Download PDF Before I Go to Sleep A Novel S J Watson 9780062060563 Books

Product details Paperback 368 pages Publisher Harper Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 7, 2012) Language English ISBN-10 9780062060563 ISBN-13 978-0062060563 ASIN 0062060562

Before I Go to Sleep A Novel S J Watson 9780062060563 Books Reviews

• I gave up on this book at 38%. One of my friends had recommended the book to me, 'It's great, James, you should read it!' Well, I tried.
  
  Whenever Christine goes to bed at night, she wakes up the next morning with her memory erased and a stranger in her bed. A secret doctor suggests she keep a secret journal of all that happens to her each day. Then, next morning, when she's forgotten everything again, including her secret journal, the secret doctor phones her on his secret Mobil phone and reminds her to read her secret journal.
  
  And up to the point where I gave up, that's it. Chapter after chapter that is all that happens. Go through the day trying to recall her past. Secret meetings with her secret doctor. Her stranger of a husband telling her he loves her. Write in her journal. Go to bed–and forget everything. Next day the same. And the next. And the next… No plot, no mystery, no action, no conflict. What does Christine remember each day? A vague memory of a friend whose name she can't remember; something about a son who died; and to keep the reader's interest, she has bountiful sex fantasies, those she seems to remember in glorious detail.
  
  Sorry, friend. This one wasn't for me.
• Before I Go to Sleep follows a woman named Christine, who wakes up every morning without that majority of her adult memories. She doesn't remember that she's married, and every morning when she wakes up, her husband has to explain who he is and why she can't remember him.
  
  I loved the plot of this book! I hadn't read anything with a similar plot before, and thinking about living life that way made me feel sort of claustrophobic. I can't imagine losing all of my memories for a 20 year period, and having to trust everyone around me to fill me in.
  
  Shortly after the book begins, we start to learn that Christine's husband Ben isn't telling her the truth about everything. Why is he lying? Is he doing it for her own good? What is he hiding? Christine asks herself all of these questions, and by the end of the book, she has her answers.
  
  Without spoiling anything, I thought I had this book all figured out and then BAM! a twist I didn't see coming! Maybe I was the only one, but it definitely wasn't what I expected to happen, and I loved it!
  
  I really enjoyed this book. The only thing keeping it from being a five star review for me is the fact that I sometimes had a hard time keeping track of which parts of the book were Christine's journal entries and which parts were actually happening. The writing was the same in both formats, which made it a little tricky when they weren't clearly outlined. That said, I still loved the book and can't believe it was a debut novel from this author.
• Started out new and exciting to read a new psychological thriller. But about a third of the way through the book it was monotonous and boring. Same thing every day. Poor main character wakes up every morning not remembering who she is. etc., etc. (Don't want to give away to much) 100 pages in the middle could be deleted and then read the end. And you'll know what happened. Sorry to be so blunt.
• For Christine, who wakes each morning having forgotten everything from the day before - and the preceding 20 years. Each morning, she wakes up in a room she doesn't recognize, next to a man she doesn't recognize. Her husband Ben explains to her each day that she has amnesia from a car accident years earlier, and her injuries erased not just her past, but the formation of any new memories. Upset with her inability to remember years of her life, Chrissy begins to keep a journal of each day's discoveries. She also has flashes of what might or might not be her memories.
  The writing isn't really very good, though there are a few thoughts I underlined, but the story is a pretty good twisty psychological suspense thriller. The narrator gets rather repetitious, but then so is Her life. It kept me turning the pages.
• Premise was good (made me think of the movie "50 First Dates but not at all like the movie). Christine wakes up not knowing where she is or who the man sleeping next to her in bed is. She soon comes to learn she was in an accident years ago and has amnesia. Every time she goes to sleep, she loses her memory of everything from the accident on. She finds out she has been keeping a journal every day to help her remember what has happened. While it was a little slow to pick up, it has some good twists and turns. She is not sure who to trust and is everything she has been writing in her journal true or her own paranoia? I had my own theory on what happened to her but was very surprised to find out the truth. Decent writing, but again, a little slow to develop. Worth a read.
• 1) I downloaded this at 835 PM on a weekend night after my husband had gone to bed with the flu. Finished at 330AM. I think I dozed for a few minutes here and there, but just couldn't go into a deep sleep without reading more.
  2) It had a plausible twist I didn't see coming. I'm the one who usually wrecks it for everyone when we're watching a movie at home. "It's the husband." "It's the mother." "It's the dog." ;)
  3) So far some glaring error hasn't surfaced as I think back over the story line. However, I am sleep deprived. If something occurs to me, I'll amend this review.
  4) As a professional woman born about the same time as the main character, I could relate in many ways to her reactions, and I remember my life! This aging thing is a conundrum for the wisest of us...and that's not me!
  So...couldn't put it down, tight plot, relatable, developed characters, unexpected twist. Yes.