The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides

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Alicia Berenson”s life is seemingly perfect. 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. 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.

Alicia”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 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.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. 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….

So in September of 2020 I joined a book club, my first book club ever and this is the first book that we read for it (for the month of October). At first I was uncertain if I would enjoy being in a book club, mainly because I didn’t know if I would be able to keep up with all the book readings or not. Well I haven’t fallen behind yet I am proud to say! This book was definitely a great choice for our first book, I absolutely LOVED it.

This is Alex Michaelides’ first novel, his second is due out this year which is VERY exciting and I can’t wait to read it! The Silent Patient kept me hooked from beginning to end, it only took me a week and a half to read which is extremely fast for me, although it seems now that I am in the book club, I make so much time to read that I average about two weeks for each novel we read.

If you like thrillers, you’ll like this one, especially if you like a nice plot twist. I was so captivated the whole time which was nice since I don’t really enjoy when books drag on and on. I love a good thriller, and if you do too, you should definitely read this book. I am so excited to read Alex Michaelides’s next book, you have no idea! I tell everyone about this book and how good it is so hopefully we can read it in book club or I’ll read it on my own I don’t care but I know it will be just as good!

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

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In a desolate reality, one that mirrors our own in frightening ways, a lone and haunting figure known only as Roland makes his way across the endless sands in pursuit of a sinister, dark-robed mystery of a man. Roland is the last of his kind, a “gunslinger” charged with protecting whatever goodness and light remains in his world – a world that “moved on” as they say…and the only way he can possible hope to save everything is to first outwit and confront this man in black, then make him divulge his many arcane secrets. For despite the countless miles he’s already traversed, Roland knows these will merely be his initial steps on his spellbinding and soul-shattering quest to locate the mystical nexus of all worlds, all universes: the Dark Tower.

So this was my first Stephen King novel. For years and years, I’ve always wanted to read Stephen King, mainly because my cousin loves reading his books and he always talked about them, plus there are so many of his books that have been made into movies, it’s like he is everywhere. Also I had never read horror before but I would say that this book is more of a fantasy novel. This book is the first in the Dark Tower Series, so I am not sure if it gets more horror like since I haven’t read the others, we will see in the future.

I did overall really enjoy my first Stephen King experience, it was well written and wonderfully weird. As the synopsis says above, it follows Roland, the gunslinger, on his journey to find the man in black and ultimately The Dark Tower. It’s set in a place that I think used to be Earth at some point but has evolved into something else with elements of Earth. I guess we will find out more in the next books. That or I can just use the Internet to find out but then I might spoil it for myself so I’ll keep y’all updated as I am updated.

Something I really enjoyed was the fact that at times, Stephen Kings writes in the character’s perspective so it’s like you’re in their heads and are thinking their thoughts. I found that interesting because it makes you feel like you’re living in the character’s shoes. It gives a little something to the book that other authors don’t do in the same way which was nice. The reason I gave the book a four star rating, is because the book is a bit slow. I don’t mind that at all but sometimes it lags a bit. I feel that a lot of first novels in a series do this but this one was weird because nothing is really explained in depth but I am looking forward to reading the following books to find out everything! All in all, I definitely recommend this book if you’re into fantasy series!

The Handmaid’s Tale By Margaret Atwood

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Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…

Reading this book was a long time coming for me. I never read it in school and never got around to reading it on my own time. Finally last year, I was able to read it. I thought about watching the show first but I really hate doing that and I’m happy I didn’t. I still didn’t watch the show, nor will I until I read The Testaments which is the sequel to Handmaid’s Tale.

All and all I did enjoy reading this book and I’m glad because I do not enjoy reading a hyped up book only to be disappointed in it. The novel flashes back and forth from Offred’s old life to her current life in Gilead. I enjoyed the way the book was written as the structure makes sense with the story. Sometimes there’s a lot of back and forth in novels that doesn’t make sense. I found the book to be very well written even though it did end abruptly. If there wasn’t a sequel to it, I would not be happy. The writing did make me feel like I was in Gilead living life like Offred and the others, which in some ways was disturbing. Imagine if everything you knew in life changed over night. That is freaking scary if you ask me. If everything you had ever known as normal completely changed, would you be okay? I would not.

I definitely recommend this book and cannot wait to read “The Testaments” and eventually watch the show! Also, Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author so if you are Canadian you are supporting a fellow Canadian!