My friend and I were fixated by this psychological thriller that we managed to read it in a day - it gripped us until the very end. Right from the very beginning, we were sceptical about every movement the protagonist Christine Lucas made… Any signs of clues into where she was, who she was and why she was lost in a life she once knew.
The novel starts with an epitaph type phrase by
Parviz Owsia:
“I was born tomorrow
today I live
yesterday killed me”
This reflects the main character’s emotions, as before she goes to sleep every night, she knows she’ll wake up to new surroundings, repeating a day she has already lived, and the thought of forgetting yesterday kills her inside. It all started when she woke up to find herself lying in bed with a man who she claimed to have never met, a room which she claimed she had never stepped foot in and finally the approach of a mirror which reflection she had never seen. She had woken up believing she was still a young girl, however the mirror didn’t reflect this, instead she was maturely aging: wrinkled hands, her hair had no volume, the skin on her cheeks sagged, her lips were thin and mouth turned down, and then her eyes… The skin surrounding them was lined. However, these features seemed to reflect familiarity, she was still recognisable as herself, she states “The person in the mirror is me, but I am twenty years too old. Twenty-five. More.” The man who she never recognised, who was a stranger in her bed was her husband Ben, the woman in the mirror was herself twenty years later and the pictures were snippets of what was her past.
She can only depend on one object, which she knows speaks the truth. A journal which she herself writes, containing a record of happenings throughout the day, feelings which she’d never feel again unless she re-read her life. Christine is reminded every day by her doctor to read her journal to reconstruct her memories, hoping to create a meaning to her life. Helping her discover what had really happened to her. What had caused her amnesia? Who was in her life? Who left her life? Most importantly, who are the people surrounding her? The journal serves a purpose, it unravels the unexpected, whilst through out it gives the reader room for their own thoughts, through subliminal implications. Whilst reading ‘Before I Go To Sleep’ my opinions on each character were developing through out the novel, I didn’t know who to trust: Her doctor? Her husband Ben? Her friend? Everyone was telling her life as they’d like it to be, however, is this the life she once lead? Or is it merely a recount which is of benefit to the people in her life? They answer her questions, but in differing ways... Who’s correct? The first page of the journal however states ‘Do not trust Ben’… This statement clings onto the reader through out the book, is he telling her the truth of what happened to her? Is it to protect her from being hurt? The ending reveals why.
If you haven’t yet read this novel, I highly recommend it… It really is well-written and emotional right until the very end.
‘Do not judge a book by it’s cover… In this case, ‘Do not judge the characters by their cover’
