Who Would Like This Book:
This is a psychological thriller that grabs you from page one with its unique premise: Christine wakes up each morning with no memory of her life, her husband, or even herself. The setup is both chilling and thought-provoking, playing on the themes of trust, identity, and memory. Fans of suspenseful mysteries, unreliable narrators, and books like 'Gone Girl' or the movie 'Memento' will find themselves glued to the pages, racing to uncover the truth alongside Christine. Book clubs also love it for the wealth of discussion questions it raises about relationships and the meaning of memory.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the book repetitive, especially in the middle, due to Christine's daily amnesia and the journal device used to tell her story. If you're after a fast-paced thriller with nonstop action, you might find this one a slower burn. A few people also felt the plot required some suspension of disbelief, and the ending struck some as too convenient or 'neat.' Detailed journal entries and Christine's sometimes passive approach to her predicament irked a few, as did moments of predictability for seasoned thriller readers.
About:
"Before I Go to Sleep" by S.J. Watson follows the story of Christine, a woman who suffers from amnesia and wakes up every morning not remembering her past, relying on her husband and a journal to piece together her life. The plot unfolds through Christine's journal entries and reveals a suspenseful journey of self-discovery, raising questions about memory, trust, and the truth behind her condition. The writing style keeps readers engaged with its clever storytelling mechanism and unexpected twists that lead to a gripping and emotional conclusion.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of memory loss, psychological manipulation, trauma, domestic abuse, and disturbing realizations about identity.
From The Publisher:
New York Times Bestseller
"An exceptional thriller. It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished the last page." -Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Shutter Island
"Imagine drifting off every night knowing that your memories will be wiped away by morning. That's the fate of Christine Lucas, whose bewildering internal world is rendered with chilling intimacy in this debut literary thriller. . . . You'll stay up late reading until you know." - People (4 stars)
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. Every morning, she awakens beside a stranger in an unfamiliar bed. She sees a middle-aged face in the bathroom mirror that she does not recognize. And every morning, the man patiently explains that he is Ben, her husband, that she is forty-seven-years-old, and that an accident long ago damaged her ability to remember.
In place of memories Christine has a handful of pictures, a whiteboard in the kitchen, and a journal, hidden in a closet. She knows about the journal because Dr. Ed Nash, a neurologist who claims to be treating her without Ben's knowledge, reminds her about it each day. Inside its pages, the damaged woman has begun meticulously recording her daily events-sessions with Dr. Nash, snippets of information that Ben shares, flashes of her former self that briefly, miraculously appear.
But as the pages accumulate, inconsistencies begin to emerge, raising disturbing questions that Christine is determined to find answers to. And the more she pieces together the shards of her broken life, the closer she gets to the truth . . . and the more terrifying and deadly it is.
Ratings (90)
Incredible (9) | |
Loved It (37) | |
Liked It (20) | |
It Was OK (18) | |
Did Not Like (4) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (179):
Read It (94) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (54) | |
Did Not Finish (2) | |
Not Interested (27) |
7 comment(s)
I wanted to read this book because the movie trailer was intriguing. I had never heard of this author before and didn't read any reviews on this book before I spent part of my gift card money that I received for Christmas to purchase it. It took me a good hundred pages to really get into this book. However, I continued reading it because 1. I paid money for it, and 2. I was confused because the movie trailer led me to believe that one thing was happening...but the book was making me think otherwise. So I'll give it to the author for that...BUT I didn't keep reading it because it was so interesting, it was quite redundant actually. After all, I personally do not suffer from amnesia so why in the world is it necessary to go over the previous day's events at the beginning of every chapter??? This book had me so frustrated that I just skimmed over the last of the chapters because I couldn't bare to read every single word. When I was done I threw it away. Yep, right into the trash can. I've never done that before. It's an understatement to say that reading this was a complete waste of my time...
A page turner that will leave you guessing until the very end. You think you know but do you really?
Enjoyed the way the story was developed. Even though most of the story is told through diary entries the charters are still three dimensional. Overall, excellent read.
“Before I Go To Sleep” is a novel about a Christine Lucas, a woman suffering from several amnesia who is working to get her memories back. Due to her disease, she wakes up every morning not knowing who she is or where she is. Everyday, her husband Ben explains to her that her amnesia is due to her getting in an accident and losing all her memories.
As the novel progresses, Christine learns that she’s been seeing a doctor and the doctor suggested she keep a journal as a way to help her write down what she remembers. The more she reads the journal, the more suspicious she becomes of Ben and the life he’s told her they’ve shared. By reading her journal daily, she discovers that Ben changes what truths he tells her and chooses to leave out other information on other days.
By the end of the book, Christine discovers that she has been lied to by Ben and that her life is in danger. This book was a intriguing and suspenseful read. I liked the layout of the book being composed of three parts: part one focuses on Christine waking up and not knowing who she is or where she is; part two is her journal entries and the third part is the conclusion to Christine’s story. I was especially surprised by the plot twist in the third part of the book.
Super creepy and interesting concept! I found myself bringing it up to people in conversation just so I would have an excuse to think about it.
Dropped it, too slow-paced for me
page turner - psychological thriller- creepy and intriguing - literary thriller - great ending -
This was a really excellent thriller, one of the best I've read in las years.
I'm not a huge fan of domestic thrillers, but in my opinion this is an example of how to do it right. This book was really great. It shows how all the familiar elements, such as an unreliable narrator, can work brilliantly. And not be annoying. An excellent work of the author.
I usually don't like the amnesia trope in my books, but in this case I think it was used very well. And I can't imagine this story without this trope, it’s truly the core of this story. The situation in which the main character finds herself allows us to slowly discover her whole world with her. I think the author has used some really great ideas here.
There are also some really interesting twists in this book, even if I predicted some of them. Still, the ending was a bit of a surprise to me. The book is so well written that you won't be able to put it down. You just want to know what happens next and you wait impatiently for each next chapter. And at the same time, you are aware that you only get to know the part of the story that the main character decides to write down. And you're never sure if she wrote everything or if she wrote the truth.
This is my first book by this author, but I will certainly read more. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a really good and suspenseful thriller.
What can you read after
Before I Go to Sleep?
About the Author:
S. J. Watson's first novel, Before I Go To Sleep, became a phenomenal international success and has now sold over 6,000,000 copies worldwide. It won the Crime Writers' Association Award for Best Debut Novel and the Galaxy National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year. The film of the book, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong, and directed by Rowan Joffe, was released in September 2014. S. J. Watson's second novel, Second Life, a psychological thriller, was published to acclaim in 2015. S. J. Watson lives in London.
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