Prakhar Alok

Alicia’s life is perfect, a thriving career as an artist, a loving husband, but all of sudden her life comes crumbling down when she is accused of killing her husband. She goes silent, never to speak again, the last art piece she made was of “Alcestis”, this time a psychotherapist named Theo to try to make her speak again. A story of psychoanalysis of protagonist and antagonist through the words of an unreliable narrator is The Silent Patient.

Theo Faber has made his life’s ambition to get Alicia Berenson to speak again after she is confined to an institution as a result of being accused of her husband’s murder. The plot revolves around attempts made by Theo to get Alicia to speak again, the struggles Theo has in his own personal life and Alicia’s diary. An unreliable narrator in Theo is what makes this book even more interesting. The clever play with timelines of the story presented to the reader is what makes the reveal even more satisfying. Except these main characters, the rest of the characters in the institution are generic and do not make of break the story line. But I don’t feel they need to be explored much here. The Silent Patient is mainly about the psychotherapist and his patient and to what extent one can go and get involved with their patient to get to the truth.

The reveal is what makes this thriller a perfect read but then the ending is slightly underwhelming making the overall book a 4 star. Its a quick read, short chapters, page turner. Enjoy your weekend with this thriller.