Despite being a psychotherapist, he doesn’t fall into an archetypal version of a therapist sometimes portrayed in entertainment condescension and superiority don’t color his interactions with Alicia. While the much of the page-to-page focus of the novel is on unraveling what drove Alicia to murder her husband and why she has remained silent since, there is also a significance placed on Theo’s personal life and history with mental health challenges. Told from both Alicia and Theo’s points of view-Alicia’s being diary entries leading up to the murder- The Silent Patient gives readers a glimpse into a murderer’s mind and history that is unique. Inadvertent as it was, such was the case for me. Lauded as it was, it can be difficult for readers to go into the story without something nearing high expectations. It’s a story that demands to be told, that readers need to see unraveled before their eyes. The premise of The Silent Patient is nearly irresistible a seemingly happy, successful woman brutally murdered her husband and has refused to speak in the six years since. In 2019, The Silent Patient, psychological thriller and Alex Michaelides’ debut novel, quickly became one of the most talked about novels of the year, making countless “Best of 2019” lists and, according to many, earning itself a place among the most shocking thrillers of the past decade. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations-a search for the truth that threatens to consume him…. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia.
The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.Īlicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety.
The silent patient pages windows#
A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect.