The Ninth Life of Louis Drax

Louis is a young boy prone to tragedy. He ends up falling off of a cliff at a picnic with his mother and father, and his father disappears. Louis is placed in a coma care facility run by a doctor trying to figure out how to wake up all of his patients. His mother is traumatised by the whole affair, and the doctor gets drawn into their lives. We get to hear things from the dream like perspective of Louis, filtered through his childish understanding. This was a neat book, lots of twists and turns and a bit of magical realism thrown in as well

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

Gripping read, but the ending fell a bit short of my expectations. Interesting premise, but there was a lack of tightness to the story in the end

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

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