Lawrence, one of my cafe rat buddies, just asked me if I had read American Psycho. (Answer: no.) He had just finished it and said he was puzzled. According to him, American Psycho‘s chief character is obviously gay and the business about his being a heterosexual serial killer is actually the fellow’s coded confession for being an irresponsible jerk who has spread AIDS to unsuspecting partners. Lawrence says that, page by page, the book makes little sense if you don’t read it that way. But he has turned up no one who agrees with his theory. Wikipedia, the movie version, googling “American psycho” and “AIDS” — all blank.
So, if anyone has read the book, what do you say? And if nobody has, whatever.
I’ve read all of Bret Easton Ellis’ books, but I’ve never heard the AIDS parallel.
The best way I can sum them up is this [this works for his first four or so]:
Look how empty this ___ culture is.
Each of his books fills the gap with a different theme:
Less Than Zero: Drugs
The Rules of Attraction: Sex
American Psycho: Business/Violence
Glamorama: Beauty/Fame
I wasn’t big on Glamorama, but I’m a big fan of the others.