Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson Summary: Memories define us.So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?
Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight.
And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story.
Welcome to Christine's life.
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Source: I purchased a paperback
Review:
I devoured Before I Go To Sleep. I was hooked from the very beginning. When I saw it at my local Barnes and Noble, I thought the premise resembled that of Memento, and I enjoyed the plot of the movie quite a bit. The idea of not being able to remember details about your life from one day to the next is intriguing.
As quickly as I began, I was sucked into the story. Christine woke up every day and didn’t remember who she was or how old she was. When she looked in the mirror and realized she was at least 20 years older than she believed, she started looking around her strange house to try and figure out what happened. She kept a journal to help her string one day to the next since her brain was unable to do so. The majority of the novel consists of the contents of her journal, as she tries to make sense of her life.
I loved all of the secrets and how confused the main character was. She was back and forth about whether she could trust her husband, which was understandable. Was he telling her lies because it’s easier to do everyday? Or was he hiding something? Her journal said Don’t Trust Ben, but was there a decent reason for his lies? Was he truly trying to make her days easier to handle?
Before I Go To Sleep had some twists and turns I didn’t see coming and was full of suspicion, but I also enjoyed watching the main character get to know herself and understand the choices she made. I think it would be terrifying to not be able to piece together more than 24 hours and Christine’s issues weren’t that far fetched. I loved the conclusion, though I do think it was rushed, yet I understand that the author had to fit quite a lot of events in under 24 hours so that Christine wouldn’t “reset” again.
I highly recommend Before I Go To Sleep. I want to watch the movie and see it unfold on the screen, but I enjoyed the book a lot. It could have been predictable or repetitive, but it was neither. I devoured the novel in just under a day because I couldn’t put it down!
