Hey readers! Hope you had a great weekend full of happy, unexpected surprises!
I think all my fellow book lovers can agree on the fact, no matter how hard the day had been for us, just the inviting sight and wafty smell of books as we enter a bookstore, makes us happy beyond words! Who knew my happy visit to a bookstore, a few days ago, would spiral into something special and coincide with my love of writing. I am building too much suspense, right? Well that’s the result of the latest novel I read ;P.
Alright, let me help you guys unravel this mystery…I have joined hands with an awesome bookshop Rajat Book Corner (which leaves no stone upturned to promote reading of books through its various initiatives ) for multiple book readings and reviews! I would be reviewing random books selected by the owner of the bookstore himself, over the course of next few days.This is the first collaboration in these exciting series and this week’s pick is ‘The Silent Patient by debutante author Alex Michaelides from the genre: fiction/psychological thriller.
“Only she knows what happened.
Only I can make her speak.”
Plot
A woman, a famous artist,shoots her husband dead and hides behind the veil of silence for years on an end. A man, a psychotherapist, intrigued by this incident, decides to heal the accused murderer and break her silence. The plot of the novel mainly revolves around how successfully Theo manages to wake Alicia from her still stupor, until things take a turn for good or for worse. Caution, no spoilers ahead!
Writing Style
The novel speaks to us through two distinct mediums. The first voice belongs to the second protagonist of the story, physiotherapist Theo Faber. The second voice is of our leading lady, Alicia Berenson who communicates with us through the pages of her diary. The author has used two different methods of writing, and fused the abstract (Alicia’s diary) with the actual ( Theo’s narrative), making the plot gripping and edgy till the very end. The novel is divided into four parts, each providing a view into both flashbacks and the present, taking the story forward. The best element of this book is that, the protagonist’s character arc is developed through the eyes of the other characters and her paintings; a writing style which plays full justice to contemporary literature.
Highlights
- A good work depicting contemporary style of writing.
- Is a treat for mystery/ psychological thrillers.
- Great amount of dialogue in the narrative, instead of third person perspective, which adds more realistic touch to both the story and characters.
- Is extremely pocket friendly for me, no guesses as to how and why. Lol.
Review
There are a few things that I wish to bring to light about this book in this review. First of all, it’s a great debut novel by the author. A big shout out to his creative, imaginative and writing skills which were put together to create something worthy to be read and to adapted into a movie soon after its release! You can guess , how great the story is already.This was my first time experimenting with a book that falls in the category of physiological thrillers and I am intrigued enough to read other titles soon. These books keep the readers at the edge all the time, bubbling with curiosity as to what would happen next, at the same time enabling them to question their conscience. Cool, isn’t it?
This novel is exactly as you do not expect it to be. You are presented with the most unique twists and plot leads when you start believing the story will tone down and vice versa. One begins the novel by reading about the main character Alicia and then the focus jumps to the second lead, Theo, going back to Alicia only for short intervals. So at the end, the reader is left wondering who actually the ‘silent patient’ was; Theo or Alicia? Let’s have a discussion on this in my comments section, once you are done reading the novel.
You are bound to be amazed by its ending, which acts as both the strongest anchor and biggest loop of the story. It is open to interpretations at the same time providing a concrete boundary to draw conclusions from.
I wish the author writes a sequel delving more into the life and character of Alicia Berenson. How thrilling would it be to read her silent thoughts! Well let’s hope for the best and I hope this message reaches to the author.
For me, this book stands at 4.3/5 with all its enjoyable parts and little snags here and there. I would definitely recommend this exciting piece of contemporary literature to my readers for its different style of character development, narration, plot and of course, *ending*. I would be eagerly waiting for that discussion…
I am glad that I read this unconventional book, which gave me an insight into the wide-world of genres that I am yet to read! For that, I am glad that the owner of the bookstore suggested I read and review this particular book. Do visit the store’s site for exciting book offers, reviews, author interviews and many more. (Link provided above).
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Cheers!
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