Review: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

Summary


I'm going to go ahead and admit that I cannot summarize this book effectively, so here is the description of Before I Go to Sleep courtesy of our uber friend, Amazon.

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.

Everybody I've told about this book goes "Oh, so it's Fifty First Dates?" 

No.

It is not.

Let's move on.

Review

Before I Go to Sleep is without a doubt amazing. I was only ten pages into it when I decided this. S.J. Watson sucks you in and it is impossible to get out. Not that you want to get out.

The book begins with Christine waking up, assuming she is in her twenties and accidentally slept with a married man. She goes to the bathroom to wash up and is scared terrified to find that she has somehow aged 20+ years overnight. (Wouldn't that make an awesome sci-fi book?) Pictures around the mirror clearly show her with the man she woke up next to, but she is younger in the images. The man she woke up next to explains that he is her husband and that she was in a car accident and the brain trauma causes her to lose her memory every night when she goes to sleep. (Oh now I get the title!)

(Just kidding.) 

The best part about this book is that it is told from first-person perspective. Christine writes in a journal every day, and that's how the story progresses. You are Christine. This is sometimes terrifying. Now it may have been because I had an ear infection and spent the entire day really dizzy, but this almost made me paranoid. I sat around, my head spinning (partially because of the book,) thinking holy crap, what did I do yesterday? Am I remembering a memory or did Jeff tell me about that yesterday? Oh dear Lord I'm unhealthy. I have a tumor. I had an accident. I'm never leaving my couch. 

With every new revelation Christine made, my mouth would drop open. The book is so full of M. Night Shyamalan moments  twists, you are kept on the edge of your seat the entire length of the book.

Before I Go to Sleep was incredibly well-written. I was surprised to discover that S.J. Watson was a man- because the novel was told from a woman's point of view, I expected a woman to have written it. Watson is able to accurately portray Christine's emotions very well, from fear to love to excitement. 

The ending of the book was great. It left you thinking well after finishing the book. I enjoyed it particularly because I'm a fan of Christopher Nolan movie endings. I'll leave it at that, though. 

Verdict

Check this book out. I'm happy I have it on my Nook- it's mine forever. 

Although I'm probably not going to read it when I feel sick again.