BOOK: THE SILENT PATIENT
AUTHOR: ALEX MICHAELIDES
PAGES: 341
BLURB:
Alicia
Alicia Brenson writes in her diary as a release, an outlet- and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can’t bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.
Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.
Theo
Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia’s silence goes deeper than he first thought.
And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?
MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:
‘The Silent Patient’ is a book I enjoyed reading from the start till the end. The main protagonist in the book is Alicia Brenson, who is the silent patient.
The book begins with Alicia’s diary and a few notes she had made about her day.
Alicia was thirty three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years and were both artists—Alicia was a painter and Gabriel was a well known fashion photographer.
It was Barbie Hellmann (Alicia’s neighbour) who phoned the police after she have heard several gunshots. The house was pitch-black dark, none of the light switches were working when the police arrived in the scene. A gun was on the floor. Next to it in the shadows, Gabriel was seated, motionless, bound to a chair with wire wrapped around his ankles and wrists. He was shot several times in the face, leaving a charred, blackened, bloody mess.
Alicia was found with the gun and was arrested by the police. The police questioned her in the presence of her solicitor but she remained silent throughout her interview. She answered no questions. She could not, would not, speak. Nor did she speak when charged with Gabriel’s murder. She remained silent when she was placed under arrest, refusing to deny her guilt or confess it.
Theo Faber, a psychotherapist, had a rough childhood memory which makes him feel terrible at moments. The unpredictable and arbitrary rages of his father made him feel vulnerable. He never got to know what he actually did to trigger anger of such kind. His only hope of survival, he realized, was to retreat—psychically as well as physically. He was eighteen when he left home to study further after he got the grades needed to secure a place at university.
He got into a university he wanted but was he able to leave the memories he had back as a child? Was he able to forget the paralyzing pain that was bought because of his father’s rage? How things went after he left his home is something I would like you to discover yourself after you read this book.
Theo was married to Kathy. Kathy knew Gabriel. Theo and Alicia were unknown to each other until the murder of Gabriel happened.
This story is basically the story of how after 6 years of murder, Alicia who didn’t speak a word, begins to speak. Speaks what? You have to find out.
The diary of Alicia reveals the entire conspiracy. And it is when you reach the end of the story you will know what the reason was, who provoked whom, who was the one who shot the bullets and everything.
P.S.- Suggesting everyone to read it. It is a book worth reading.
Overall rating: 4.2/5