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• Do NOT start reading "Before I Go To Sleep" in the afternoon like I did because you will NOT be able to go to sleep until you finish reading it. I received an advance reader's copy of this book to review in the mail yesterday and picked it up and started reading it yesterday evening. It was interesting, but then we had dinner and took the kids out for an evening swim and it was 9:30 before I really started reading again. At 11:30 I was halfway through the book and I told my husband I could not go to sleep until I finished it. He did not believe me. He should have known better. At 12:45 am, I finished the book and could go to sleep. This book is an amazing psychological thriller!Every day, Christine wakes up and does not know where she is. She looks in the mirror and does not recognize herself, expecting to see herself at least 20 years younger. Taped to the mirror are photos of herself and a man with labels to indicate that the older woman she sees in the mirror is indeed herself and the man she awoke with in her bed is her husband Ben. Every morning Ben tells her that she has amnesia from an accident that she was in many years ago and that she forgets everything when she sleeps.She receives a call on a cell phone, a device that she does not recognize since they did not exist 20 years earlier when she lost her memory, from her doctor, who tells her that she is keeping a diary in order to try to retrieve her memories and overcome her amnesia. Her diary documents a smattering of memories - bits and pieces that have come to her on various days, that she has written down, although each and every morning, she awakes not knowing anything again. By reading her diary, some of her memories return, and she begins to wonder why her loving husband, Ben is lying to her about many things. Is he lying to protect her, or for some more nefarious reason? The plot twists and is not what I was expecting.This is an intense book, and I totally recommend it! I think it could make a great movie too.I am glad that I got an advance copy to review - it is just amazing!

  5.00 out of 5

  herdingcats

• A horrible accident leaves Christine with amnesia and short term memory loss and so every morning she wakes up to a man she does not know and a life she can't remember. When she looks in the mirror she sees an older woman looking back and not the 20 something year old that she thinks she is. Her husband Ben leaves her messages and reminders of their life all over the house. He says he has enough love for the both of them. She wants to get better and so she secretly starts seeing a doctor who says he thinks he can help her regain her memory or some of it. He encourages her to keep a secret journal and to read and write in it every day and he calls her every morning to remind her where she put it. Soon Christine remembers the journal on her own and starts to remember things and people from her past. And one thing is certain, she does not trust Ben. Why is Ben so keen on keeping her from seeing doctors, why is he keeping things from her and why does he keep people from seeing her. At first glance this book reminds me of 50 First Dates because of the short term memory loss and having to be reminded everyday of someone. But thats where it ends. There are so many twist and turns that I could not put this book down. This is a definite recommended reading.

  5.00 out of 5

  Draak

• I predict that this is going to be one of the hottest books of this summer. Not only is it brilliant, fast paced and impossible to put down, it's already been sold in 32 countries and to Ridley Scott, who has picked a director for it and has scheduled production on the movie for later this year. That's damn impressive for a debut novel that is basically the result of taking one course on writing at the impressive Faber Academy.The premise is that Christine had a terrible car accident years ago, damaging her long and short term memory. She wakes up every day remembering nothing of her past or present, sometimes thinking she's a child, a teenager, or a young adult. She's actually 47, and married. Every day her husband has to explain things to her again, show her around the house, and get her prepared for the day. EVERY day, because once she goes to sleep, her memory is once again erased.Determined to figure out a way to make a life, Christine starts a journal that she keeps private while she tries to establish who she really is, finding a way to remind herself every day that the journal exists, reading it every day and trying to put a bigger picture of herself together. Except, over the course of time, inconsistencies emerge in what her husband is telling her about her history. And then there is the strange doctor who is treating her that her husband doesn't know anything about, the second cell phone, the missing pictures. Tiny glimpses of what may be memories begin to haunt and terrify her and it soon seems that no one is who they say they are and the truth may be something dark and deadly.Don't use this book as a beach read--you'll burn yourself to a crisp because once started, this book will not let you go until the final page, and even then...well, you'll see.

  5.00 out of 5

  JackieBlem

• Going into the story, the journal entries were a little too long for my taste and made me feel like the author was just stringing me along, but now that I have taken a day off from the book and have had a chance to think about it, this wouldn't have been a book otherwise. The suspense that is built comes from the voice of the main character's diary. I had my doubts that this was surely an unreliable narrator, but the more I read, the more I began to sympathize with the reader and want only a happy ending for her. Which, of course, is hard to achieve in stories today. I'm pretty good at predicting what is supposed to happen, and even though I was right, there were still some parts that made me literally gasp. "Why didn't I think of that!" I remember thinking. The writing is impeccable, with similes and metaphors galore and some very beautiful (and not so beautiful) imagery. I'm really glad I was able to read this book from NetGalley. I think the only reason other people would dislike this book would be because the journal entries do string you along a bit, but like I said, if there were no long journal entries, there'd be no story!

  5.00 out of 5

  taletreader

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