Take a photo of a barcode or cover
sebnebula 's review for:
The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"I've been punched in the face. At least that gave me some dopamine." -me talking about how I'd rather get punched in the face again than finish this book. Which I did in one day actually, but I only did so I didn't have to spend another day of my human life reading this awful book.
Genuinely, am I high????? This book has really good reviews but I can't emphasize enough that it's the worst book I've ever read in my life. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone LMAO. And this isn't my first rodeo-pretty much all I read is thrillers.
Why I think this book is popular: the twist. It was a clever idea, and it was a really cool twist, and everyone talks about how it changed the entire book. If you are looking for a well-written thriller with a twist you're not seeing coming that changes the entire book within the last few chapters, I recommend "What Lies in the Woods" by Kate Alice Marshall (my favorite book) or "When She Was Me" by Marlee Bush.
In reality, the twist was so poorly executed. It wasn't worth the chunk of my life I used to read it, except for the fury and laughs it brought. Genuinely, this was the same kind of reading experience that people read My Immortal to get. If you want to read it to laugh at how bad it is, it's as funny and infuriating as a good bad book will get you, so I'd recommend it on that front.
What I hated about this book:
-Bad writing. If you've ever been in a community writing class, it sounds like that one novel that that one guy brings in. You know exactly what I'm talking about if you've been in one.
-Abysmal narrator. No amount of intentionality can make me appreciate how abysmal this narrator was. I look for character-driven novels, and this character was driving me towards ending it all (:
-Sexist, racist narrator with an infuriating martyr complex. Seriously. I don't care how intentional this was. I just don't see the pleasure of reading from the POV of someone so miserable. If you want to read a likeable unlikeable character, give "Bad Sheep" by Rachel Harrison a shot. If you want to read an actual unlikeable character for whatever reason, read this.
-This book was supposed to be about a woman's voice (or lack thereof), but it wouldn't even pass the Bechdel Test. If you're looking for thoughtful and insightful commentary on feminism, throw this book into the fire!!!!
What I liked about the book:
-I would trust the side character Paul with my life, and as an AFAB person who knows what it's like to experience a deep, primal fear, it made me laugh out loud that Paul was so scary to the narrator, who's a cis man, and therefore the scariest thing he can experience is getting hit in the head while committing a crime :)
This book is so infuriating, misogynistic, racist, and so ignorant towards mental health.
Genuinely, am I high????? This book has really good reviews but I can't emphasize enough that it's the worst book I've ever read in my life. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone LMAO. And this isn't my first rodeo-pretty much all I read is thrillers.
Why I think this book is popular: the twist. It was a clever idea, and it was a really cool twist, and everyone talks about how it changed the entire book. If you are looking for a well-written thriller with a twist you're not seeing coming that changes the entire book within the last few chapters, I recommend "What Lies in the Woods" by Kate Alice Marshall (my favorite book) or "When She Was Me" by Marlee Bush.
In reality, the twist was so poorly executed. It wasn't worth the chunk of my life I used to read it, except for the fury and laughs it brought. Genuinely, this was the same kind of reading experience that people read My Immortal to get. If you want to read it to laugh at how bad it is, it's as funny and infuriating as a good bad book will get you, so I'd recommend it on that front.
What I hated about this book:
-Bad writing. If you've ever been in a community writing class, it sounds like that one novel that that one guy brings in. You know exactly what I'm talking about if you've been in one.
-Abysmal narrator. No amount of intentionality can make me appreciate how abysmal this narrator was. I look for character-driven novels, and this character was driving me towards ending it all (:
-Sexist, racist narrator with an infuriating martyr complex. Seriously. I don't care how intentional this was. I just don't see the pleasure of reading from the POV of someone so miserable. If you want to read a likeable unlikeable character, give "Bad Sheep" by Rachel Harrison a shot. If you want to read an actual unlikeable character for whatever reason, read this.
-This book was supposed to be about a woman's voice (or lack thereof), but it wouldn't even pass the Bechdel Test. If you're looking for thoughtful and insightful commentary on feminism, throw this book into the fire!!!!
What I liked about the book:
-I would trust the side character Paul with my life, and as an AFAB person who knows what it's like to experience a deep, primal fear, it made me laugh out loud that Paul was so scary to the narrator, who's a cis man, and therefore the scariest thing he can experience is getting hit in the head while committing a crime :)
This book is so infuriating, misogynistic, racist, and so ignorant towards mental health.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting