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thetruthatallhazards's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Self harm
ariel_wolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The twist was kinda uncomfortable since we are following the story of a new doctor and his patient at an asylum in the early 2000s.
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death, Blood, Ableism, Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Suicide, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Confinement
littleonepaige's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Suicide and Mental illness
Moderate: Blood, Torture, Rape, Child death, Sexual assault, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
stories's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, and Self harm
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide
Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Vomit
dalmavatai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I think maybe I don't enjoy overly gruesome or extremely dark horror, but this one was neither in my opinion. It was fast-paced and very engaging, it kept my interest all the way through. I love following psychiatrists and I like storylines about a case that no one can diagnose and where no one knows what's going on. The reveal in this one was so good, I really liked how all the puzzle pieces came together at the end. I also liked the conclusion of the story because it didn't get all doom-and-gloom, but obviously it wasn't a happy ever after either.
This was a really great read that I highly recommend to everyone who likes thrillers/horrors involving a psychiatrist POV and a seemingly unsolvable disorder with a touch of the supernatural. It didn't get very gruesome, dark, or terrifying so I think this is a good one for those who usually read mystery/thrillers but want to foray into the horror genre.
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Violence
mackenzi's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Child abuse
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Physical abuse
Minor: Excrement, Violence, Torture, and Suicide
ezraaa's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Child death, Mental illness, Violence, Rape, Suicide, and Gore
bayleyreadsbooks's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
I did not like this book. I am not typically a person who gets to the review stage of a book I didn't like to this extent, but I listened to the audiobook, and it was only slightly over four hours, and it was recommended to me by a book recommendation service. Otherwise, there is no way I would have gone past 25%. So if you love this book, I would suggest stopping reading if you don't want to read my very oppositional feelings.
I will also briefly talk about the book recommendation service I used. I will write something about my experience once I have read all three, but this book fits squarely in the only thing I asked not to get. That thing was a novel (so nonfiction is fine) published after the author gains popularity on the internet. I didn't know this book fit into that until I finished and googled the author, but I then thought that was hilarious because it was literally my only hard no. On to the book.
The Patient follows Dr. Parker H, a psychologist fresh out of school, as he starts working at a mental health inpatient facility where a mysterious patient named Joe drives all his care team mad or to suicide. The novel is told as a series of posts on a defunct medical forum. I really should not have read the book, this doesn't inherently sound like something I would hate, but I am not sure I would have picked it up independently. I did go into the book with an open mind; I was ready to be into the book; I just wasn't.
Clearly, I didn't enjoy this book, normally I would include things I liked around here, but I am not sure I have them. Aside from the books end with a little line about listening to kids, which I guess is fine. Now on to what I didn't like.
I didn't like the narrator, this is not something I normally require to like a book, but I think the things I disliked about the narrator were not meant to be negative aspects of his personality. I found myself literally saying "yikes" out loud at multiple points in the narration. One of the first interactions this mental health professional has with another person begins by declaring he is about to commit suicide, then explaining he is not actually going to kill himself, it is just a metaphor because he wants to do something dumb. I just thought that was annoying, and pairing that with how mental health stuff is presented in this novel; I just wasn't overall impressed. He is just so painfully a hero, while also doing things I found morally not congruent with his opinion of his actions (and I think the book's opinion of his actions) that I could not do anything but hate him.
I was not ever scared or really even curious. I felt no tension in the question of if the book was going to be supernatural or not, and I felt no satisfaction at the reveal. It was very obvious from the beginning it was, and I was just annoyed that tens of people before Parker studied this case, and Parker figures it out pretty quickly. Apparently, our special genius narrator was the only one who could actually figure it out. I hope my eye roll comes through. You read thrillers/mysteries/horror/weird speculative stuff to feel surprise and tension; this book did not do that for me.
I hated the portrayal of women. There are five women of any importance in this story; they are all maternal and compassionate, even the straight-laced, no-nonsense woman, her flaw in dealing with Joe is that she felt maternal towards him. Parker's mother exists in the narrative to be tortured and fridge to give Parker motivation. The kind nurse is fridged to get the plot rolling. Joe's mother commits suicide, and I thought her deep love for her kid, paired with never visiting, was unbelievable. My least favorite way a woman was written was Parker's girlfriend, Jocelyn. She is initially presented as a rich girl getting her Ph.D. in literature (or something we are maybe meant to see as frivolous) who is just a wonderful, compassionate angel. She is brutally assaulted at the end of the book, where she abandons her studies, moves far from all family and friends, becomes a recluse, and declares that all she needs to be happy is Parker. And her PSYCHOLOGIST boyfriend does not at all see the problem with this. Also, right after she says all she needs is him, he says he is still deeply driven to help the world. So glad this dude is still gonna be a big strong hero while his lady needs nothing but his love. My favorite.
There are more things about this book that I didn't like, but it seems like beating a dead horse to list all of them; I would prefer to end it here and move on to reading a new book I will hopefully like more.
I clearly don't recommend this book, but you do you.
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Child death