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Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,413
Registered: ‎02-19-2015

THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

Brad Pitt's production company has picked up the film rights to the brilliant "The Silent Patient."

 

THANK YOU to all the Q Book Club Forum posters who first recommended this book to me - it still remains one of my all-time favorites from the past few years.  

 

Has anyone read "The Maidens," the next book by Alex Michaelides? The lead detective is a psychotherapist. I haven't read it yet, but the reviews were excellent.

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Registered: ‎01-03-2011

Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

LOVED The Silent Patient so much that I told me husband he had to read it -- which he did.  I read The Maidens too.  Good book -- but I think it would be nearly impossible to match The Silent Patient.  I often figure out the ending halfway through these kinds of books.  In this case I had no idea.

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Registered: ‎02-19-2015

Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

@judy0330 

 

Lol - YES! I understand! I always say I personally sold about 20 copies of The Silent Patient  because I told everyone at work and most of my friends and family to buy the book!

Glad to hear The Maidens is also good - I am looking forward to reading that one!

 

Valued Contributor
Posts: 842
Registered: ‎04-16-2010

Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

@judy0330  I totally agree that The Silent Patient was the better of the two books. I would love to see the fim version on The Silent Patient

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Posts: 8,220
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Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

Thanks for the no spoilers.  The Silent Patient is on my list, guess I need to move it up.

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Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

@Still Raining
Oh wow...you are in for a page-turner! Enjoy! 💜
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Posts: 12,376
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

When it first came out I read about 6 chapters and took it back to the library.  Too many on hold for it and I was not enjoying it in the least.  Maybe some day I will try again someday.  

"Live frugally, but love extravagantly."
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Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

@MarnieRez3 @beckyb1012 @Still Raining @pateacher @judy0330 

 

I wrote this for a review on Reddit 

Spoiler

This is how a psychopath perceives life and relationships.

 

Theo describes himself as a psychopath perfectly: “and reveal how foul I am, how cruel, how vengeful and perverse, how unworthy I am of Ruth and and everything she tried to do for me? How could I tell her that I have destroyed three lives? That I have no moral code, that I’m capable of the worst kind of acts without remorse, and my only concern is for my own skin?“

 

It is the lack of self-awareness in order to change, the lack of accountability, the lack of conscience that defines Theo as a psychopath. The ability to write this story from a psychopath’s perspective is what gives this book interest and credibility, imo.

 

I thought his relationship with Kathy was extremely telling. And I’m not sure if I completely got it. Somehow, all of the people in Theo’s life begin to mirror him. There is a lack of “color” (especially warmth) in Theo’s life and this bleeds over into everything he touches. Alicia’s silence is a reflection of Theo’s influence.

 

The homes described in the story echo the characters they house.

I truly enjoyed this book and devoted a couple of days to it! Definitely a page turner and I thought it was excellent. 

~Have a Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit~
Valued Contributor
Posts: 842
Registered: ‎04-16-2010

Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!


@LTT1 wrote:

@MarnieRez3 @beckyb1012 @Still Raining @pateacher @judy0330 

 

I wrote this for a review on Reddit 

Spoiler

This is how a psychopath perceives life and relationships.

 

Theo describes himself as a psychopath perfectly: “and reveal how foul I am, how cruel, how vengeful and perverse, how unworthy I am of Ruth and and everything she tried to do for me? How could I tell her that I have destroyed three lives? That I have no moral code, that I’m capable of the worst kind of acts without remorse, and my only concern is for my own skin?“

 

It is the lack of self-awareness in order to change, the lack of accountability, the lack of conscience that defines Theo as a psychopath. The ability to write this story from a psychopath’s perspective is what gives this book interest and credibility, imo.

 

I thought his relationship with Kathy was extremely telling. And I’m not sure if I completely got it. Somehow, all of the people in Theo’s life begin to mirror him. There is a lack of “color” (especially warmth) in Theo’s life and this bleeds over into everything he touches. Alicia’s silence is a reflection of Theo’s influence.

 

The homes described in the story echo the characters they house.

I truly enjoyed this book and devoted a couple of days to it! Definitely a page turner and I thought it was excellent. 


@LTT1  I loved your review, especially the correlation between characters and homes, an angle I missed completely!

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Posts: 15,357
Registered: ‎05-11-2012

Re: THE SILENT PATIENT / NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

@LTT1 @pateacher , I read this book a couple of months ago on my daughter's recommendation. Best book that I have read in a long time!