"The Silent Patient"

"The Silent Patient"

Written by Alex Michaelides

Review written by Diana Iozzia

Like other people, I have enjoyed reading many psychological thrillers and mysteries. To the point where when I have a plot twist ending revealed to me, I find myself either satisfied that it was a good twist that made the book completely new to me, or extremely dissatisfied that the ending ruined the book for me. In the odd case of “The Silent Patient”, I disliked the book until the ending, enjoyed the ending and how it connected the two narratives told to us, but still disliked the book. The ending was satisfying, because it explained everything, or so I thought. In the recent days after reading this book, I hesitated in writing my review, because I felt too many contrasting thoughts. Did I like this aspect? Wait, no I didn’t. Did I like this character? Well, not when I realized the truth.

This book is extremely difficult to discuss without explaining the plot twist. I think this is why the hype is so dramatic. How can you discuss a twist ending that completely changes the book from the first line to the last? This idea is fantastic! It could be a completely new way to write a book. Only then we remember many thrillers that are exactly like this. I compare this book to “Murder on the Orient Express” or “The Sixth Sense”. Once we understand the truth, we dive back into every character’s sentence or motivation. We dive back into the two perspectives and look for inconsistencies, complications, and plot holes. Boy, I am not so sure I enjoyed the second read through. Granted, I did not read every line, but in remembering how the book progressed, I found myself aggravated. When creating a twist ending, I believe that you should create an ending that disrupts the story and turns it on its head. Then, you should have created a story that cohesively glues both the explained narrative to the twist, allowing no questions or holes. Everything should match back together like a puzzle piece. Perhaps this is wishful thinking, as I have enjoyed reading thrillers and mysteries for most of my life. Perhaps it can be difficult to create a unique twist ending nowadays. However, I have read many, many fantastic psychological thrillers that are more enjoyable and more consistent than this.  

We question the motives of both main characters, Dr. Theo Faber’s and Alicia Berenson’s, as we look back into his narrative and then Alice’s diaries. We question how on Earth did this character think like this, once we know the truth? Why did this character think this way? There are so many aspects of this book that do not connect properly once you read the story. We do not comprehend why characters chose certain actions, even though we know understand the truth.

To continue, the main character is first and foremost the narrator, Theo. We have his storyline: him grappling with his wife cheating in addition to his budding career helping Alice as her psychologist. When we read through his perspective, he is unlikeable, irritating, and obsessive: to a point that I found myself not enjoying his character’s perspective. Alice’s diaries slowly progressing, explaining her husband’s behavior and her increasing dislike for him makes us wonder why she has decided to kill him. We also have side characters that we question their motives and decisions as well, but I do not think they received the attention they needed in the story. They did not feel fleshed out or realistic.

In conclusion, I personally do not recommend this novel. I enjoyed Alex Michaelides's writing, but his talent was not a match for the story. I would still happily read his next book, but "The Silent Patient" just did not do it for me. Perhaps this could be a good psychological thriller if you enjoy going back into every single sentence and picking apart each meaning, but I do not. I enjoyed the ending, because I did not see it coming, but it still does not make this an enjoyable read for me. I am glad I stuck it through, but this is just not the book for me. Perhaps I'll read it again in five years.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for reviewing purposes.