"Before I Go To Sleep" by S.J. Watson

Every morning Christine Lucas wakes up without any memories.  She may wake up thinking she is a child, or perhaps a woman in her twenties…. but definitely not a late-forties married woman.  She doesn’t recognize herself, her husband, their house; nothing is familiar.  This has been her life for the past twenty-odd years, since the accident that took everything away from her.  On the advice of the doctor she is apparently seeing secretly, she begins to keep a journal; recording each day and memory in hopes that more memories will return.  It seems to be working, but she really can’t be sure.  If what she is remembering is correct, then she may not be able to trust the people around her.

First of all, this book is amazing.  I very literally could not put it down, and read it in just over two days.  I couldn’t help myself!  This is the kind of thriller that keeps you involved every step of the way, and yet you still feel a little off kilter and teetering on the edge of the truth.  I would say that it is almost impossible to wrap your head around what is going on in this book – it gets itself wrapped around you.

I absolutely love unreliable narrators.  Christine is perfect in this role; you really aren’t sure if you can trust what she is remembering, because she doesn’t.  She honestly doesn’t remember if she is remembering what people have told her, what she has imagined, or if it is paranoia creeping into her consciousness.  It is absolutely fascinating to read!  Then, as she begins to figure some things out and you see that there really is something amiss in her history and therefore in her present, you cannot help but feel terrified for her.  This is simply a book that should not be missed.

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Before I Go To Sleep
by S.J. Watson
HarperPerennial, 2012.  First Published 2011
358 pages
Source:  TLC Booktours
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