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joevmo t1_j6kb2hi wrote

Disagree 100 percent. Movie made it seem fake, but the murders were real in the book.

People mistaking others' names was a theme throughout the book, as was not caring at all about other people. The lawyer not knowing is because he mistook whoever he was meeting or just didn't want to deal with it.

Why would the realtor act strange with him of nothing happened?

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MinxyMyrnaMinkoff t1_j6l6rwi wrote

I’ve always thought the murders really happened. I think people miss the point of the final scene. It’s not that Bateman isn’t a murderer, he is, but It. Doesn’t. Matter.

Due to the vapid, superficial world he lives in No. One. Cares. No one cares if he’s Paul or Patrick or Whomever, everyone is interchangeable. No one cares if he’s a psychopath, he’s young and attractive and rich, so they don’t care. He’s literally been saying psychopathic shit for the entire novel, no one cares. His own lawyer laughs off his murder confession. The realtor covers for him for her own gain. The police are never going to arrest him, not even if he murders someone right in front of them. So there really is No Exit for him, he’s stuck, as a terrible person surrounded by terrible people. He’s in hell.

That’s how I always read it anyways.

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tea_and_hypocrisy t1_j6ld6gd wrote

This an excellent synopsis of how I have always interpreted the themes of the book. Spot on.

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Z0mbifiedFr0g OP t1_j6kfpai wrote

You make some interesting points but I still think my perspective has some merit. I’ll call to my point that Paul Owens seems to be someone who is more respected and maybe less likely to be confused with someone else but I do agree with you that it is a recurring theme of the names being confused in the book.

As for the realtor, to the best of my memory, Patrick is described as appearing nervous and shifty when he comes to the open house. The realtor could have easily taken this as Patrick coming to steal something from the open house or to generally cause that sort of trouble.

But again, I agree that there are points that go for and against my argument.

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joevmo t1_j6khtys wrote

Fair, but what about the cab driver who recognized and robbed him then?

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Z0mbifiedFr0g OP t1_j6knd9g wrote

I approach the cab driver with the same attitude as I approach the police chase scene, that it’s just an event that Patrick has worked into his fantasy, it either didn’t happen or something much milder happened and Patrick amplified it to apply to his thoughts.

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hoimass t1_j6kmtvy wrote

Because he's a psychopath who is giving odd vibes.

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