The Silent Patient | Alex Michaelides | Book review
Introduction
Alicia is a painter who lives with her fashion photographer husband, Gabriel. On the outside, you would say she is quite lucky that she has a perfect life, a caring husband by her side, and a budding career ahead. But, on a hot summer day in the month of August, as the temperatures soared over unimaginable highs, Alicia took a gun and shot her husband several times in his face. She managed to render him unrecognizable completely and after that fell completely silent. ‘The Silent Patient’ is the aftermath of this gruesome murder that follows Alicia into the Grove where she is taken care of by mental health specialists.
‘We are drawn to this particular profession because we are damaged- We study psychology to heal ourselves.’
Storyline of ‘The Silent Patient’
The police inquired about the circumstances of her husband’s death; Alicia kept quiet. Her family demanded an answer, but she did not speak a word. She did not even plead herself innocent when she was charged with murder. All she did was painted a self-portrait and named it, ‘Alcestis’ after the heroine of a Greek tragedy. She never spoke again.
Theo Faber was a forensic psychotherapist who always wanted to work with Alicia. He wanted to unravel the mystery of the murder and all he wanted was to make her speak. He joined the Grove at the first opportunity he got, to dig deeper into Alicia’s case and her past.
‘But that’s what Alicia did for you. Her silence was like a mirror- reflecting yourself back at you. And it was often an ugly sight.’
Positive Points of ‘The Silent Patient’
This book is an absolute page-turner. I just could not put it down from the moment I got my hands on it. The storytelling is lively and enthusiastic from the point of view of the narrator who is none other than Theo himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of this story, one word at a time, one detail at a time. It slowly and steadily got us closer to the reason for the murder. It also made me doubt if Alicia had killed her husband or if it was someone else’s doing.
There were a variety of characters. Each with a unique and realistic personality. The book keeps you guessing up until the very end. There was also a time when I thought the secret was almost out but it was a false sign.
I haven’t read a thriller before and hence it won’t be wrong if I say that my judgement of it is hampered as I have nothing to compare it to. I will however still say, if a thriller is this good, I want to read more of it.
And yes! Everyone keeps talking about the twist at the end of the story. I really didn’t see that coming. As far as I hear it isn’t a common plot.
Negative points
Some parts were dragging unnecessarily. We would have been fine without some of these sentences. However I guess, it just helped to build more and more anticipation.
It would really help more to know about Diomedes and Christian. Their present and past stories. It would have helped with character development.
There is mystery surrounding Alicia’s relationship with her aunt. There is no mention of them ever communicating with each other. No memories or flashbacks even. Not even a proper mention in her diary.
Overall, this was an interesting book that I enjoyed and would recommend to everyone. Especially people who are new to thrillers, like me.
‘Somehow grasping at vanishing snowflakes is like grasping at happiness; an act of possession which instantly gives way to nothing.’
‘Alicia was lost. She was missing. And I intended to find her.’
‘But remember, with greater feeling comes greater danger.’
