Book Review: The Silent Patient // Alex Michaelides

 Author: Alex Michaelides

Stand alone

Format: Physical Book

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Synopsis: 

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...

Rate: 1.5 / 5 ⭐

Review:

First let me tell you about easy, the writing style. It is very basic and very easy to read, for me at least. If I took the time then I could have probably finished this book in 3 to 4 hours. 

Next, the characters who didn't leave much impression except for two side characters, Barbie and Lydia (and they didn't even have a big role in the book). After thinking about it I realised Alicia isn't all that special. She is the silent patient who killed her husband. She is described as a charming woman with the perfect life. She is also a well-known painter. But throughout the story there wasn't really much to say about her, the glimpses we get about her through her journal mostly attest to the fact that she is very much in love with her husband, solves most of their arguments by having sex and paints the rest of her time alone. 

The narrator, Theo, was very suspicious. He seemed to have this huge thing about being the only one to fix and heal Alicia. This at the beginning seemed interesting enough that he was obsessed with his patient but after the big plot twist, it seemed to make less sense. He also did so many improper things as a psychotherapist. I mean I get he's going around in circles and trying to talk to Alicia's family and friends to understand her more but this again didn't make sense after the plot twist. 

The psychotherapists in this book seemed to have no respect for their job or maybe basically the author didn't really do enough research. There is one scene, in particular, I didn't like. Alicia is given a high dosage of a drug to make her seem passive because she was very aggressive towards other patients (mostly when she was provoked though). When Theo meets with her, he requests the doctor in charge to reduce her dosage. And the next day, she is given a very low dosage compared to before. And what is wrong with this you may ask. You don't go from a high dosage to a low dosage in less than 24 hours. It can risk side effects. You have to gradually lower the dosage to not harm the patient. It's a basic thing! arghhhh!!!!

The story felt like a filler for the big plot twist at the end. This had so much potential though especially with a twist like that. 

Another thing is theauthor'ss obsession with all things Greek. Like I get it, Greek myths are used as symbolism and to draw parallels between the stories and legends but only if done properly. I liked how the connection was done between Alcestis and Alicia's story but it agai, didn't seem to be all that impressive once we gotto  the full story. Also too many mentions about how characters looked like Greek gods and goddesses and how certain atmospheres were like Greek cities and there is even a Greek character. Too much of it can really take away the effect you are trying to give, there is something called symbolism for a reason. 

SPOILER: PLEASE SKIP TO THE END

And finally, this is the most frustrating. This is also a spoiler so I suggest you skip this. 

Alicia gets morphine injected into her blood, a dosage high enough to make her go into a coma. And still,l she managed to write a short story convicting Theo. Like how?? And she even managed to hide the diary behind that painting? Didn't make sense. 

END OF SPOILER

Personally, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but maybe if you are just getting into thrillers you could give this a go. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧