Before I Go To Sleep
“As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me …’ 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 only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine’s life.
This book was great, especially if you like something that you will go on thinking about after you have read it. The whole concept of losing your memory on a daily basis is a strangely fascinating idea. The story told plays on all the mysteries, insecurities, fears and worries that must come when you wake up every morning thinking you are twenty and you turn out to be forty and married with a whole life that you can’t remember. It really made me appreciate how much our past history informs the way we live on both a conscious and unconscious level. This is no 50 First Dates (that being a comedy film about someone with a similar condition), this begins as a journey into the mind of someone who can’t remember things and becomes a mysterious, suspenseful thriller.
I found the opening pages gripping in their description of waking up in the morning and finding you are not the person you thought you were. The first chapters are set in the present as Christine spends each day coming to terms with herself and her situation. She is meeting regularly with her doctor and keeping a journal. We then go back to read what has happened in the last few days in Christine’s life, before re-emerging in the present day to finish the story.
There are hints from the very beginning that all is not as it seems in Christine’s life. Ben, Christine’s husband seems to be changing the story of what has happened in her life. There are discrepancies and questions a plenty and as a reader you find yourself asking as many questions as Christine is. As Christine’s journal enables her to keep track of what is going on in her life things get more confused and more sinister as she is constantly questioning what is true and what is not. She also questions who she can trust and the motives of the people in her life for the way they treat her. It is very cleverly constructed and put together. As Christine lives every day fresh there is quite a bit of repetition through the book, however as more and more details come out this really serves to drive up the tension. his is a story that keeps you guessing almost to the end. Saying anymore would give away too much of the story so I think I will stop there!
Verdict: A riveting read, chilling and suspenseful, and something to think about as well.
Reviewed by Helen
11 Comments
Pruedence13
Sounds like a very interesting read and somewhat of an eye opener to appreciate what we have. I shall save this for a “thinking mood moment” but truly sounds like a read that just keeps you thinking, even when you have finished reading.
Elsie Brodi
This book is currently on my shelf waiting to be read! This review is motivating me to read it ASAP!
BigBookLittleBook
That’s really good to hear!
Jack
I’ve been recommended this book but I was never sure whether it was any good or not.. thanks for the review 😀 I might give it a go…
Caroline
Let us know what you think if you do!
Brodi Osborne
Both of my sisters have read this book and said it was amazing and now that i’ve read this amazing review of it, I might just have to read it! 😀
Tasnim S
This book has been on my TBR list on GR for a while, may just bump it up now 🙂
Caroline
We would love to hear what you think about it once you have!
Caroline
Helen
Thanks for all your comments everyone, you should definitely give it a go and let us know what you think! 🙂
Artemis
Very beautiful story. I like it because It is something that could be happen in real life but the truth is that I don’t want Christine’s life.
Kathryn
I have been unsure of this book for a while. Is it honestly that good?