Asylum by Patrick McGrath #FullReview

Planning to Write this , I discovered that the book was turned into a movie -back in 2005- so I jumped and watched  the movie .

As always I am going to be discreet and spoiler-free so that you can enjoy it when you get hold of the book or watch the movie .

Asylum is a contemporary thriller by Patrick McGrath , It is "A New York times notable book of the year" .  It has all the elements  of a fantastic Gothic & thriller novel from the setting of the English countryside to the Welsh hills and moors , from the detached way of narrating to the strongly  passionate feelings communicated in it .  Asylum was a page turner , tension-filled , and it had such a chilling vibe to it . It mixed both , old school  and contemporary elements of the Gothic and Thriller genres .

Most of the Events in the novel took place inside an institution for the criminally insane as the title obviously suggests it . Edgar Stark has been incarcerated for killing his wife and disfiguring her  after discovering that she was unfaithful to him . A young Couple and their Child  moves in , to the estate of the Asylum ; Deputy Superintendent  Max  Raphael and his wife Stella and their child Charlie . 

The meeting between Stella and Edgar triggers a series of unexpected events which utterly changes the life of the whole family and the future plans of Max . 

In his Masterpiece, MacGrath ,chooses to keep you on your toes and eager to know more , at first , he gives you the impression that he is telling you a lot and that he is not leaving any space for suspense but you are mistaken my friend . He might foreshadow some acts or events but he never tells the whole things upfront or  straightforwardly . He might give you the impression that he is telling you everything plainly but he isn't. he tells too much and says nothing in the same time , which is such a gripping style . 

This Novel is beautiful inside out , The content was heartbreaking and hypnotic and the paper cover is as aesthetically brilliant as the content itself  .

Asylum is one of those rare contemporary books that succeeded in ensnaring me .

On The other hand the Movie Adaptation was poor . Well I didn't  have high expectations , but it  felt like a low budget movie , although the cast of the main characters was really good . The cast was as follow : Marton Csokas as Edgar Stark , Natasha Richardson as Stella Raphael and Ian McKellen as Peter cleave , and Hugh Bonneville as Max Raphael . In the making of the movie , they skipped a lot of events and they rushed and twisted others, the final twist was nice though ! The movie adaptation lacked the sense of mystery and suspense, It looked more like a romantic drama than a Psychological thriller . They could've  done better .