First edition, with quote from Tess Gerritsen
| |
| Author | S. J. Watson |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Veronique Beranger / Getty Images |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Thriller, Suspense |
| Publisher | Doubleday (United Kingdom) HarperCollins (United States) |
Publication date | April 2011 (United Kingdom) June 2011 (United States) |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print, audiobook, ebook |
| Pages | 368 |
| ISBN | 0-85752-017-2 |
| Followed by | Second Life |
Before I Go to Sleep is the first novelbyS. J. Watson, published in the spring of 2011. It became both a Sunday Times and The New York Times bestseller[1] and has been translated into over 40 languages,[2] and has become a bestseller in France, Canada, Bulgaria and the Netherlands.[3] It reached number 7 on the US bestseller list, the highest position for a debut novel by a British author since J. K. Rowling. The New York Times described the author as an "out-of-nowhere literary sensation".[4] He wrote the novel between shifts whilst working as a National Health Service (NHS) audiologist.[5]
The novel is a psychological thriller about a woman suffering from anterograde amnesia.[6] 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.[3]
According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews based on 6 critic reviews with 5 being "rave" and 1 being "positive".[7]
Ridley Scott acquired the film rights and hired Rowan Joffé as director.[18] Nicole Kidman leads as Christine Lucas[19] with Colin Firth as her husband.[20] Mark Strong plays Dr Edmund Nash and Anne-Marie Duff plays Christine's friend, Claire.[21] The film was shot in London and at Twickenham Studios.[22]
It [Before I Go to Sleep] has been translated into 40 languages and racked up blockbuster numbers in France, Canada, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and the United States. (And this was writer S.J. Watson'sdebut novel.)
