AMERICAN PSYCHO: The Official Preppy Handbook by M.G. Wood  In 1980 Lisa Birnbach and her fellow preps published the semi-satirical prophecy THE OFFICIAL PREPPY HANDBOOK. In 1991 Bret Easton Ellis followed up his semi-autobiographical Prep novel LESS THAN ZERO with AMERICAN PSYCHO. Chapter I- “Rights Of The Birthright” Preppy Value System: consistency, charm, nonchalance, athleticism, discipline, public spiritedness. Chapter II- “The Root Of All Prep” There was a time when we had no L.L. Bean and Talbots, or Prep schools, no BMW’s. And then in 1635 the Boston Latin School was founded. Chapter III- “The Best Years Of Your Life” Rules of Prep Sex: no PDA (public displays of affection), girls do not sleep around, men do not take advantage of Prep women. Chapter IV- “Dressing The Part” Anglophilia and Androgyny: No single group embodies the Preppy spirit more than the Brits. And few fashion statements can challenge the unisex flexibility of the Preppy. Patrick Bateman begins early on to list, in pain-staking detail his daily dress; from shoes to tie, from moisturizer to hair product. A veritable who’s who of Preppy consumerism. Chapter V- “The Real World” Venturing out into the real world and interacting with the common folk or “slumming”, is one of the more tantalizing thrills for the average Prep. MUSIC TO SLUM BY: 1. Motown 2. Earth, Wind & Fire 3.Tammy Wynette 4. Donna Summer 5. Blondie Patrick Bateman takes to picking up prostitutes and defiling them before video cameras. And at one point does the ultimate “slumming”, by having a Prep girlfriend “perform” with a prostitute. All the while Mr. Bateman regales the young ladies with his razor sharp music critiques of such 80's artists as Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, and Huey Lewis and the News. Chapter VI- “You’re All Grown Up Now” THE OLD BOY NETWORK is an incestuous circle jerk wherein one hand washes the other, scratches another’s back, and gives the reach around, all the while doing business. An absolute must in the maturing process of becoming an adult Prep with a 401K. As in any orgy, the faces become indistinguishable, and soon everyone in the mass of flesh begins to look alike. Ms. Birnbach repeatedly insinuates the advantages of not having an opinion or political point of view. Thereby making your party conversation indistinguishable from any other; hence inoffensive in the pursuit of another palm to press. As the saga of Patrick Bateman unfolds, a clear pattern of confusion emerges, as to who is who. Giving the characters, including the detective investigating the murders, a sort of amnesia as to who did what and when and where. “Is that Patrick Bateman?”, “Hell no, that’s Biff.” We begin to suspect that this mass confusion may be Patrick Bateman’s only hope to escape justice. Chapter VII- “Prep Spoken Here” Joie de vivre, Sarcasm, Cynicism, Enthusiasm. These are the words that define the Prep. But, there is another word in the Preppy Handbook Usage Guide: Ennui. Ennui is the all-encompassing word to describe the Prep attitude. Ennui is the performance of effortlessness, as in “Oh, I needn’t bother with such trivia as parking tickets.”, the exhausted expression of “this shit is so easy”. Partick Bateman drugs a lady friend. Bateman smears brie cheese on his lady friend’s vagina. Bateman takes a piece of hollow Habitrail tube. Patrick Bateman has been starving an enormous alley rat for days. Bateman hums to himself as he works. And as the lady friend writhes in pain, letting out animalistic sounds, Bateman considers how there always seems to be a point in any torture/murder, where the horror of the thing becomes anti-climatic. Return to Book Review
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