The Silent Patient

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Read January 2022 - Zoom Reading Circle

Wow!! This book got me!! I wasn't sure what to expect and feared it would be too scary or intense. I don't love highly suspenseful books and thought it might be a freaky (un-nerving) mental health plotline. It was not that.  It was a mystery and a character study with a twist at the end that was truly shocking!  I think this is a book I could re-read - something I rarely like to do. But I'd love to see if I see things any differently knowing the ending. At one point I felt some behaviors of one of the characters were mirroring the actions of another character, but I had no idea how this book would twist and turn and completely catch me by surprise... to the point that I quite literally sat upright in bed and yelled "What???" at one point. :) Even looking back through the book now for quotes, it is so head shaking and well written. The suspense, the "I should have guessed", etc. Wow. Highly recommended!

I rated this book 5 out of 5 starts. The rest of the book club, as a whole, rated it 4.5. Pretty high average for a group of particular women! :) 

Quotes from the book...

About love... about how we often mistake love for fireworks - for drama and dysfunction.  But real love is very quiet, very still.  It's boring if seen from the perspective of high drama.  Love is deep and calm - and consistent.  

We were crashing through every last boundary between therapist and patient.  Soon it would be impossible to tell who was who.

I could reveal the truth about the man she was living with, whose bed she shared.  I had no choice.  I had to help her. 

Here are some links of potential interest to go along with this book.

Shelfie with Alex Michaelides

Alex Michaelides on the importance of libraries