The Book Bump

First Published: 2008
Author: S J Watson
Reading Language: English
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Rating: 3.5/5

Christine Lucas is an amnesiac. She’s incapable of either forming new memories or retaining old ones.
Every time she goes to sleep, she forgets everything. But as Christine searches for a cure, things at home aren’t what they seem.
The novel follows Christine’s search for her path and the truth, no matter how ugly it might be.

This book has been on my TBR pretty much since it was published. It’s almost embarrassing how long it’s taken me to read it.

The novel’s premise hooked me before I read the first page. It reminded me of 50 First Dates (which is a great film) but with more sinister motives.

As the novel is written in the first person, it is hard to get to know the other characters, such as Dr Nash, Ben, Claire… Because we only get to know them through what Christine sees.
On the other hand, 1^st person narratives are grand for delving into the protagonist’s mind. Here, the reader gets a “firsthand” account of living without memory.
The narrative was interesting. It was great to be able to see into Christine’s mind. Read about her fears. How scary it must be for an amnesiac to wake every morning not knowing who they are. And realising that they aren’t the age they think they are. Having to live through the grief of learning of loved ones passing, daily… It was an interesting angle to work the story.

However!

There are only so many times a reader can hear about a character losing her memory, how terrifying the ordeal is, and how she doesn’t trust her husband. She rewrites the same information in every diary memory. I did feel like skimming through large parts of the narration because it was repetitive. Unfortunately, that’s harder with a Kindle than a physical book copy. I guess the repetitive diary entries are meant to come across as realistic; it was an exercise suggested by her doctor, but it gets a little boring for the reader.

On the other hand, the repetitiveness and frustration we feel as readers must be even worse for Christine’s husband and carer, Ben. Requiring the reader to reread the same fact about Christine’s life at the beginning of each chapter forces a certain sympathy towards Ben. It can’t be easy living with an amnesiac. Going through the same things every morning must feel rather tedious, especially when you must relive some of the harder moments in life.

Having said that, it doesn’t necessarily make for interesting reading. Sorry.

I was hooked up to about a 3^rd of the way in. After that, unfortunately, the twist was too easy to work out. The main character doesn’t trust her husband. She’s been abandoned by everyone she once knew, including her best friend. It screams imposter. She feels something is up. But she doesn’t tell anyone, not even her doctor.

The trouble I have with this novel, and the main reason it doesn’t rate higher, is that the plot only works because of something highly implausible. I know it’s fiction. But this is taking it a bit too far. I can’t conceive that it’s remotely possible to do what the antagonist did to put the protagonist in the situation she finds herself in. (It’s the best way I can describe it without spoiling it for others)

Dr Nash is also rather far-fetched. He is supposedly a doctor but didn’t bother to fact-check anything. When Christine accused him of lying, he passed the buck by saying, “Well, that’s what you told me”. I found him highly unprofessional.

Another unrealistic factor, but one that didn’t particularly bother me, was Christine Lucas’s illness itself. It suited the author’s needs plot-wise. The doctor in the book says her particular case, having retrograde and antegrade amnesia, is very rare. It is so rare that he wants to write a medical paper on her. In real life, her type of amnesia doesn’t exist, at least from what I understand. But I understand an author taking liberties with real life to fuel his fiction.

Overall, the book is enjoyable and easy to read despite being unrealistic, a little tedious and, unfortunately, rather obvious. Maybe I read too many thrillers, so I’ve grown accustomed to working it out before the end reveal. I can’t just sit back and wait for things to unfold. 

It makes you question the importance of memories.