Tuesday 9 September 2014

Review: Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson

Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson
Publisher:
Black Swan
Release date:
02 January 2012
Rating: *****
 
Back cover blurb: Memories defines us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identiy, 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.













Before I go to sleep is one of those books that seems to have been on my 'to be read' list forever. At the time of it's publication I think I may have avoided it slightly due to the hype, so now what better time to read than the month that see it's cinema release starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman.

Okay so that does kind of mean that I am giving into the hype this time around, but if a film is based on a book, and I want to see it, then I always make sure I read the book first, because you know that the book is always better than the film!

Christine Lucas is an amnesiac, which is not unusual in itself, however she is a unique case in that she can recall what she is doing at any time during the day, but as soon as she goes to bed her mind erases everything. When she wakes in the morning Christine has no idea who she is, where she is, or who the man sleeping next to her is.

He tells her he is her husband, but Christine thinks she is in her early twenties, unmarried. Yet the truth is she is in her forties, married to Ben and suffering her illness as a result of an accident in her late twenties. Ben is patient with Christine, for surely it must be incredibly frustrating to be questioned who you are when your wife wakes up next to you every morning. To have every single aspect of your life questioned, must be undoubtedly difficult.

But Ben seems to take it all in his stride, until Christine starts keeping a diary at the behest of her psychologist Dr. Nash whom she also cannot remember until he tells her to check her phone and her diary...

With Dr. Nash's help Christine begins to piece her life back together, and understands slowly that all she is being told to believe by those around her, may not necessarily be the truth. As she starts to ask more and more questions and probes deeper into her relationship with Ben and the night of her 'accident' Christine realises that she could be in danger, but can she remember enough to save her own life? 

I don't want to give anything more away, but I am intrigued to see the film and how much they have kept in from the book. Before I Go To Sleep is a must read for fans of psychological thrillers and it will keep you guessing until the very end.

Before I Go To Sleep is available from Amazon online and all good book shops.

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Thank you to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

1 comment:

  1. I really enjoyed this book - although am not keen on watching the film, I think I might wait and see what other people think about it first!

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