TV presentation of Alex Michaelides's "The Silent Patient" (video in Armenian)

The story of the novel revolves around a famous painter named Alicia Berenson. The "Silent Patient" is not silent at all. In fact, the book announces the entry of a talented writer into the psychological thriller. In the scope of the morning program, the creative team of Newmag has presented interesting details about the Armenian edition of the book. 

Alicia Berenson's life is seemingly perfect. She is married to an in-demand fashion photographer who lives in a beautiful house in London's most desirable places. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face. After that incident, she never speaks another word. Alicia's refusal to talk turns the personal tragedy into a mystery. 

The editor of the Armenian translation is Margarit Sargsyan. She claims that in the process, she was firstly a reader and only then an editor.  "The book has an interesting course of events. It is in line with the rhythm of our lives. It is a tense, intriguing story, which actually has a completely unexpected ending." 

Affected by misfortune or simply silent? Involuntary or conscious silence? Why is the famous artist silent, and did she kill her husband? The editor tries to clarify these thoughts.  "This book depicts the life of a person living in a psychiatric hospital. What does she feel? Why did she end up there?"

  

The thriller of the year has been translated into 40 languages. According to the book's translator, one of the essential features of the novel was that even though the main character was silent, there were many dialogues and information in the story. Most of the discussions focused on the title of the book. The book translator lives in Russia. Thus, she was in touch with the Newmag team online.

The Greek author intertwined Greek myths and his knowledge of psychotherapy. The book is based on the most mysterious tragedy of Alcestis in Greek mythology. The Head of the Department of Psychology has read the book and confirms that the author of the book is also a psychologist. Moreover, he mentions that silence, which is the book's main leitmotif, is a common side effect of trauma. One of the most famous, most tragic examples is Komitas, notes psychologist Khachatur Gasparyan and tells more about his silent patients like the protagonist of the book.

"The family, who moved from Baku years ago, lived in Martakert, and because of those great traumas, the child lost touch with the world. In another case, the child had moved from Sumgait to Spitak; suddenly, her mother was left in the rubble. In both cases, they didn't communicate at all."

The first readers of the Armenian edition already shared their impressions and definitely recommended reading Newmag's new book. Brad Pitt's Production Company will screen the award-winning literary piece.