Christine wakes in a strange bed beside a man she does not recognise. In the bathroom she finds a photograph of him taped to the mirror, and beneath it the words 'Your husband'.
Each day, Christine wakes knowing nothing of her life. Each night, her mind erases the day. But before she goes to sleep, she will recover fragments from her past, flashbacks to the accident that damaged her, and then—mercifully—she will forget.
Chilling, exquisitely crafted and compulsively readable, S. J. Watson's debut novel Before I Go to Sleep is a psychological thriller of the highest order. It asks primary questions. Are there things best not remembered? Who are we if we do not know our own history? How do we love without memory?
S. J. Watson's brilliant novel is now a major motion film directed by Rowan Joffe (Brighton Rock), starring Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth.
Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson
Joining the ranks of gripping thrillers such as Gone Girl and Donna Tartt's The Secret History, this book will grab you by the throat from the first page and not let go until well after you have finished reading it. The story of a woman with amnesia who wakes up every day remembering nothing of her life is a clever, well plotted read with a twist that has to be read to be believed. I won't say anything more, because I don't want to spoil you, but this one is a must read, especially before seeing the upcoming movie.
Reviewed by 42bj
QBD, 30/10/2014
