BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by SJ Watson

BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by SJ Watson

Genre: psychological Thriller

Setting: London

Publication Date: 2011

Summary:

Christine Lucas wakes every morning thinking she is a carefree, twenty-something woman with a bright future ahead of her. In reality, Christine is a forty-seven year old woman who suffered a terrible attack eighteen years ago that has left her unable to retain memories. However, with the help of a doctor who specializes in memory disorders, Christine begins to keep a journal that helps her piece together her past and how she ended up as she has. (bookrags.com)

Point of View

The novel is written in the first person point of view. The first part of the story is in the present, the second part is about what she has written on her journal and third is the continuation of the first.  

Themes

Brain Damage due to Trauma

Years of her memory have been erased due to an 'accident' that happened a number of years ago, causing her to forget everything each time she falls asleep. Later on, it was revealed that this was no accident. She had been attacked by a man whom she had an affair with when she was married with Ben. This man named Mike continued to pretend that he was Ben.

Marriage and Love

Christine slept with another man. Cheating is always a choice. She might had the pressure of being a mother and a wife, and of having writer’s block after the success of her first novel  but these reasons are not valid for her to cheat. I would like to think that what happened to her was Karma. And she’s gonna live like that forever. Her husband, Ben, loves her despite everything. How can people be ignorant of the people who love them the most?

Obsession

Mike was obsessed with Christine. This obsession eventually led to attempted murder, twice.

Reflection:

This is the first book of SJ Watson that I read. I would have liked the plot if only I haven’t watched the Netflix original Secret Obsession.  For me, a thriller is very effective if you could not predict the twist and the ending. I envisioned its ending and it came true.

What I like about this story though was the loss of memory after waking up. Imagine the pain and emptiness of waking up everyday not knowing your identity. It sucks. But in reality, many people suffer from that. Some retain the memory for less than 1 minute. Imagine the effect of this to the people you love. It’s as good as being dead. 

Character Development was hanging by a thread. This is normal since the main character is suffering from amnesia. It was effective but it lacks something else.

Setting was not that that accurate. 

The best part for me was the revelation. Because the previous parts were very similar to her own life. Waking up, reliving, sleeping, forgetting, and again. So, the revelation kinda saved the story, only if you were not able to predict it.