Guest CoreyLazarus416 Posted January 12, 2003 Report Posted January 12, 2003 I remember reading in a thread in the Movies folder that the movie American Psycho was based on a book. Is this true? If it is true, is the author American? Because I need a modern American author to read a book by for a Thesis paper for English class, and this is the first non-autobiography that popped into my head (if autobiographies were allowed, I would have read one of Foley's books).
Guest Incandenza Posted January 12, 2003 Report Posted January 12, 2003 Here it is. Yes, the author is American. I read the book four-or-five years ago. There are some brilliant passages in there, but Ellis stretches the gag far too often. It's worth checking out if you're interested, though. I've come across a lot of people who love everything about the novel, and I'll admit there's enough wicked satire to make up for the many, many dull sections.
Guest CoreyLazarus416 Posted January 12, 2003 Report Posted January 12, 2003 Okay, now onto part II of my question... What other novels written post-World War I, and by an American author, are satires of America life? I have to write a thesis on the first book (due in 2 weeks, and I haven't even CHOSEN a book yet), and at the end of the year I'm writing a thesis on both books.
Guest nl5xsk1 Posted January 12, 2003 Report Posted January 12, 2003 Rules of Attraction is a much easier read, and is also by Ellis. (in fact, one of the characters in RoA is supposed to be the brother of Bateman, the title character in American Psycho) Either of those would be considered satires of American life. You could also read anything by Palahniuk, the guy that wrote Fight Club. I've read most of his books and a lot of them could be considered satires of American life.
Guest CoreyLazarus416 Posted January 12, 2003 Report Posted January 12, 2003 See, when I thought about choosing books that satired American life, Fight Club and American Psycho came to mind INSTANTLY. Just needed the authors so I could look for 'em. Maybe I'll take a trip to Barnes & Noble today...
Guest IDrinkRatsMilk Posted January 12, 2003 Report Posted January 12, 2003 Looks like you've already got your books picked out, but I'll say that Ellis' Glamorama is an interesting satirical take on mid-90s celebrity culture. The Bateman brothers each have a cameo in it as well.
Guest Incandenza Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 If you haven't already made your final choice, go with Palahniuk; it goes down easier than Ellis.
Guest Agent of Oblivion Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 I despised the movie American Psycho. Haven't read the book, but from what I've heard, it dwells on things like his suit for way too long. The movie was just a ridiculous piece of shit.
Guest red_file Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 Satires usually polarize people. I thought the film was very well made, but many of the really nice elements of the book (the vacuous commentaries on music, film, and even, yes, his suit) didn't come through as interesting when having to be presented as a voice-over. And virtually every major American literary work published in the last twenty years has been a satire of American life. Where satire once was a useful tool to point out folly and vice, its now practically a required part of fiction; any work that doesn't have a somewhat cynical view of the world is often seen as naive.
Guest Agent of Oblivion Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 The bits in the movie when he was giving his "informed" opinions about Huey Lewis fuckin' killed me, though.
Guest red_file Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 He gives more detailed opinions on Genesis and Whitney Houston in the book.
Guest Human Fly Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 I'm reading the book right now and in the beginning he went on about hair care products for 2 or 3 pages. I'm enjoying it so far, I also enjoyed the movie.
Guest nl5xsk1 Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 If you don't like the drawn out explanations of the designer, or who was wearing what, or things like that, just skim through those passages. I personally found them pretty funny, but know a lot of people that just skip those parts altogether.
Guest LooseCannon Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 Although I enjoy reading them, I simultaneously hate Chuck Palahniuk's novels. They strike me as superficial and easy, and just a little too cute.
Guest CoreyLazarus416 Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 So I picked up Glamorama today because they didn't have any other books by Bret Easton Ellis. Looks like a fun read.
Guest IDrinkRatsMilk Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 Glamorama flows at a fairly fast clip, it's pretty breezy. A fun fact about the book is that both Patrick Bateman and Christian Bale are in it, although it was written a couple years before the American Psycho movie was made.
Guest Incandenza Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 I hope you enjoy all the wonderfully graphic gay sex scenes, Corey! I have the same problem with Glamorama that I do with American Psycho, except more so. Bret Easton Ellis doesn't know when to give up the ghost. Also, I agree with Cannon's take on Palahniuk; I read and loved Fight Club, but Survivor and Invisible Monsters (plus some short story I read in Playboy, the name of which escapes me) are written with a similarly terse, affected prose, which wears thin. I haven't read his other books, nor do I particularly care to.
Guest IDrinkRatsMilk Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 I really wouldn't compare Glamorama to American Psycho as far as the narrative goes. American Psycho had a very leisurely pace, Glamorama flows almost like a machine gun, with a few exceptions.
Guest LooseCannon Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 I enjoyed Glamorama more than American Psycho, if only because he doesn't spend 25 pages talking about someones shoes. But Inc's right. By the end of both books, you're kinda weary of the whole thing. Anyway: Glamorama>The Rules of Attraction>American Psycho>.....>Less Than Zero> The Informers. and Fight Club>Choke>.....>Lullaby>Survivor I haven't read Invisible Monsters. I heard Chuck P tell a rather funny joke about how they were going to turn Survivor into a movie but after 9/11/01, the market for funny airplane hijacker movies plummeted.
Guest Incandenza Posted January 13, 2003 Report Posted January 13, 2003 I really wouldn't compare Glamorama to American Psycho as far as the narrative goes. American Psycho had a very leisurely pace, Glamorama flows almost like a machine gun, with a few exceptions. I wasn't doing that so much as noting Ellis' method of attacking his targets. There's extremely little subtlety in Glamorama; for instance, how many friggin' times did the narrator mention that everywhere he goes smells like shit? Satire performed in broad, sweeping strokes can be entertaining, but it necessitates some restraint.
Guest CoreyLazarus416 Posted January 14, 2003 Report Posted January 14, 2003 So far, Ellis rubs me as a Hemingway-Fitzgerald blend, as in the book seems to be written strictly to be made into a movie. Lots of dialogue. Decisive descriptions (a perfect middleground between Hemingway's vague and Fitzgerald's more-than-necessary). Lots of characters that will probably end up going nowhere.
Guest IDrinkRatsMilk Posted January 14, 2003 Report Posted January 14, 2003 The movie feeling will get much much stronger as you progress, but I think it's more of a story device than a legitimate desire.
Guest notJames Posted January 14, 2003 Report Posted January 14, 2003 I would suggest Joseph Heller's Catch 22 and its sequel Closing Time, although I don't know if the former qualifies, since it takes place in Europe. And American Psycho definitely turned me off with the endless litany of descriptions to the point of skipping over all of them to find the gory killing parts. I didn't think Less Than Zero was all that good either. Matt Ruff's Sewer, Gas & Electric: The Public Works Trilogy is a great commentary on American Life set in Manhattan of the near-future. Eco-terrorists, electronic slaves, the politics of power and money, it even features Ayn Rand as a minor character. Great read.
Guest Y2BigJ Posted February 1, 2003 Report Posted February 1, 2003 I enjoyed American Psycho, and am currently reading less then zero and I still don't know what ti think of it. What do you guys think of Lullaby by Chuckey P?
Guest Vyce Posted February 1, 2003 Report Posted February 1, 2003 How can anyone not love the American Psycho movie? Best black comedy in years. I've never laughed so hard as serial murder before in my life. Sorry to see some Chucky P hate, though. Chuck's my boy. Love the guy.
Guest IDrinkRatsMilk Posted February 2, 2003 Report Posted February 2, 2003 Satire. American Psycho is a satire. It's not quite the same as a black comedy.
Guest CoreyLazarus416 Posted February 2, 2003 Report Posted February 2, 2003 Wow. I said there'd probably be lots of characters that end up going nowhere. Every character had a meaning to them, EVERY character (even Skeet Ulrich's short cameo). And, notJames, I've actually been recommend Catch 22 due to its overall premise by friends of mine that have read it. Might check it out if I can't find American Psycho or Rules Of Attraction, or even The Informers.
Guest teke184 Posted February 2, 2003 Report Posted February 2, 2003 I need to find a copy of Rules of Attraction... it's strange reading all those other books by Ellis where he refers to Camden College and you have no idea what the hell he's talking about. As for each individual book, I'd say that Less Than Zero is my favorite, American Psycho comes in at #2, The Informers at #3, and I'm not ranking Glamorama yet because I'm only halfway through it.
Guest Vyce Posted February 2, 2003 Report Posted February 2, 2003 Satire. American Psycho is a satire. It's not quite the same as a black comedy. I know what the film is SUPPOSED to be. It tries to be a satire, but works better (to me) as a black comedy.
Guest converge241 Posted February 3, 2003 Report Posted February 3, 2003 While i like the move the book is 10 times better Ellis is my favorite author i recomend Psycho, Rules Of Attraction (easily my favorite book AND movie EVER, and Less Than Zero) BTW Corey little trivia: some of Anthrax's "Sound of WHite Noise" is based on Psycho P.S. I *heart* the Patty Winters Show **book refrence** now excuse me, I have to return some videos
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