I’d recommend it for those that enjoy this genre, and those that enjoy being part of the buzzed-about-books experience. It’s not a fast-paced tale in terms of really big happenings or scary moments but for me, the short chapters went quickly and I was intrigued throughout because I wanted to know what happened and I liked the author’s writing style.
There’s an intentional murkiness (reminiscent of a movie like Memento) as the psychotherapist, Theo, embarks on a journey to find out why Alicia doesn’t speak, if she really killed her husband, if she’s insane, and/or the motive IF she did indeed kill Gabriel. At some point I feel like I want to read the story again to truly put the rubik’s cube in order.Īt the end of the day, I think this novel has the potential to be one that is widely discussed, and may even become a motion picture. Instead, I found myself trying to retrace steps and get oriented. When I got to the end, I wasn’t knocked off my chair surprised because I read a LOT of books in this genre, but I also can’t say that I completely saw it coming either. All I’ll say is that I had several theories, varying in their levels of crazy. I won’t mention anything that could spoil what happens. The timeline of the story was a bit hazy at points because the main character, Theo, talks in the past tense, but about a more recent past and a time that seems undefined. For me, the author’s words painted a vivid picture (again, no pun intended). So I entered this story in the dark, curious to find what I would discover. When I know there’s a twist, or if I see hints of something, I usually figure out what’s going on. I didn’t read any reviews because I didn’t want to see something that would give me any clues, either intentionally or unintentionally. I decided to go into this novel with a clean slate, a blank canvas (no pun intended). Who cares about a mystery when you have to trudge through page after page of sophomoric prose? What makes The Silent Patient such a tacky slog is the consistently lazy, cliche-ridden, dumbed down prose.
The style is very generic (even for its genre), with pages of dialog that did nothing to further the story or give depth to any of the characters. As far as the story goes, I'd expected something fast-paced, engaging and suspenseful, but feel like I got a slow-moving, go-nowhere book that wasn't even redeemed by the supposedly big twist at the end. The advance copy came belly-banded with a fictional newspaper article about the crime, which I thought was really fun.
I mean, people are going absolutely crazy over it!Īs usual with this publisher, the marketing and promotions were outstanding (I totally bought into all the initial excitement).
I'm glad so many loved it because it eases my conscience a little about having to give it such a poor review, but I just don't understand how there could be so many comments on social media about this being the best book people have read all year. I don't get the hype on this one at all.The Silent Patient Audible Audio Edition Alex Michaelides Jack Hawkins Louise Brealey Macmillan Audio Books Reviews Listening Length 8 hours and 43 minutes.