Surface Is Everything

Published in 1991, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy Wall Street investment banker who obsesses over business cards, designer clothing, and restaurant reservations with the same flat, detailed attention he gives to describing murders. The tone never shifts between discussing a suit and describing a killing.

Bateman's colleagues are interchangeable — constantly mistaking each other's identities. A serial killer hides in plain sight because in a world of surfaces, nobody truly sees anyone. Identity has been reduced to brand affiliations and grooming routines.