descend and splash, to give them a ' true image, into a hell of hedonism, that of the Eighties dominated by money, by yuppismo, restaurants and big fashion brands, a reckless spending and an end in itself, from the frenzy induced by continuous fluctuations in financial results of the stock market.
They look like these, in short, the intent of the author Bret Easton Ellis American (Los Angeles 1964) and the scenery as a backdrop to the 'deeds' of the protagonist in 'American Psycho', his novel released in 1991.
'American Psycho' sums up the traits of a split existence, to Pat Bateman, 26, graduated at Harvard, manager at the family bank, psychopathic and ruthless murderess in the nights, smoky or cold does not matter, of New York.
Bateman is alienated from the use of cocaine, the obsession with luxury clothes and one for bars, restaurants and night clubs frequented especially by his 'friends' Mc Dermott, Price and Van Patten, as well as by those who matter most in world of high finance.
extravagant, frivolous and senseless seem his passion for Patty Winter show, television program where futilissimi topics are discussed, and his mania for high-tech stereos and the aesthetics of the furnishings and luxury amenities that he uses in everyday life.
"This is a work of imagination - Easton Ellis said, referring to huge amount of quotation in the book refer to persons, manufacturers and products of famous brands - all the characters, episodes and lines of dialogue, except for occasional references to public figures, products or services, are imaginary, and should not be refer to any living person, nor be construed as disparaging the products or services of any company. " [1]
reading this book, I seemed to catch a strange commonality between the constant references Easton Ellis characters in modern music and the massive use of pop music that he also Marco Ferreri in his film 'Dillinger is dead' (Italy 1969), but the book seems to give Easton Ellis the music a role somehow 'cleansing', as we shall see.
In one of his few, really very few moments of mental clarity, Pat Bateman summarizes the incredible emptiness that make up its 'luxurious' life
"What is intelligence? How to define the reason? Desire - meaningless. The intellect is not a drug. Justice is dead. Fear, recrimination, innocence, sympathy, guilt, loss, failure, grief, were things, emotions, that no one felt more seriously. The thought is useless, the world is meaningless. Evil is the only permanent thing. God does not is alive. Love is not trustworthy. The surface, the surface, the surface is the only thing in which everyone was any significance ... this was civilization from my point of view, colossal and jagged ... " [2]
The role played by technology ( systems for recording and playing music, mobile phones, telephones and the like, all of which is a description geometrically precise) and pop music into the narrative fabric of the book are remarkable.
names of celebrities are a lot of pop:
They range from Sting to Madonna, the Traveling Wilburys to the Crystals, the Ronettes, the Shirelles [3] , and still the Talking Heads and INXS to Megadeth, Paul Butterfield, an old lion of the white blues of Chicago, Stephen Bishop and Christopher Cross the Lovin 'Spoonful, Belinda Carlisle, George Michael, Jefferson Airplane, Phil Collins, Bobby McFerrin, Bon Jovi, last but not least the Beatles, citing the song 'A Day In The Life' and the Rolling Stones, which is simply given the title of one of their best-known songs: 'Simpathy for the Devil '. Not bad
this soundtrack as a backdrop to the business of a brutal serial killer who carries out the profession's official stockbroker, and works daily in the financial circles of Wall Street and we would wonder whether the particular musical score, which is defined by Easton Ellis in a manner so thorough that it almost seems to hear, reflect the same preferences in the field fed by the author.
But there's more, American Psycho, some compelling chapters that recount in great detail and expertise from specialist hard rock music and the music of Genesis, of Huey Lewis & the News and Whitney Houston.
pages, so to speak, 'music' of the novel are polished, almost perfect, and are placed in sharp contrast with the rest of the work, especially with the psychological and cultural character of the claim embodied by Pat Bateman. Enter
in general crudeness of the events that constitute the plot of the book, these pages present us with a conscious Bateman least temporarily, and finally, somehow, at ease with himself, they radiate a warm color and alive with unexpected flashes of the vitality 'daily life of the protagonist fell in horror and sorrow, that elements in the book by Easton Ellis, who have not yet read to be believed, abound.
[1] See Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho, Einaudi, Torino 2001, p.2. Original title: American Psycho, trans. Italian Giuseppe Culicchia.
[2] See Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho ... op.cit., p.484. Original title: American Psycho, trans. Joseph Culicchia.
[3] Crystals, Ronettes and Shirelles are three female singing groups that had particular luck recording in the sixties.
John Graziano missing
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