The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller novel written by British-Cypriot author and screenwriter, Alex Michaelides. The novel is based on Alicia Benerson’s murder case. Alicia Benerson is a painter who kills her husband, Gabriel, for unknown reasons. After the murder, Alicia never speaks again. She continues her silence through her arrest and while she is instituted into a facility for the criminally impaired called “The Grove.” Eventually, a psychotherapist, Theo Faber, becomes obsessed with Alicia’s case and accepts a position at the Grove solemnly to try and solve the mystery of Alicia’s case. The Grove is becoming closer and closer to being shut down every day, but this doesn’t phase Theo at all. He wants to unlock the secret behind Alicia’s silence. He slowly starts making progress on the case by seeking out people who have a personal connection with Alicia. Eventually, Theo finds the real truth about what happened the night of the murder.
This novel is my all-time favorite book and many would have the same opinion. The Silent Patient spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list! I originally first heard about The Silent Patient on BookTok. BookTok is a niche community on the social media platform, TikTok, where readers share book recommendations. The amount of positive reviews I have read doesn’t even compare to how great this book was. It was so good I stayed up until 5 in the morning reading! Other students can attest to the book’s greatness. “It was truly a page-turner. The plot twists really shocked me and I’m excited to read more of Alex Michalides’ books.” said freshman, Jhony Sarceno.
Alex Michaelides decided to use his passion for Greek mythology and his real-life experience working at a psychiatric unit to help write this novel. It was mainly inspired by “Alcestis” which is one of Euripides’ plays. Euripides is one of the most known dramatists in classical Greek culture. In the book, Alicia paints a portrait of herself and signs with “Alcestis.” Alcestis represents “the silent patient.” She is voiceless, but her silence alone is a message that represents disappointment, hurt, and rage. Adding this small detail was a genius idea and really helped bring the story of Alicia to life.
Overall, The Silent Patient is one of the books you must read at least once! The plot twists, different storylines, action, and suspension in this book are unlike anything I’ve ever read before. After reading this book, I haven’t been able to find another one that is better than The Silent Patient. Alex Michaelides is such an amazing author and did not disappoint with this novel.
