The Ninth Life of Louis Drax

I was anticipating a much stronger fantasy/magical realist element here. Blurb talks about a boy who survives eight major accidents, one for each year of his life, and on his ninth birthday falls off a cliff and into a coma. While in the coma he encounters a mysterious figure inside his head. While none of that description is inaccurate, the explanation in the novel is out of the realm of the literary crime/psychological thriller genre rather than the fantasy/supernatural genre.

While I feel somewhat misled, therefore, the novel was still an acceptable read. None of the characters - the mother Natalie Drax, the father Pierre Drax, the coma expert Dr. Dannachet - are quite what they appear to be when first introduced, and as the story show more unfolds it takes some disturbing turns. Ironically, the "major reveal" comes about near the end of the novel through a supernatural device that by that point felt a bit forced and out of place, and the book takes an odd though brief turn into philosophizing about the innate nature of women that had me cocking an eyebrow quizzically. show less

I didn't realize the movie was based on a book, so I picked up the book to read before seeing the movie. Now I wonder if this might be one of those exceptions to my "book first" rule: my reading experience would've been improved had I watched the movie first?

Two narrators: one is nine-year-old Louis and the other Louis' doctor. Having read and watched (way too much) true crime, my first and only suspicion of the truth behind Louis' accidents was spot-on. After a few chapters and the introduction of Natalie through both Louis' and Dr. Dannachet's narration, it becomes even more obvious.

So I'd recommend readers approach The Ninth Life of Louis Drax as a character study - the power of parents, the damage that lies cause, mental illness - show more rather than a page-turning thriller.

3 stars

"You plant a seed thinking it's love. It's only when the thing starts putting down roots that you realise it's not growing the way it should. But by then it's too late. It has sprouted foliage, blossomed and borne demented fruit.
What do you do with the sickness in you?" show less

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax appears, at the beginning, to be about the boy of the title, an accident-prone nine-year-old. But as the book develops, it turns out to be more about the peripheral characters - and particularly young Louis' mother, a frail beauty who arouses pity in the various medical professionals who are looking after her son.

Like Jensen's other books, this conceals serious and even disturbing subject matter under a veil of slightly wacky humour. This time, though, I found it much easier to predict the twists, and perhaps as a result the book was less moving or effective than other ones that I have read, such as "War Crimes For The Home".

The title, The Ninth Life of Louis Drax is deceiving. Initially you think it is about a boy that is so accident prone that he has finally done himself in and is now in a lifelong coma. However, this really is about a psychological game played among the characters in this book at the expense of a child.

Narrated by a nine year old, obviously disturbed, Louis Drax this book had me hooked from the first chapter. Louis is a small part of this story; it is the people and the secrets that surround Louis, which pull the story along. His mother, who hates him and loves him at the same time; His father, who wants to protect him; and his doctor who wants to reach him through telepathic communication.

The circumstances that lead up to Louis being in show more a coma are heartbreaking. Yes, I did figure out the plot twists, but it did not take away from the story telling. This is a quick read and a good psychological story taken to a different level.

Recommended show less

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen was published in 2004. It was Jensen’s fifth novel.

Louis Drax is an accident prone boy. Ever since he was a baby he has been involved in more than his fair share of near fatal accidents. But so far they have all been just that, ‘nearly’ but not wholly ‘fatal’. On his ninth birthday, however, things may change for the worse. Louis may never come out alive from this ‘accident’.

The story is narrated by two of the central characters, the protagonist Louis Drax and his physician Dr. Dannachet. Louis’ narration includes snippets from his past life and a vision of his inner world. Dr. Dannachet’s narrative deals with the present.

Louis’ voice I found to be less than convincing. He show more does not sound or act like a nine year old, gifted or otherwise. But his narrative is interesting. Especially as his memories very slowly reveal an extremely disturbed past, a past which gives clues to his present state. Dr. Dannachet’s narration was good too.

The narrative is fast paced. I found myself totally engrossed with it from the word go and finished it pretty quickly.

Most of the male characters do not understand the reality of the situation until it’s almost too late. I found their blindness disconcerting. All the women on the other hand catch on to the truth pretty fast. The detective in charge Stephanie Charvillefort, Louis’ grandmother Lucille and his aunt are all almost wholly aware of the truth but have a tough time proving anything.

Why on earth does Dr. Dannachet fall in love with the frigid Natalie Drax? She is abnormally hostile and unfriendly. Just because she has a ‘perfectly oval shaped face’? Or is it because she seems so fragile? It was really irritating to see him acting like a fool around her.

The character of Natalie Drax is complicated. As we see her mostly from the point of view of a young child and a man obsessed with her, I had a difficult time understanding her. Is she really as black or white as she seems or is there something more behind it all?

Dr. Dannachet annoyed me but with all his faults he felt real. Pierre Drax is a character I genuinely felt sorry for. His ultimate fate bothered me. The character of Marcel Perez surprised me.

Liz Jensen is a capable writer. She handles this extremely disturbing story well.

Jensen makes it all feel real without making it all gloomy or ghoulish. I could feel Dr. Dannachet’s exhaustion, the stifling summer heat and the threat of forest fires looming over the clinic. Like when Dr. Dannachet describes his obsession with Natalie it feels real,

“A mixture of feelings- love, distaste, revulsion, pity- rose in my throat…There was an eternity to that moment, that see-sawing split- second when adoration clung and then lurched, spilling into chaos, rage, hate, anger: the desire to smash and embrace, love and destroy. Betrayal does that…Shows you how worthless love is, when its object is indifferent, ruthless, no more than a machine for surviving.”

I didn’t really like the author using the word ‘bla bla bla’ a large number of times. It was sort of irritating.

The final twist I saw coming for some time. It is not really original but that doesn’t really take away much from the story.

The book is not that long which is a good thing. I think if it were any longer the story would have felt drawn out and tedious. A quick resolution is the best thing about a book of this genre.

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax is one strange story. What happens in the story is not wholly un-guessable but whatever it is, it is twisted. Overall, this is an enjoyable psychological thriller. show less

Louis Drax is a very accident prone boy. One day, during a picnic by a cliff with his mother and father, he plunges over the edge into a ravine and ends up in a coma. His mother is quite hysterical and his father has disappeared. Enter Dr Dannachet who works at a hospital that cares for people who are in comas.

This is an intriguing book based on a clever idea. I wouldn't have thought of it as a psychological thriller, as one of the quotes on the back of the book proclaims, but I suppose it sort of fits into that category. I liked parts of it, but other parts I just found a little bit tedious. It's a short book and it didn't take me long to read, but it felt like a long time when I was reading parts of it.

It's not the first of Liz show more Jensen's books that I have not fully engaged with, and so I think maybe she's not a writer for me. It's set in France, and has the slightly stilted feel of a translation, but it's not. Also, if you don't like a lack of speech marks then this isn't for you, as all it has is a dash to show somebody is speaking, but nothing to show that they have stopped.

Fairly accomplished writing, but needs characters that the reader can engage with and relate to, and less rambling. show less

I struggled with the first chapter of The Ninth Life Of Louis Drax. It's narrated by the book's eponymous hero, a precocious and disturbed nine year old, the kind of kid you get stuck behind on a long bus trip and soon start praying for the driver to steer you all over a cliff. Books narrated by kids either grab me immediately because I empathise with the protagonist's voice (The Wasp Factory, Black Swan Green, The Wrong Boy) or make me want to feed the authors typing fingers into a mangle (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time). There was a moment here when I worried Louis Drax was going to fall into the latter category... but then something else happened. A second protagonist turned up: Dr. Pascal Dannachet. Dr. D saved show more the book.

Read the full review at my blog. show less