I Love Bookstores but...
Why do French bookstores love American Psycho?
Paris is a book city. As a book person, this is delightful. There’s a bookstore (confusingly called a librairie) seemingly around every corner, and it’s noticeable how many people read paperbacks instead of phones on the metro or in the park.
French bookstores are independently owned, so each has full control over what books are available. Some keep a wide stock of genres, and others have a distinct focus: feminism, religion, queer fiction, art, etc. Sometimes they’ll have a small section for books in English, but it’s more common to find foreign books translated into French. I like to browse this area, keeping an eye out for any favorites that might be a good stepping stone into reading in French.
I’ve noticed an unexpected constant as I browse the translations section in Parisian bookstores: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. It stands out for a few reasons. It’s not a new book. Arguably the movie is more famous than the book. I don’t know many people who have actually read it. Yet I see it in every single store. And let me tell you, this is not going to be the book I choose for my French leisure reading. This book and I have history.
Junior year of college, I took a literature and film class. Every week, you’d read a book, watch the movie, and write a short paper comparing the two. That was the whole semester, and then for the final we each selected our own book-movie pairing and had to write a 10 page paper about it. Very simple.
Cut to the end of the semester. I was a very good student, but I had a tendency to procrastinate. This project was due on a Monday, so obviously the Thursday before was when I decided to begin researching book-movie pairings. I went to Google, typed in “book movie pairings,” and was pleasantly surprised (this was 2006) to find an alphabetized list of books made into movies. I started skimming, and my only rule was to find a movie I wanted to see. I found one halfway through the A section, grabbed my keys, and drove to the video store on Main Street to rent the DVD and the bookstore in Christiansburg to buy the book. I figured I was set. Except I chose American Psycho.
I spent 36 of the next 40 waking hours up to my eyeballs in the world of Patrick Bateman, investment banker/serial killer. Reading for hours, then watching it on the screen, then crafting a 2,500-word essay comparing how the book and the movie approached this business-card critiquing, serial killing, 1980s Wall Street bro. If you’re curious, the book is 10x more disturbing than the movie. Brilliant writing and story telling, yes. Unmatched satire. But not something to consume in a weekend.
Sunday night I called my boyfriend/now husband and said, “It’s done. I will be okay, but I am not okay.” After a week or so, I had recovered and the whole thing turned into a solid anecdote, but I didn’t realize that the joke wasn’t over.
As I mentioned before, I am a book person, and part of that is holding onto books. Our collection has grown over the years, and we like to lend them out to friends. Several years post-college, a friend saw American Psycho on our bookshelf and asked to borrow my copy. Without a second thought, I grabbed it and told him to return it whenever he was done. The next time he came over, he handed it back to me and gently asked… ”Why were those passages highlighted?” I realized then and there that I needed to let that particular book go. It never made it back on the shelf.
After not thinking about that story in over a decade, it’s now frequently top of mind as I browse French librairies. I know that America probably isn’t in most French peoples highlights reel right now, but the presence of this book in so many independent bookstores has me questioning what they think about Americans even outside of the current state of affairs.
Anyway, I did buy my first translated novel this week, and it wasn’t American Psycho. Please wish me luck with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Harry Potter à l’école des sorciers en français).
And in case you’re curious, here are my favorite bookstores in some of the places I’ve called home:
Paris: Smith&Son for English books. I know, I know — what about Shakespeare & Company? Well, I still haven’t made it inside. It’s so popular that there’s always a massive queue, and I never feel like waiting. Plus, I don’t really want to be surrounded by too many people or feel pressured when I’m browsing for books. Smith&Son has a robust selection for its size, and it’s right around the corner from the Marais location of a favorite lunch spot, Miznon.
Tokyo: Books Kinokuniya was a relief when I just wanted to browse and buy English language books and magazines. “Book street” in Jimbocho was the best for wandering and seeing all types of Japanese books, old and new.
London: I have spent days of my life in Foyles on Tottenham Court Rd. Bonus that it’s just up the road from Neal’s Yard in Seven Dials with two of my favorites: The Barbary and Homeslice Pizza.
Austin: BookPeople was my go-to, but a lot of cool independent shops have opened up since I moved away. Vintage Books & Wine looks like perfection.
I had the same project with American Psycho.. the book is disturbing..
I have not read the book and will now likely skip it, but I must say that Christian Bale is a very handsome psychopath.