| Title | : | Second Life |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0857520199 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780857520197 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 425 |
| Publication | : | First published February 12, 2015 |
She loves her husband. She's obsessed by a stranger.
She's a devoted mother. She's prepared to lose everything.
She knows what she's doing. She's out of control.
She's innocent. She's guilty as sin.
She's living two lives. She might lose both . . .
Second Life Reviews
-
I have slightly edited this review because as the days go by, something is bugging me more and more, and I need to reword it slightly.
The much anticipated second novel by S J Watson is here at last but did it live up to expectations? I have to say “no, not really”. This is the story of Julia who leads a respectable life with her respectable husband and their teenage son until the brutal murder of her sister Kate changes everything. When it seems as if the police aren’t doing quite enough to find Kate’s killer, Julia decides to take matters into her own hands. Whilst looking through her sister’s effects she comes across her Filofax which gives her login and password for a dating site. When Julia uses this information and logs on to see what she can discover, it is the start of a very slippery slope indeed as she gets more and more drawn into her sister’s world of online flirting and cybersex. Could she have been killed by someone she met online and is Julia putting herself and her family lifestyle into danger by trying to follow in Kate’s footsteps?
It is a very dark story of obsession and addiction, one which really shows the dangers of the online world, of not knowing who you are talking to, but one which didn’t quite tick all the boxes. The first half of the story was incredibly slow and long winded and it didn’t really pick up until the second half, which was much more pacey and far more gripping. Having said that, I did find Julia to be particularly stupid at times not only for getting herself into a situation which the only way to get out of, would mean tearing her family apart. There is a twist at the end, but the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that there is a whopping great plot hole which actually renders the latter half of the book and that twist totally nonsensical. Either that, or Julia is even more stupid than I originally though.
And as for the last page – well I have to say it sucked, I really hated the way the book ends, just horrible! Thanks to the publishers for the review copy. -
I had no intention of reading this book as most of my friends who are into thrillers, (which I love), dissed it, giving it 1-2 star ratings. But then my friends who are not that into thrillers, but like good fiction, started to read it and they were giving, for the most part, ratings of 4 stars. One friend, who loves both thrillers and nonthrillers gave it 5 stars! At that point I was strongly encouraged by a couple of Goodreads friends to see for myself what this book is all about. I now thank them for doing so as, surprisingly, I found Second Life to be a compelling read that I finished off in 3 days (very fast for me).
I can see why some readers would give this book 1-2 stars. It is not pacy like most thrillers; it is more of a simmering stroll. There is not action from page 1. In fact, there isn’t that much physical action at all. Some could call it boring, especially the first two thirds of the book. There is a great deal of contemplation in this tale, something some thriller fans have little patience for. Another reason people may not like the book is that the protagonist, Julia, will not appeal to everybody and many may consider her weak or just plain stupid. Since this is Julia’s story, this is not a good thing.
So why did I like this novel? This story is complex, and it is highly, if not totally, character-driven. My absolute favorite type of book is a strong character-driven crime/suspense/thriller novel. And while I can see Julia turning off a lot of readers, as she certainly isn’t role model material, I felt I understood her and why she did the things she did. Thus we connected. This woman has a good life, yet when her sister was murdered, she could not control her overwhelming need, no matter what, to bring closure to the case, which had become cold in the hands of the French police. This becomes more understandable when we learn she is a recovered/recovering alcoholic. We also find out other things that in context with what I just mentioned clearly demonstrate Julia has an addictive personality. Falling under the control of her addictions, she does things that most reasonable people would not do, given all there is to lose in the process.
There are several provocative themes running through Second Life. We are given an eye-opening look at the dangers of the cyberworld. Really quite frightening. Another prominent subject is whom can we trust implicitly? Our spouse? Our lover? Our best friend? Our siblings? Who? Anyone? No one? And again, we are shown how an addictive personality can take one down a road no one wants to go. It becomes clear that addiction trumps intelligence, addiction trumps judgment.
There are differing opinions on the ending of Second Life. I came to that last paragraph and was dumbfounded. But after thinking about it, I do think Mr. Watson ended the tale the only way it could have ended.
The only things I didn’t like about the story were the reliance on coincidence once or twice for plot purposes and a couple of the twists that felt a little improbable to me.
I was intrigued, mesmerized, and yes, thrilled by Second Life. It’s not for everyone. But if you like great character-driven fiction and slow-burning psychological thrillers, this one’s for you. If still in doubt, check it out for yourself. I’m glad I did. -
Psst...this is a really good thriller! I know, the ratings look just okay, but I noticed many wanted to like the main character, didn't finish, or wanted action from the opening pages.
What this is, is a smart thriller. The beginning gave me a solid background, as Watson takes his time bringing me into the heart of his main character, Julia.
Julia has suffered a great loss and grief takes her to indescribable places. From personal experience I can say, grief is all-encompassing, it can change how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, especially during the early stages. One can focus on healing, or blame. Hate, or love. And here, Watson has chosen to take us down the darkest of all paths, grief combined with guilt.
I felt understanding why Julia acts as she does was essential. Aren't we all filled with light and dark? It's all to easy to take a peak down the wrong road. In Watson's story, Julia does exactly that and before she knows it is in way over her head. The events that follow had me reading at breakneck speed, one twist after another. The answer seems obvious, but is it? Really liked this one! -
EXCERPT: There's a police car parked a few doors from the house, but its our front door that's open. I begin to run; my mind empties of everything but the need to see my son. I don't stop until I'm in the house, in the kitchen, and I see Hugh standing in front of me, talking to a woman in uniform. I take in Connor's towel and trunks, drying on the radiator, then Hugh and the officer turn to look at me. She's wearing an expression of perfect, studied neutrality, and I know it's the way Hugh looks when he's delivering bad news. My chest tightens, I hear myself shout, as if in a dream. "Where's Connor?" I'm saying. "Hugh! Where's our son?" But he doesn't answer. He's all I can see in the room. His eyes are wide; I can tell that something terrible has happened, something indescribable. Tell me! I want to shout, but I don't. I can't move; my lips won't form words. My mouth opens and then closes. I swallow. I'm underwater, I can't breathe. I watch as Hugh steps towards me, try to shake him off when he takes my arm, then find my voice. "Tell me!" I say over and over, and a moment later he opens his mouth and speaks.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: She loves her husband. She's obsessed by a stranger.
She's a devoted mother. She's prepared to lose everything.
She knows what she's doing. She's out of control.
She's innocent. She's guilty as sin.
She's living two lives. She might lose both . . .
MY THOUGHTS: I literally could not put this book down once I started it. It swept me along like a river in flood.
It is fast paced and tautly written. SJ Watson know his stuff. His portrayal of Julia's addictive personality is frighteningly realistic to anyone who has had anything to do with an addict of any kind. For an addict is always an addict, and if you take away one addiction, they will simply replace it with another.
Julia has a history of addiction - to heroin, to alcohol, to sex, to excitement.
When Julia's younger sister Kate, the mother of her adopted son Connor, is murdered Julia becomes obsessed with finding her killer. She enters Kate's life - one of internet chat rooms and web sex sites. She creates an on-line profile for herself and sets about trying to connect with the people Kate had connected with.
But just how far will she go to find the truth, and how much is she personally willing to risk in her quest?
Her husband?
Her son?
Her friends?
A riveting story of obsession, and of how the lies we tell in order to protect the people we love can actually destroy them.
Thankyou to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Second Life by S. J. Watson for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.
This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... -
After a fine debut with "Before I Go to Sleep", this author's second novel was a disappointment to me. Overly long for the story it tells, repetitive, and a protagonist who is twice as dim as she needs to be to get the point across. It would be fair to say that Julia's decision-making skills need work. In my neck of the woods, we would point out that she doesn't have "brain one".
I really liked the idea of taking oneself out of the picture, both literally and figuratively. Loved the ending - not the made-to-fit portions that got us there, but the very last paragraph. The thing is, just as many readers are going to loathe the denouement. Just a matter of taste, I suppose. -
The Hook - I loved Watson’s debut
Before I Go to Sleep
The Line – The epigraph
”God guard me from those thoughts men thin
In the mind alone. –W.B.Yeats”
The Sinker – The blurb:
She loves her husband.
She’s obsessed by a stranger.
She’s a devoted mother.
She’s prepared to lose everything.
She know what’s she’s doing.
She’s out of control.
She’s innocent.
She’s guilty as sin.
She’s living tow lives.
She may lose both.”
She, Julia, is a lot of some things, exactly what is to be decided by the reader. Second Life is one of those books you’re going to love or hate.
Has a book ever left you feeling you need a shower? Second Life left me feeling grungy and I really didn’t want to like it. The characters were mostly despicable, but I was fascinated by their debauchery and I really didn’t want to like them. Watson’s sophomoric effort did not feel quite as tight as his first. I didn’t want to like it as much. The plot line is a bit tangled so I didn’t really want to like it. I was easily able to pick the true villain so I didn’t really want to like it.
2 stars, 3 stars, 4 stars…I came to the conclusion the deciding factor would be how it ended.
I really didn’t want to like it, but in the end, I did. -
This was skim read after page 130. I did read the last 50 pages slowly in entirety.
What can I say about this book? It is really just plain awful. No one in the entire book seems like a real person. Julia is dumb as a rock. Most of the words are wasted and the writing so choppy, flow so bad- that it is hard to describe. Most also in triple redundancy. And the ending might be the worst one I've come across this year.
Why did not one publisher or editor or honest person tell S. J. Watson anything close to the truth before they let this one out? -
An infuriating book. Maybe it deserves a single star but the fact I finished it made me rate it a bit higher. This writer, who is male, attributes endlessly stupid behaviors to the main character Julia. It was predictable much of the time, and it was not believable that Julie continued to be so so moronic. Other reviews provide summaries of the plot but I can't be bothered to take the time to do that. All I can say is jeezzzzzzz. Watson is clueless about the psychology of women and it felt at times his point was to write a novel that shows women are idiots. I'll stop. I can't say enough bad stuff about this book.
I am editing to add that I did go back and change my review to 1 star after being encouraged by some comments :) -
O. M. F. G.! This book f..ked up my mind! I just can't even... Was very close to be a 5⭐ read, but that ending! Man!!! Watson, why did you let us like this?! You should have write 10 more pages, no more. 10! When l have reached the end, I was like: "what the hell, am l missing some pages or what?!"
Don't get me wrong though, the end was 😍 it's just that was kinda too short. Those of you who have read this book, know what I'm talking about. Man!... -
When Julia was notified of her sister Kate’s death she was devastated. Kate lived in Paris and though they had always been close, there had been a recent rift over Connor. Connor was Kate’s biological son, but had given him to Julia as she was unable to cope with bringing up a child. Only sixteen when she gave birth to her son, Kate had struggled for a while but Julia was very happy to take care of Connor; she and husband Hugh had been unable to have children, so Connor was an amazing gift in their lives. They both loved him and he loved them; at fourteen Connor was definitely their child.
When Julia went to Paris to meet Anna, Kate’s flatmate, to pick up her sister’s belongings, she found herself becoming friendly with Anna. Over time they became close, Skyping and texting often. Anna told Julia about Kate’s online activities and how she suspected it may have been one of those men whom she was meeting who had harmed Kate. The police were baffled as to who had killed her – maybe it was up to Julia to find that killer?
But as Julia tried to replicate Kate’s life she found her own life spiralling out of control. She was distancing herself from Hugh; Connor was barely speaking to her – why was she doing this to her family? Was she just a naïve and self-destructive woman? Her best friend was convinced she was. And was Julia in danger? The darkness was finding her; she didn’t know if she could turn her back – she didn’t know if she wanted to!
I was really looking forward to this second book by the author of Before I Go To Sleep, S.J. Watson as I loved his debut. But this one has definitely got nowhere near the punch the first book had. As a matter of fact I was bored before I was a quarter of the way through, and I skimmed in parts until the end. The ending saved it a little, but there’s no way I would call it a thriller. Very mediocre – a big disappointment I’m afraid.
With thanks to Text Publishing for my copy to read and review. -
To be published in Feb 2015
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my review copy of the book.
‘Before I Go To Sleep’ was a massive success for S.J. Watson and this is the follow up.
This is a story of a woman, who is trying to deal with the murder of her sister and find some sort of peace. Julia is a very middle class woman with a past, living in London with her adopted son and married to a surgeon called Hugh. She becomes obsessed with finding the identity of her sister’s killer, which leads her to sex encounter websites, or whatever you call them. She flirts with men online and meets one of them, in her search for the truth. Julia meets Lukas and her nice safe life starts to unravel.
This has illicit sex, murder, hidden secrets and a hunt for a killer. It should have been an exciting, pacey, sexy psychological thriller. Unfortunately it wasn’t. It felt very clichéd at times and it never really sparked my imagination. I found myself struggling to like Julia. There wasn’t much to like about her. Julia was just painfully self absorbed, incredibly naive and just plain inconsistent. No adult just trusts people the way she does, especially people they met online. Sometimes it doesn’t matter, if you don’t quite like the main character. In this case, it mattered terribly. I suppose we are meant to see Julia self destruct and empathize with her. Julia goes from looking down her nose at her sister’s sexual exploits to embracing them, in the blink of an eye. It just didn’t seem credible. The online sex chat was rather tame and didn’t redeem the book in any way.
The second half of the book was slightly more engaging than the first. Although not much. However my main feeling at the end of the book is major disappointment and sadness. It could have been so much better. It should have been so much better.
-
Dnf at 150 pages. Can't really make a full review on this given the fact that I didn't finish it but I'll put some of the things that bugged me about this book in the following topics:
1- Julia makes terrible decisions although her thoughts show us that she knows they are bad, she just chooses to ignore it.
2- I don't care about any of the characters.
3- The story takes 100+ pages to start.
4- This book was 50% me being bored and other 50% being irritated.
5- I just realized there's not one good relevant thing I can say about this book. I don't hate it but I will never pick it up again. -
(1.5) I enjoyed Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep, a canny amnesia-themed thriller. Expecting this to be similar / on par with Chris Pavone’s work (e.g.
The Accident), I was disappointed. The rudimentary, choppy opening sentences should have been my first tip-off: “I climb the stairs but the door is closed. I hesitate outside it. Now I’m here, I don’t want to go in. I want to turn round, go home. Try again later. But this is my last chance.” I only made it to page 30, but what I did read felt slow and formulaic; other reviewers warned me off the cybersex theme of what follows. -
SWEDISH REVIEW
Ett andra liv är en bok som är både intressant och frustrerade att läsa. Varför? För att redan från början så kände jag att denna bok kommer att ta vändningar som är nästan smärtsamt att läsa och jag hade rätt. Inte för att boken var dålig på något sätt. Det är en intressant berättelse om en kvinna vars liv är ställt på ända när hennes syster mördas och hon försöker finna vem som mördade henne. Upptäckten att hennes syster höll på med cybersex leder henne in i en mörk värld.
Jag kände tidigt att Julia är en kvinna med ett mörkt förflutna, men sanningen kommer inte att avslöjas förän senare i boken. Hon är inte en olycklig kvinna, hon har ett bra familjeliv med sin man och son. Men man märker att Hugh, hennes man, inte är hennes livs kärlek även om hon älskar honom. Men så får hon reda på henne systers passion för träffa främmande män på nätet tack vare hennes systers rumskamrat Anna och snart så har hon tagit sig vatten över huvudet.
Jag kan inte säga att jag fullt ut gillade berättelsen, men det beror nog mycket på att jag ibland ville kliva in i boken och slå Julia i huvudet med boken varje gång hon fattade ett dumdristigt beslut. Men jag kan förstå att många av hennes beslut fattades pga av skuld och sorg. Den bästa biten av boken är framåt slutet när hon inser hur dum hon har varit. Det är då boken blir verkligen fängslade att läsa.Sista delen är verkligen nästan plågsamt spännande ändå fram till slutet som jag i en viss mån hatade. Jag har supersvårt med öppna slut, men trots det slutet så var det även spännande. Några av vändningarna mot slutet var jag inte alls förbered på, andra misstänkte jag. Men att avsluta boken på det sätt som Watson gjorde, tja nu när jag har lugnat ner mig kan jag se det briljanta med det!
Tack till
Bazar Förlag för recensionexemplaret!
ENGLISH REVIEW
This is the kind of book that is both interesting and pretty frustrating to read. Why? Because right from the start did I feel that this story will take turns that would be almost painful to read. And, I was right. Not that the story was bad, not at all. It's an interesting story about a woman whose life is turned upside down when her sister is murdered and she tries to find how who killed her. And, discovering that her sister used to have cybersex leads her into a dark world.
Early on you get a feeling that Julia has a dark past, but the full truth won't be revealed until later on. She is not an unhappy woman, she has a good family life with her husband and son. Although it seems that her husband Hugh is perhaps not the love of her life does she love him. But, soon she learns of her sister's passion for online affairs through her sister's roommate Anna. And, shortly she is in way over her head.
I can't say that I fully enjoyed the story, I wished sometimes that I could step into the book and hit Julia in the head with the book and tell her to wise up, but I guess much of her decisions in born out of grief and guilt over her sister's murder. I think the best part of the book comes when she realizes how stupid she has been, it's then the book really becomes thrilling to read. The last part is truly gripping to read, right up until the ending, which in a way I hated, but also was impressed over. I hate open ended endings, but the last part was also very surprising. Some twist did I not see coming, other did I suspect. But, to end the book the way Watson did. Well, now that I have calmed down can I see the brilliance of it!
Thanks to
Bazar Förlag for the review copy! -
SJ Watson's debut,
Before I Go To Sleep was a smash hit and I imagine the pressure to produce a similarly successful novel has been immense.
London wife and mother, Julia, is devastated when she is informed her younger sister, Kate, has been murdered by an unknown assailant in a Parisian alleyway. Half crazed with grief and guilt, Julia becomes obsessed with finding Kate's killer, infiltrating an online 'hook-up' service her sister used in search of suspects.
Lukas is one of the first men to respond to her tentative approach, and though she quickly dismisses him as a suspect in her sister's murder, Julia can't seem to extract herself from the connection they have made. Her stolen moments with Lukas are a reprieve from her despair but as their relationship transitions from the virtual to the real world, Julia's 'second life' unwittingly puts everything she has, and those she loves most, at risk.
What Watson does particularly well in Second Life is create a close, tense and increasingly disorientating atmosphere as Julia's life spirals out of control.
My dissatisfaction with this novel can be laid at the feet of Watson's protagonist, Julia. I just didn't buy into her behaviour, despite the author's rationalisations of grief and guilt. I found Julia to be painfully frustrating - naive, self obsessed, and later, wontingly self destructive.
Unable to invest in the character, I then struggled with the plot, which relies on Julia's poor judgment to progress. There is tension and some surprising twists but it wasn't enough to convince me to put aside my dislike of Julia. Perhaps the strongest element of the story is the pacy and shocking denouement, though I'm still not quite sure how I feel about its ambiguity.
Just barely an okay read, largely due to my frustration with the main character, unfortunately, I think Second Life suffers badly in comparison with Before I Go To Sleep. -
Well, there was I thinking that this book was a definite four/five star read, happily gripped and absorbed by this tale of grief, deception and adultery - and then the big plot twist hove into view. In fact, it didn't so much hove into view as signal I AM A BIG, THUNDERINGLY OBVIOUS PLOT TWIST in neon flashing lights. And once that disappointment had happened, it was nothing but downhill from there, I'm afraid. What had been a page-turner became more and more implausibly silly until the final slap in the face that was that ridiculous ending. Almost as bad as the one in Harriet Lane's 'Her', if I'm honest.
As other reviewers have pointed out, it doesn't help that the central character, Julia, doesn't so much wallow in guilt and self-pity as leap into it, holding her nose for the plunge. I can't be the only one who thought 'Best get back on the gear, love. At least you'll feel a bit more cheerful." -
4.5 stars
From the author of Before I Go to Sleep, comes a novel of death and discovery. When Julia hears of her sisters death in Paris, she feels a mixture of relief and loss. Julia had adopted Kates son when it became obvious her sister could not provide the stable environment he needed. But lately Kate had been demanding to return of her teenage son. The bittersweet relief of her sisters death is only momentary, and Julia begins to doubt that the death was an accident. Gaining access to Kates online activity, she stumbles across the world of online dating and the ability to lead a second life. Soon she is hooked. The excitement of secret online liaisons becomes addictive and common sense is thrown out the window. But how long can one maintain a double life before someone gets hurt?
This book seems to have a bit of the 'Gone Girl effect' about it. You either love it or hate it. I think the main reason for the way people feel about a character. Some readers cannot enjoy a book where they feel uncomfortable with the protagonist, others need a more defined line between a 'nice' person in a novel and a 'distasteful' one. I tend to go with my gut instincts and if I find myself turning the pages with great speed, it means I'm going along for the ride. The whole concept of a second life has become more common with the accessibility of the internet in all of our lives. While, years ago, people had to place adverts in specialised magazines or be part of secret networks of similar minded folk, now anyone can just click a button and become whomever one wants. The current Graham Dwyer trial, in Ireland, has shown how easy it is to lead two lives independent of each other. In SJ Watson's novel he shows how a middle aged, respectable mother and wife can slip so easily into a new role. The role of a sexy, single, adventurous woman who is up for anything. One day a week Kate can escape the mundane and ordinary life she has led for years and return to her pre-marriage days of drink and drug fueled excitement and sexual abandonment. Her sleuthing into her sister's life has opened a Pandora's Box and she is soon sucked in...
Kate is not a character that many women are going to like. Once she begins her online journey, she appears to become two very different people. One is traditional and stable, the other is fiesty, brave and open to fantasy. However, if the novel is read with attention, the cracks in her personality are there before her online dalliance. She has had addiction issues in the past, lived another life in Berlin before returning the UK to marry Hugh, a successful consultant surgeon. The second life that she embarks on may not have been very far under the facade of her existing one.
The first half of the novel is a little slow, as we learn of the connections between Julia, Kate, Hugh and Connor. There are extra characters too, like Julia's best friend (who is surplus to requirement about two thirds into book) and Kate's roommate, Anna, who helps knit together the last few months of the dead girl's life. Text messages, secret phone calls and virtual sex are all part of the bigger picture and the reader is sucked into the heart pounding encounters of Kates new world. Fantasies become reality and the book takes on a new pace and atmosphere. It moved from an average psychological thriller to a deeper, more intense read that had me hooked. You don't have to agree with characters, or even like them much, to make a book a winner. Like a roller coaster that makes you feel queasy, this book will have your blood pumping with part shock and fear and the need to discover more, climb up that steep slope that inevitably drops down, with massive speed, on the other side. Be brave, enjoy the ride, and look at each person you meet at the school gates or supermarket with the knowledge that everyone has inner thoughts... -
I have read some others reviews after I had read this book for myself. I have nothing to compare it to as this is the first book I have read by S J Watson although I already have a couple of her others. I just haven't got around to reading them yet and saw this on Net Galley which I requested and thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers who gave me auto approval I was able to get it for reading and reviewing.
Its very difficult to write a review without giving too much away, so I will try.
Here we met Julia. She has an adopted child named Connor who is her sisters child. Her sister wanted him back years later. Now she finds that her sister is dead. She's be murdered.
Julia is a middle class Mom, married to her husband who she loves.
But Julia just cannot put to rest what happened to her sister. So she starts to uncover her sisters life. She's in for some surprises and not only that, she ends up getting involved with a complete stranger starting an affair that goes terribly wrong.
I have to say, I was thrown off course several times by the author during the time I was trying to 'solve' it all, so that means she has done a superb job. The ending is unpredictable, or at least, it was for me.
The quality of the writing is superb, which means I really cannot wait to read more books by this author and I will certainly be bumping up the ones I already have.
My rating is a positive 4 stars. -
This is a very difficult book for me to review - Watson has created an excellent character in Julia the protagonist, and the twisty story is suitably complicated and intelligent BUT it takes ages to get going AND I thoroughly disliked it as it made me feel so uncomfortable AND Julia is just awful.
I can't explain without spoilers so if you are thinking of reading it I would recommend it if you can cope with quite a bit of tedium and horrible characters that will eventually deliver a decent solved mystery and an interesting dilemma but be warned - the journey feels long and arduous!
I'm so glad I've read this with others from my book group as it really needs some discussion - it's a bit of a mind fuck to be honest! Perhaps I'll be back with an update when we've talked about it a bit more... -
This review was originally posted on Between My Lines
I was highly anticipating this book before I started it. I enjoyed Before I Go To Sleep and I was expecting another twisty page turner. And maybe lots of people will find this book to be just that but I’m not one of them.
First Line of Second Life by S J Watson:“I climb the stairs but the door is closed.”
My Thoughts on Second Life by S J Watson:
Let’s start with the ending, I loved that! It was twisty and ambiguous which is something I always love in a book as it makes you think about it after you close the book. If I had to name my favourite thing about this book, that would be it. But let’s rewind now; that was my highlight but for most of the book I was either:
A: Annoyed
or
B: Bored
Neither of which are great emotions to experience while reading a book that you were excited about. I failed to connect with the main character and a lot of my issues were to do with that. Julia’s sister has been murdered and it seems to be by an online acquaintance. The police seem to be getting nowhere and Julia decides to take matters into her own hands.
But going investigating herself by reaching out to the same online contacts seems naïve and foolhardy to me. Julia seems to have little or no awareness of how easy it is for someone online to lie to her. Which considering what just happened her sister just didn’t lie right with me. Also she isn’t an inexperienced woman, she has a colourful past and again I would have just expected her to be a little more wary and savvy.
My other issue was with the pacing of the book. It was slow. I just couldn’t seem to get into it and it took me a full week to read it which for a psychological thriller is a bit unusual for me. Usually once I start one, I can’t put them down as I just have to know where it’s all going. But that wasn’t the case for me here.
Overall it just didn’t work for me but I do admire that ending! And sad face as I really did want to enjoy one.
Who should read Second Life by S J Watson?
It’s hard for me to recommend this one as I didn’t personally enjoy it. However the Goodreads average rating at the moment is 3.45 so obviously a lot of people do like the book. Maybe check a few of their reviews if the synopsis has peaked your interest.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. -
The 2nd and much anticipated novel by author S.J.Watson. I was slightly put off by the other reviews I read on Goodreads regarding this book but I found this book got better as I made my way through it. Well before the end I was impelled to continue reading whenever possible to find out what was going to happen. Maybe in reflection it is not to the same very high standard as his first novel but I found it a very good read.
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This was a good book, but it was slow. I don't usually finish a book when it is so slow going, but I had some time on my hands to get this one done.
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فوق العاده بود،يعني هرلحظه فك ميكني فهم��دي موضوعو ولي نويسنده بهت نشون ميده نه اصلا اونطور نيس،كاملا هم غيرقابل پيش بيني
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3.5 stars.
At times 4 stars, at others 3 (including an ending that had me 'turning page' for the final chapter that just wasn't there).
Like Before I Go To Sleep, this book really must be read without spoilers and I'll help with that by staying general and not giving anything away.
Julia is devastated to hear of her sister's murder in Paris. Though at the same time guiltily relieved - her son Connor is actually her nephew, and her sister Kate was trying to regain custody before her death. Wanting to find out what happened, she uses Kate's online details and logs in to websites her best friend tells her that Kate used to meet men.
But can Julia keep separate her own life from her new online one? And can it help discover her sister's murderer?
It starts slowly but does eventually become tense and twisty. Julia though I found pretty annoying - her decisions aren't sensible, she really does at times 'make her own bed'. One plot twist had me turning back half the book as it didn't actually make sense based on something from earlier.
I didn't find this as good an idea as the author's debut. Much more standard thriller than original concept that you just can't see a way out of.
I did enjoy the thriller elements of this, and guessing the solution to the murder mystery. But like 'Into the Darkest Corner' (a book I loved) the dark elements of certain characters seemed obvious, it seemed crazy that Julia put herself in so many dangerous situations.
And that ending... Too abrupt, very unlike the complete rounding off in his debut, I was very unsatisfied and annoyed.
Still, I can imagine it will be picked up for a film adaptation. But it's not as strong as Watson's debut.
Review of a NetGalley advance copy. -
It's Over
You know how it is. You're a good way into a thriller. It's getting painful. You see holes and implausibilities all over. Even if the protagonist doesn't seem able to break out of the vicious circle she's got herself into, you can. Just quit. Close the book now, and throw it away. But you can't stop. You need to know how it ends. Reading faster and faster, you just have to hang in there until it's over….
Julia is a photographer married to a successful London surgeon. They have a teenage son, Connor. Actually, he is their nephew, not their son, but Julia's younger sister Katie begged them to take him when she herself couldn't cope. Then news comes through that Katie, who lives in Paris, has been murdered. The search for answers takes Julia to Paris, where she bonds with her sister's room-mate, Anna. But it also takes her to internet hookup sites, as Anna admits that Katie might have followed up online encounters with real ones. Soon Julia, hiding behind her sister's password and a false identity, finds herself on a new frontier. And inevitably she crosses it.
Just to make matters worse, Julia is an addictive personality. She is a recovering alcoholic who falls off the wagon once, leaving us constantly in fear that she will do so again. But it becomes clear that she is, has been, or will be subject to other kinds of addiction too, not least in the cyber world. I must say that I am grateful that SJ Watson spares us from pages and pages of chatroom dialogues. Both he and Julia move quickly to face-to-face encounters. After the claustrophobia of his essentially three-character novel,
Before I Go to Sleep, I was glad to see that he opens this one out a lot more, with many more characters and locales. Knowing the kinds of tricks he could play, I anticipated quite a few of the twists here, but by no means all of them.
So I read on. Surely he can get us out of this somehow, and return us to solid ground? Give us something to make us feel that this whole nightmare excursion into second-rate literature has been worthwhile? Alas, I am not convinced that he did. The book ended, certainly. But to wind up such a story you need more than to put in, as the last two words of the book: "…it's over." -
Ratings for this book have been low; no doubt a shock to many - like me - who enjoyed
Before I Go To Sleep and expected something of the same calibre. Early reviews and ratings were enough to make me cancel my pre-order and place a hold at the library instead. I'm glad I did. But before I go into the things I didn't like, it is important to say that there were some good things about this book. It was still a page turner. I flew through it, even with my lack of reading time at the moment. When I set it down I wanted to get back to it to see how the author pulled it all together. So from that perspective, it was an okay enough read.
But, there were far more things I didn't care for. First - the subject matter. It was all a bit dark and sordid. Yes, I did know that from the synopsis, but, you know,
Before I Go To Sleep! The second issue was the lack of characterisation. This didn't bother me so much in BIGTS before she had amnesia, and didn't know who she was. It bothered me here. I don't expect big deep character studies in thrillers, but I do expect the characters to have some personality. Issue three - the writing style. It was incredibly choppy, which was jarring to read. I thought it felt more like a draft than finished copy. Finally; the main character's naïveté around the Internet. She's only 37, that's not that old, and I refuse to believe someone of that age could be so darn idiotic about the Internet. Seriously stupid. It really took me out of the story because I just could not get over what a dumb-arse she was.
So, all in all, it was okay - just. There are better thrillers out there. -
2.5 stars: Fans of BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP might be disappointed in this novel. It’s not the worse thriller I’ve read, but it doesn’t favorably compare to the well-crafted suspense thriller books. In this story, Julia, the narrator is an unlikeable housewife who is married to a fairly decent surgeon and has custody of her sweet 15-year-old nephew. Julia’s sister, Kate, was incapable of raising a child and gave custody to Julia. Kate is murdered in Paris. Julia wants to find her killer. She contacts Kate’s roommate and is drawn into a creepy cyber-sex world.
Julia’s motivations into getting involved in the sinister cyber-sex circle leave her to be a disgusting character. This part of the novel is like watching a bad B-movie where the characters are foolish and repugnant. A fellow Good Reads reviewer said it was a novel that made you want to bath after reading it. Yes, I wanted to disinfect myself, and I also wanted to shout “what are you doing you dimwit!”
Julia makes one bad decision after another. She spirals into stupidity where the reader truly doesn’t care what happens to her. That said, S.J. Watson did get his suspense mojo back during the last third of the novel. The ending was a surprise for me. The last 30 pages are gripping. I can’t recommend it as being a great suspense novel, but it’s not the worse. Perhaps if I didn’t have such high expectations, after enjoying BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP, I would have enjoyed this more. BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP was captivating. This one….meh. -
Una. Dintre. Cele. Mai. Bune. Dumnezeule mare, am citit cartea asta și, vă jur, sfârșitul acela, ah, sfârșitul acela, Doamne, ce chin, ce tortură, ce neeervi, pur și simplu m-a ucis. Mi-am dat seama: îmi place la nebunie de Watson. Îmi place afinitatea sa pentru personajele feminine - pe care, apropos, le creează foarte bine, le conturează cu o măiestrie aparte și cu predilecția unui pictor (eh, să zicem) puțin cam nebun. Dar, drept să vă spun, la cât de nebună este și acțiunea sa (chiar dacă începe puțin cam greoi, pe maniera „hai-să-mai-tragem-de-niște-pagini”), asta nu deranjează prea mult - de fapt, nu deranjează chiar deloc. M-am îndrăgostit de scriitura lui S.J. Watson încă de la primul său roman de debut, apărut tot la Editura Trei, Înainte să adorm (recenzia AICI). Încă de la acel roman am putut observa faptul că autorul dorește, în maniera sa proprie, să dea peste cap cititorul. Să-l minuneze. Să-l facă să țipe. Să-l facă să simtă povestea și să-l integreze în paginile romanului său. Și, da, mi-am dat seama: la Watson, scriitura e alcătuită din existențe, din existențe pe care el, cu talentul său, le integrează în propria sa manieră de a crea. Watson e ca o Cola: toarnă sucul în pahar, iar de-aici, cam cinci sute de pagini, vei simți efervescența acestui suc - a se înțelege, bei sucul dar tot nu reușești să-ți stăpânești setea. Setea de personaje. Setea de acțiune. Setea de NEBUNIE! Oh, da, are Watson dintr-asta cât se poate!
Bun, o să vorbesc puțin și despre roman, dar n-o să dezvălui prea multe din el - ar fi total prostesc. Second life (cât mă bucur că au păstrat titlul inițial - ar fi trebuit să facă asta și pentru Still Alice - Tradus, tot la Editura Trei, Altfel... și totuși Alice) ne spune povestea lui Julie, o mamă devotată, fostă alcoolică, ceva de genul, oricum, un personaj pe care ori îl iubești, ori îl urăști. Cale de mijloc nu prea este, dar să zicem că, la un moment dat, ajungi să oscilezi între aceste două stări. Eu, unul, am ales s-o urăsc undeva pe la mijlocul cărții, să fiu indiferent pe la începutul ei, dar spre sfârșit, vai, spre sfârșit, am simțit toată acea teroare a emoțiilor, acele furnicături din vârful degetelor care țin paginile, n-am putut să fiu indiferent în continuare, n-am putut s-o urăsc, i-am dat creditul meu, am susținut-o, am trăit lângă ea și i-am simțit inima bătând undeva odată cu paginile care îmi ștergeau degetele pline de transpirație - metaforic, zic. Bun. Un dezechilibru al vieții ei deja dezechilibrate se produce în momentul în care află că sora ei, Kate, din Paris, a fost ucisă brutal în mijlocul nopții, undeva pe o stradă. Bum! Iar, de aici, fraților, începe nebunia. Cum ar fi de așteptat - deși Julie nu are tocmai cel mai dezvoltat spirit justițiar - ea pleacă la Paris, regulat, întorcându-se înapoi acasă de fiecare dată, la Londra. Toate bune și frumoase, caută ea ceva piste, mai speculează, mai se plânge de poliție că nu face nimic, pam, vorbește cu Anna, prietena cea mai bună a lui Kate. Anna este personajul cheie - care, de asemenea, la un moment dat devine „personajul-lacăt” (o să vedeți voi de ce). De la Anna, Julie află că sora ei nu era tocmai așa cum credea ea că este, ci că avea unele fetișuri - să le zic - bizare, întâlnindu-se cu străinii de pe internet, de pe diferite site-uri de socializare, doar pentru interesuri sexuale (zic doar, pentru că de cele mai multe ori astfel de întâlniri nu mergeau mai încolo de plăcerea trupească). Buuuun! Și acțiunea pornește în momentul în care Julie află parola unui cont de socializare pe care obișnuia Kate să-și petreacă timpul, intră, caută, cercetează și, hopa, este contactată de un necunoscut. Crezând că el ar putea fi eventualul ucigaș, intră în vorbă cu el. Și, astfel, se prinde într-o horă nebunească în care trebuie să joace până când va fi amețit de tot, riscându-și propria viață.
(...) Dar n-am primit niciun mesaj; nu s-a răzgândit, și nu sunt dezamăgită. Simt că viața mea a căpătat un fel de elasticitate; viitorul e necunoscut, dar pare maleabil, flexibil. A devenit mlădios, de unde până acum părea dur și rigid ca sticla.”
Viața lui Julie devine alta. Atrasă din ce în ce mai mult de acel necunoscut, ea ajunge să-și facă propriul profil, își schimbă numele, trecutul, și, astfel, întreaga ei viață își uită rădăcinile. Nu mai are soț. Nu mai are copil. Nu mai are prieteni. Însă, are o soră moartă a cărei răzbunare caută să fie împlinită. Julie intră în tangență cu străinul. Julie se simte atrasă de el. Julie face sex cu el, da, și-am putea crede că totul pornește nu doar din nevoia de a-l găsi pe ucigașul surorii ei ci, din câte și autorul notează (din vocea subiectivă a lui Julie), din dorința ei de a se simți dorită, iubită, de a se simți femeie: „În curând o să mă întorc acasă - înapoi la viața mea adevărată, la Hugh, la Connor, la Adrienne și la Anna, înapoi la viața fără sora mea -, dar poate dacă am să fac asta înainte, o să fie diferit. Durerea pierderii ei nu va fi dispărut, dar se va fi domolit. Nu-mi va mai păsa atât de mult că încă e liber cel care i-a luat viața. Ci o să mă gândesc la aceste clipe, când totul e atât de viu și de necomplicat, când toată durerea și regretele s-au domolit, s-au comprimat și s-au transformat în această unică nevoie, în această unică dorință. El cu mine, eu cu el. Dacă mă culc din nou cu el, măcar voi mai trăi încă un scurt moment în care nu mai există nici trecut, nici viitor, și pe lume nu mai există nimic în afară de noi - va fi un scurt moment de liniște.” Ea a vrut să scape, să evadeze, prea o apăsau toate. Acum a mai venit și moartea surorii ei. Copilul. Soțul. Serviciul. Programul de dezintoxicare. Prea multe, iar salvarea a găsit-o în acel străin care începe s-o obsedeze până aproape de epuizare. Își găsește refugiul în brațele acestui străin care, deopotrivă, chiar pare că ține la ea, chiar pare că o iubește și vreau s-o ajute. Dar știm noi, dragă Julie, aparențele înșală destul de des.
„Cât de mult s-au schimbat lucrurile de atunci.
Dar știu că povestea asta trebuie să se termine. Uneori, mă gândesc la momentul când ne vom despărți, o dată pentru totdeauna, și mă întreb dacă voi reuși să trec peste asta. Și totuși, trebuie să ne despărțim, relația mea cu Lukas nu poate avea un final fericit. Sunt căsătorită. Sunt mamă. Îmi iubesc soțul și fiul, și nu pot avea totul.”
Ca o paranteză, Lukas este numele străinului care apare în viața ei. Vă mai pot spune că acțiunea este pur și simplu plină de întorsături de situație, este alertă, este un knock-out, te intrigă, te dă la o parte, curge de la sine și nu știi în ce direcții o ea, intrigi, secrete, minciuni, pur și simplu nu ai cum să nu trăiești toată acea încordare a ceea ce se întâmplă. Vă spun, nu puține au fost momentele în care am exclamat „Cum dumnezeu?”, „Omg”, „Ceeee?”, „Wut”, „Nu e posibil”. Cred că geniul lui Watson își trage firele din faptul că, pe cuvânt, NU poți anticipa cum are să se întâmple totul. Ce-i drept, la un moment dat ai senzația că știi unde se îndreaptă totul, cobești, oh, da, ai satisfacția învingătorului, doar pentru ca mai târziu să rămâi cu buza umflată și să-ți dai seama că n-aveai, nici pe jumătate, dreptate. Îmi place, îmi place, abia aștept să mai citesc ceva scris de el. Prea bine-i iese. Un thriller fascinant, l-am citit cu o plăcere covârșitoare și n-aș fi vrut să se termine vreodată. Una dintre cele mai bune cărți - pot s-o zic de pe acum - citite anul acesta. Vaaaai! Abia aștept o altă carte scrisă de el. Abia aștept!
