By Samiya Sohail
THE SILENT PATIENT
For me, this book was a 5/5.
This book brought out so many emotions, in the wildest way possible.
Alicia Berenson is a complete mystery herself. I found myself doubting her since the very first
day, from the moment she began to reveal details of her and her mother’s accident. Trauma like
that carries on and manifests itself in scary ways. I was convinced she had killed her husband,
Gabriel – but the question remained, why?
To answer this question, Theo Faber, Alicia’s psychotherapist in Grove- a mental institutioncomes
into the picture, the only one who can make Alicia speak. I sympathised with him a lot,
considering his troubled childhood. Additionally, the fact that his partner, Kathy, was cheating on
him only added to my sympathy. However, I was shocked to find that Theo was not worthy of my
sympathy. He knew Alicia way before Gabriel’s death and, shockingly, played a part in it.
I loved all the scenes in the Grove, it felt like I was there witnessing it all, the way Alex
Michaelides described the setting in the book was remarkable, truly an exceptional writer.
However, I did feel that the book was quite slow in the beginning and then suddenly in the last
two to three chapters everything happened all at once, making the ending feel rushed and kind
of abrupt.
Despite this minor detail, The Silent Patient truly was the best mystery book I have ever read.