''Before I Go to Sleep'' is the

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

S. J. Watson Steve "S. J." Watson (born 1971)

published in Spring 2011. It became both a ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' bestseller and has been translated into over 40 languages, and has become a bestseller in France, Canada, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. It reached number 7 on the US bestseller list, the highest position for a debut novel by a British author since

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

. ''

'' described the author as an "out-of-nowhere literary sensation". He wrote the novel between shifts whilst working as a

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS)

audiologist Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing vario ...

Plot

The novel is a psychological thriller about a woman suffering from

anterograde amnesia In neurology, anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories after the event that caused amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact ...

. She wakes up every day with no knowledge of who she is and the novel follows her as she tries to reconstruct her memories from a journal she has been keeping. She learns that she has been seeing a doctor who is helping her to recover her memory, that her name is Christine Lucas, that she is 47 years old and married and has a son. As her journal grows it casts doubts on the truth behind this knowledge as she determines to discover who she really is.

Reception

*John O'Connell writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' is full of praise: "it's exceptionally accomplished – like David Nicholls's '' One Day'', a brilliant example of how an unpromisingly high-concept idea can be transformed by skilful execution", "The structure is so dazzling it almost distracts you from the quality of the writing. No question, this is a very literary thriller." and concludes "The most unnerving aspect of ''Before I Go to Sleep'' is the way it is rooted in the domestic, the suburban, the trivial. Forget whizz-bang futurism: it proceeds from ordinary life in tiny, terrifying steps, and is all the better for it. The Escher staircase has an oatmeal carpet." *James Kidd of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' has minor reservations :"Watson's take on the material is clever, convincing and moreish. Christine's life is mundane, but filled with tantalising possibilities: the early chapters fly by as you wonder exactly who to trust. The fun comes from spotting the plot holes that Watson later exploits for all they're worth." and he concludes "The ending feels hurried; a sentimental postscript to the meticulously plotted main event. But these are minor gripes. ''Before I Go to Sleep'' is an enjoyable and impressive first novel." *Craig Ranapia in the ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'' is also has reservations, but concludes that the novel is 'slickly readable': "Watson scrupulously plays fair as he unpicks the tangled web surrounding our heroine, until the denouement. The last section turns on a character’s opportune inattention – after being surreally observant for the previous 300 pages – so the last piece of the puzzle can be uncovered. It was a cheat I couldn’t forgive or forget." but concludes "''Before I Go to Sleep'' is still a slickly readable trip across familiar ground that leaves me looking forward to Watson’s second novel."

Awards

*Winner of the 2011

Crime Writer's Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...

John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger *Winner of the Galaxy National UK Thriller & Crime Novel of the Year, 2011 *Winner of the Dutch Crimezone Debut of the Year, 2012 *Winner of the French for best Crime Novel, 2012 *Winner of the Crimefest Audible Sounds of Crime Award for Best Unabridged Audiobook, 2012 (read by

Susannah Harker Susannah Harker (born 26 April 1965) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in '' House of Cards''. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of '' ...

)

Publication history

*2011, UK, Doubleday, , Pub date 1 Apr 2011, Hardback *2011, Australia,

Text Publishing Text Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of fiction and non-fiction, based in Melbourne, Victoria. Company background Text Media was founded in Melbourne in 1990 by Diana Gribble and Eric Beecher, along with designer Chong Weng ...

, , Pub date 2 May 2011, Paperback *2011, US, HarperCollins, , Pub date 14 Jun 2011, Hardback *2012, UK, Black Swan, , Pub date 1 Jan 2012, Paperback *2012, UK,

Audiobooks An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

, , Pub date 1 Mar 2012, audio (read by Susannah Harker) *2012, US, HarperCollins, , Pub date, 07 Deb 2011, Paperback

Film adaptation

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

acquired the film rights and hired Rowan Joffe as director.

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

leads as Christine Lucas with

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...

as her husband. Mark Strong plays Dr Edmund Nash and

Anne-Marie Duff Anne-Marie Duff (born 8 October 1970) is an Irish actress and narrator. She is an accomplished theatre actress and has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. She has also received acclaim and awards for her television and film work. After ...

plays Christine's friend, Claire. The film was shot in London and at

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

.Empire Online: Colin Firth Joins Before I Go To Sleep, A reunion with Nicole Kidman
Written by James White, 7 February 2013. Source: Variety

References

External links

*
Gillespie and I / Jane Harris interview / Before I Go To Sleep , Scottish Book Trust
{{Authority control English thriller novels 2011 British novels Doubleday (publisher) books Medical novels Fiction about amnesia Novels by S. J. Watson British novels adapted into films 2011 debut novels