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A review by nagirak
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have so many conflicting feelings about this book. I absolutely hated the characters - all of them - but the story was so captivating. Of course, liking the characters is not necessary to make a good story but I did find myself quite annoyed while reading which wasn't something I was anticipating.
I feel that maybe I either misunderstood the timeline (perhaps as a result of listening to the audiobook) or it was intentionally misrepresented. If it is the latter, I definitely think it could have been handled better while still allowing for an effective plot twist. The way it was either written or that I understood it almost seems like the author/narrator was lying to purposely mislead the reader. Either way, I do plan to reread this book sometime down the line to see what I missed.
My last gripe with this book is the diary entries. They were entirely too detailed to actually be convincing diary entries. No one is sitting there writing extensive word for word dialogue or taking the time to give a play by play while in danger.
On the positive side, I loved the twist and how well the seemingly disjointed story actually flows together once you finish it. I knew something was coming but I was not able to guess this twist like I usually can (likely because of the misunderstood or misrepresented timeline). I feel like I will be thinking about this book for a long time and, as I already mentioned, will definitely be adding this to my reread list. You will constantly be wondering who or what to believe until the last word.
I feel that maybe I either misunderstood the timeline (perhaps as a result of listening to the audiobook) or it was intentionally misrepresented. If it is the latter, I definitely think it could have been handled better while still allowing for an effective plot twist. The way it was either written or that I understood it almost seems like the author/narrator was lying to purposely mislead the reader. Either way, I do plan to reread this book sometime down the line to see what I missed.
My last gripe with this book is the diary entries. They were entirely too detailed to actually be convincing diary entries. No one is sitting there writing extensive word for word dialogue or taking the time to give a play by play while in danger.
On the positive side, I loved the twist and how well the seemingly disjointed story actually flows together once you finish it. I knew something was coming but I was not able to guess this twist like I usually can (likely because of the misunderstood or misrepresented timeline). I feel like I will be thinking about this book for a long time and, as I already mentioned, will definitely be adding this to my reread list. You will constantly be wondering who or what to believe until the last word.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Self harm