#michaelides

Literary creation is deeply rooted in the island of Cyprus, being a means through which the island’s historic continuity and national self-awareness has been manifested. The beginnings of modern Cypriot poetry, as well as of literature as a whole, conventionally date to 1878, the year in which Cyprus came under British rule. The first literary period extends from 1878 to roughly 1920, influenced by the romantic environment of the First Athenian School. Regarded as the national poet of Cyprus, Vasilis Michaelides is the most prominent figure of this period, establishing the Cypriot dialect as a linguistic medium of the island’s written poetry and thus proving its unlimited potential.  

Você já se perguntou o que leva alguém a permanecer completamente em silêncio mesmo após cometer um crime chocante? Em A Paciente Silenciosa, Alicia Berenson atira em seu marido e, a partir desse momento, não pronuncia uma única palavra. O que torna essa história ainda mais intrigante é que seu silêncio não é apenas uma reação impulsiva — ele se transforma em um enigma que desafia psiquiatras e leitores a descobrirem os mistérios escondidos em sua mente.

Uma curiosidade fascinante é que Michaelides se inspirou em casos reais de mutismo psicológico, onde traumas profundos podem levar uma pessoa a se recusar a falar como forma de autoproteção emocional. No livro, cada gesto silencioso de Alicia se torna carregado de significado, e o leitor se vê tentando decifrar pistas quase imperceptíveis, tornando a narrativa não apenas um suspense, mas também uma exploração psicológica intensa.

I also learned, from a young age, that I did not walk on the ground - but on a narrow network of invisible ropes, suspended above the earth. I had to navigate them carefully, trying not to slip and fall. Certain aspects of my personality were offensive, it seemed. I had terrible secrets to hide - even I didn’t know what they were.

With a plot that cannot decide what it wants to be until a final reveal that devalues every aspect of the story, the most bland characters ever written and harmful portrayals of mental health, this book not only didn’t rise to expectations but didn’t even attempt to reach for them. A reading experience that will have you turning every page out of confusion and curiosity at how such a mess could possibly come together. An indescribably appalling waste of time.

Read full review here: The Red Shelf of Westmarch

“...it doesn’t take much to save a childhood.”

Book: The Maidens

Author: Alex Michaelides

My Rating: ✯✯✯✯ (4 Stars)

Read: June 28, 2021

Synopsis: 

Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge. Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld? When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.