In an age where so many thrillers have become predictable, The Silent Patient really does stand out in a league all of its own. Just when you think you might be able to predict what is going to happen next, something else comes along to quash those thoughts. The twists throughout the story really do hit you like a sledgehammer. Should he really be trying to help others? My Thoughts on The Silent PatientĪlex Michaelides’s novel may be a debut but he writes like a master of his genre. How he deals with stressful, painful issues in one relationship might hold significant insight into how he reacts to interactions with people in general. Relationships are the main theme of The Silent Patient, with Theo’s marriage also being a focus. It all unravels during his therapy sessions leading you to wonder who the true patient is.
Difficult childhoods, angry fathers, distant partners. We discover that perhaps both of them are more similar than they would like to admit. So is he really the best person to help Alicia? Perhaps he believes that one damaged soul can help another.Īs the narrative unfolds we find out more about both Alicia and Theo their lives laid bare for all to read about. His upbringing remains a tortured subject for him and it seems to have a continued effect on his life – both inside and outside of the workplace.
Theo’s own mindful state, however, is questionable. “Alicia won’t talk in six weeks or sixty years… You’re wasting your time.” (page 89). Looking at her now, is there any way he is going to be able to get her to open up, to speak about what happened the night she murdered her loving husband. In her place was someone in bad shape, unrecognizable, “too thin, and looked unclean”. After all these years, he was still expecting her to look as she did before the murder but that beautiful woman has disappeared. Nothing, however, surprises Theo more than the look of Alicia. The Grove supports females with mental illness often brought on from years of abuse, the pain of which is clearly etched on each of their faces. It is because of this self-assured belief that he alone can help Alicia that Theo moves from his successful role at Broadmoor to The Grove. And something about Alicia’s story resonated with me personally _ I felt a profound empathy with her right from the start. I’m a forensic psychotherapist and used to working with some of the most damaged, vulnerable members of society. “Without wishing to sound boastful, I felt uniquely qualified to help Alicia Berenson. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why, not only did he train to become a psychotherapist, he also felt that Alicia was a kindred spirit, one that only he could help. Unfortunately, years of torment can’t be whisked away overnight, instead, all the conversations, arguments and physical attacks were buried deep within his subconscious. When he gained a place at University, Theo believed this was his chance to escape. We have to rely on the narrator, Theo Faber, to unravel the tale for us.įor years growing up Theo prayed for a life without his father for a life without his belt and mood swings hanging gloomily over him. In fact, she has not spoken at all, just painted. So while she has been convicted, to this day she has never spoken about the terrible night in question. Alicia Berenson was just thirty-three years old when she killed her husband but since her arrest, she has remained silent.