Before I Go To Sleep

Blurb from Goodreads.com:

'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.

My Review:

Completely addictive, I just couldn't put it down. While I liked the idea and the writing style, there were too many loose ends that so conveniently tied together at the end that it didn't feel possible. I followed the story's timeline well enough, but I've heard many people complain that when the timeline slows down suddenly towards the last third of the book, it felt a bit jarring, especially since it's written in exactly the same style (like a journal entry), with no change to indicate that this is present day and not her actual journal. I did enjoy the novel, it really sucked me in and that hasn't happened to me to this degree with many books. 

But I also found that there were a lot of points that were completely unbelievable and they were kind of stuck in the back of my mind while I was reading, accumulating towards the end of the story, so the ending just didn't click.

I've written out a list of the things I didn't like. This isn't a summary+commentary, it's a randomly arranged list of things that I didn't like in the novel. If you haven't read the book and are still willing to risk the spoilers, chances are the following won't make much sense anyways, as I haven't written any sort of intro/summary/character list.

Be warned, spoilers ahead!

1. Yes, her husband and son couldn't be expected to visit her regularly if it disturbs her and she can't remember them, but they can call the administration every once in a while to check that she's doing okay. Four whole months she was missing and none of her family or friends noticed?


2. The care house she was in discharged her (an amnesiac with no way of caring for herself) to a man who claimed to be her husband, without making sure it was actually him? And I don't buy the b.s. that she was found to be independent enough to check herself out, I mean, come tomorrow morning she isn't going to remember her own name, let alone where her home is, how she's going to eat etc. Also I'm assuming that there was some kind of contact info for the real Ben (or maybe Adam) in her file before Mike the impostor came around. Even if Mike told them that the information was outdated, wouldn't they call the old number to confirm it or something? Multiple holes in this part of the story,


3. Christine figures out that her husband is lying to her, about herself, about her condition, about her son, her best friend, everything, he is a known liar. She is in a vulnerable, dependent position with a man she knows lies to her regularly, why didn't she have Dr.Nash or Claire with her when she confronted him about it? She remember's Claire, she remembers how close they were, why doesn't she have some kind of backup, I mean she's suspicious enough, why not be safe too? Maybe I'm being too harsh on her, but she seemed smart enough once she calmed down about the amnesia and read her journal, she could function as though she had a normal memory.

4. The ending annoyed me. After all that reading, we don't even know if she actually made any progress or if the journal only made it seem like she did. We don't know what she was like before she started the journal, maybe she's always had the flashbacks but didn't have any way of linking them day to day. Arghh...I just feel like we deserved a more concrete ending after the rollercoaster of the book.

All in all, I would recommend it to anyone who likes suspense and mystery, as this is hands-down the best mystery/thriller book I've ever read. 

Ever Yours~

The Know-it-all