A review by shannonmarie
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I listened to the audiobook as I drove for work and couldn’t stop listening. The narrator is very captivating and makes the book very enjoyable to read. The book is really a masterpiece with not a lot to critique without nitpicking. Definitely a worthwhile read. 

I thought all the narration in the diary to be rather unrealistic. I don’t feel like anyone would write full conversations with direct quotes in a dairy, but it did not detract from the book at all.  


Also it may be my imagination or perhaps it is a purposeful choice for the narrator but there were parts that struck me as rather white idolizing. White characters were often referred to as looking like Greek statues with perfect porcelain ivory skin which stuck me as odd at times. But that may be just due to the narrator. Additionally, all non-British or non-American characters of the book were made a big point of being extremely assimilated to British culture. It’s not a bad thing but I thought it was funny that it was pointed out clearly with multiple characters. It wasn’t a big deal, but did strike me as odd. 
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