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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unrelated but this book made me realize that I almost exclusively read books written by women. I hated all the men in this book-- yes even Theo(the MC) before the plot twist, I thought he was pathetic. I also despised how the female MC wasn't taken seriously at all regarding her mental health and paranoia, but I think it reflects the real world where male doctors don't take women as seriously so kudos to the author for that. The characters are obviously written to be disliked so I have to begrudgingly say the character writing is good. Writing style was interesting, it feels ranty sometimes but that's purposeful so +1 point for that as well. Now let's get to the meat of the book; the plot. The way the plot points are connected is very interesting; you are left with a bunch of questions at the start of the book and the plot twist ties all those questions together. I guessed half of the plot twist since about 40% so I wouldn't say it's too shocking(I read virtually no thriller so my guessing the plot twist isn't a good sign). I really like the exploration of damaged people being unsalvageable and how therapy is merely a tool, not a solution. I enjoyed the book; it was a page turner and pulled me along a string to keep reading but I felt something was missing so only 4 stars.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Read this for book club and honestly I thought it was a solid 4 stars. It reminded me a lot of the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes which is to say that it was written really well but wasn't my ~favorite~ kind of story because I have a hard time staying invested when there's no one to root for. In my head Alicia is Nicole Kidman and no one can convince me otherwise
I think this is the kind of book that just about anyone would genuinely enjoy reading so no wonder it's so popular! Booktok wasn't wrong this time
I think this is the kind of book that just about anyone would genuinely enjoy reading so no wonder it's so popular! Booktok wasn't wrong this time
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to this book and I really enjoyed the narration but that’s about it. I found everything in this book pretty obvious.
A famous artist kills her husband and falls silent after. Being locked away in a psychiatric unit north of London, things begin to unravel as a new psychotherapist comes into the unit.
Alicia Berenson relays her side of the story through small snips as told in her journal. Outside of her mind though, little is given as to why she killed her husband since she remained silent ever since. Psychotherapist Theo Faber wants to help Alicia find her voice again. Determined to become her doctor, he leaves his old job to join the crumbling unit she is located in and puts all of his effort into not only helping Alicia, but finding out what happened. Theo begins to investigate how Alicia spent her last days before killing her husband and attempting to bring her art into her therapy. In his own personal life Theo talks of his own struggles finding mental stability growing up and his current problems with his wife, who he finds is cheating on him. All the while, it seems as if Alicia's and Theo's timelines are parallel in a way, matching though not quite. And it is the twist in the end that I felt in the pit of my stomach and yet didn't want to admit could happen that sent me over into absolutely loving this novel. I had some reservations about Theo, he seemed a little too detective for being a psychotherapist, even as he was attempting to help Alicia by diving into her life while interviewing family and friends. I found Alicia fascinating though, the whole idea of a silent woman holding her secrets is powerful. She uses her art to speak as well as her writing, so where words fail art says a great deal. And while she was presented as the mentally unstable one, the one who killed her husband without provocation, that was not the matter at all, not in comparison to the men around her and their backgrounds. I wish there might have been more with the psychiatric unit, too much focus was on the other doctors and I wanted more of the other patients. And I did feel like Alicia's brother in law was just thrown in there to create some drama without really adding much to the plot. However, the timelines between Theo and Alicia, how it was so well written, was just astounding when it all came together. I greatly enjoyed the journey throughout this novel.
I was a little skeptical when this was called a thriller, since it seemed a little dull as Theo attempted to apply his therapy to Alicia. The thrill is in the end and the understanding that even silent, women can still speak rings very true.
Alicia Berenson relays her side of the story through small snips as told in her journal. Outside of her mind though, little is given as to why she killed her husband since she remained silent ever since. Psychotherapist Theo Faber wants to help Alicia find her voice again. Determined to become her doctor, he leaves his old job to join the crumbling unit she is located in and puts all of his effort into not only helping Alicia, but finding out what happened. Theo begins to investigate how Alicia spent her last days before killing her husband and attempting to bring her art into her therapy. In his own personal life Theo talks of his own struggles finding mental stability growing up and his current problems with his wife, who he finds is cheating on him. All the while, it seems as if Alicia's and Theo's timelines are parallel in a way, matching though not quite. And it is the twist in the end that I felt in the pit of my stomach and yet didn't want to admit could happen that sent me over into absolutely loving this novel. I had some reservations about Theo, he seemed a little too detective for being a psychotherapist, even as he was attempting to help Alicia by diving into her life while interviewing family and friends. I found Alicia fascinating though, the whole idea of a silent woman holding her secrets is powerful. She uses her art to speak as well as her writing, so where words fail art says a great deal. And while she was presented as the mentally unstable one, the one who killed her husband without provocation, that was not the matter at all, not in comparison to the men around her and their backgrounds. I wish there might have been more with the psychiatric unit, too much focus was on the other doctors and I wanted more of the other patients. And I did feel like Alicia's brother in law was just thrown in there to create some drama without really adding much to the plot. However, the timelines between Theo and Alicia, how it was so well written, was just astounding when it all came together. I greatly enjoyed the journey throughout this novel.
I was a little skeptical when this was called a thriller, since it seemed a little dull as Theo attempted to apply his therapy to Alicia. The thrill is in the end and the understanding that even silent, women can still speak rings very true.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated