it anyways. The book really doesn't have a good place to stop. There are no chapters, just a name in all Capitals after a break in the page of maybe three enters, and then their little sliver of the story.
I'm halfway through the book on the first day that I've started to read it. The setting is again in the mid 80's and the main character, or at least I think the main character, is named Sean Bateman, and through certain clues, very few and far between, not to mention some clues in the already read American Psycho, it's not hard to surmise that Sean is Patrick Bateman's brother. The book however is not a perspective from a single narrators point of view like Ellis wrote in American Psycho, but in many different perspectives of these college individuals at Camden University, (in New Hampshire) and it's plot has been winding itself into a seemingly deeper and deeper love triangle, or octagon if you will.
Parts of the book, so far as I am only halfway through, have been as squeamish to me to read as parts in American Psycho, but the entire idea of different perspectives is so intriguing, and so intertwined that I haven't been able to put the book down since picking it up. Ellis has a real, realistic way of telling stories through every ones eyes. It's almost to real in some points. Everything that one person sees and perceives and says, is perceived entirely differently and said entirely differently by the next person, which is generally perceived based on the individuals own motives, and really brings to light the whole, hear what you want to hear point.
Though I am not complete with the book, based on my ideas already about Bret, I would suggest to anyone reading this, just to give it a try. It's very entertaining, and I know he has some kind of morale or ethical point, that will probably soon be revealed to me. Ellis' ideas are so fresh and new, and I'm not sure I've read any other writer that has the cockiness to start a book off with in the middle of a horribly well written sentence and, and... Also who throws in perspective from a french roommate of the main character, all in French? I'm sure there was something quizzical in what he was saying, but I don't speak, or read for that matter, that filthy pig latin.
When I'm done with this one, I will try and comment further.
Reading like I have a satyriasis for books
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