The Ninth Life Of Louis Drax (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
The opening line draws you in on the instant' I'm not most kids. I'm Louis Drax. Stuff happens to me that shouldn't happen, like going on a picnic where you drown 'Such an opening could, I suppose, head off in a number of different directions. Downwards to cliched cleverness, upwards to bizarre stratospheric confusion, meander around the foothills in which wood and trees get totally indistinguishable or settle into a mixture of all three and from that melee produce a really fascinating reflection on universal questions such as the way appearances can deceive, the pros and cons of sacrificial love, the demands and responsibilities inherent in parenthood, the sinister effects cloying vulnerability and artificial neediness can have on relationship and the brutal actions some will take in order to survive at any cost.This was an incredibly ferocious book; one of those in which it was difficult to settle down in to a comfortable place because everytime you did so another strand holding you attached to 'normal' and 'predictable' snapped and you swayed ever more confusedly over a big dark drop.The basic plot is of a boy who is in a coma brought about as a result of an horrendous fall. This fall may have been an accident but more likely the result of horribly foul play. Was it the act of spur of the moment madness or a long-term journey of cruel intentional planning. The story is a mixture of the gradual answering of this question, the slow revelation of the real character of the parents, the uncovering of the hurt and harm done to various characters on the periphery of the story and the wreckages of relationship and friendship left in the wake of the action's passing.We hear the story from two first person narrators. The doctor in charge of the comatose Louis and, ingeniously, from inside the labyrinthine mind of the boy himself. The dark nature of one of the main characters is chilling and shocking, the extraordinary lengths to which they go to flourish in their own warped way is truly unsettling but the honest way in which other mistakes and presumptions and obsessions are examined is strangely hopefilled. This is a really powerful book, one which will definitely bear re-reading because now the truth of the history is clear it enables the reader to address more honestly the questions it may have thrown up but which were submerged in the mists and fogs of claim and counterclaim, theory and fable. Well I have just re-read it. And thought i would let you all know; it is definitely worth a re-read. 17:iv:13
If you like Chuck Palahniuk's style, you should definitely give Liz Jensen a try. In this book, there are two narrators, each with a really distinctive voice. Louis is a disturbed 9-year-old boy who has fallen (or was he pushed?) off a cliff on his 9th birthday while on a picnic with his estranged parents. His father goes missing the same afternoon and Louis dies, but comes back to life and introduces himself to the reader while in a coma. He also likes to tack explanatory phrases onto the ends of sentences. I was laughing out loud at some of the things Louis says, like when he's explaining how you're allowed to squash your hamster with a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix if he's lived two years, or quoting his mother talking about how manipulating your son is the WORST THING A MOTHER CAN DO (talking about her husband and his mother). The other narrator is Dr. Danachet, who works at the Hospital for the Incurables and is in charge of caring for Louis while in the coma. Danachet is a good guy, but is tempted away from his wife by the lovely Mrs. Drax. Because the doctor only meets Louis and his mother after the boy has fallen off a cliff, he is an impartial witness/investigator when it comes to sorting out why Louis is so messed up and how he ended up falling off the cliff.This book starts out odd and just gets weirder as it goes along. There are elements of the supernatural that push the boundaries of reality. I suppose people *could* communicate in dreams, come back from the dead, etc., so I won't call this a fantasy. But it is one of those books that had me picking up another by the same author right away.
What do You think about The Ninth Life Of Louis Drax (2006)?
This was one of those books with a lot of characters I couldn't stand, who did things I was constantly rolling my eyes at. I often thought about quitting the book because the main characters were so frustrating. The doctor, Pascal, was supposed to be sympathetic but instead just came across as a complete idiot, especially when it comes to women. The title character Louis wasn't exactly sympathetic hisself, but still interesting enough to want to delve deeper into. Louis Drax's mother was awful from the very beginning, and the romance between her and Pascal was so mind-bogglingly cliche and ill-conceived I had to rush through those passages. However, without giving too much away, I will say that the writing kept me going - even though I hated everyone I was reading about - and I'm glad I didn't quit. The last 30% of the book I flew through, and it revealed many things I suspected. The ending was incredibly well done and satisfying, and I feel like the author did all of the characters justice in the end. Even the stupid ones. Like Dr. Pascal. God, I hated him.
—Emily Timbol
…the boy came back to life, two hours after being pronounced officially dead. I’m never been a fan of this genre in a book. I mean NEVER.Not until I was reading my Glamour Magazine. There’s an interview there, of Jamie Dornan & Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey) and there’s a ‘On Their Future’ thingy and Jamie answered “I’m filming The9th Life of Louis Drax.” So yeah! I got curious and I found out its based on a book… *grin*(Glamour 2015 Pg. 275)It was so good! Few days after I finished reading it, I’m still ‘feeling’ it. It was a BOOK HUNGOVER. *thumbs up*It kept me up all night, I finished it past midnight… *MC’s Corner*Note: Spoilers.•tFirst, thanks to this book I think I’m going to start reading books with this kind of genre. I’m kinda excited, I don’t know why.•tIt was a slow paced with alternating point of view of Louis Drax & Dr. Pascal Dannachet. It wasn’t always on the same timeline. Sometimes Louis is on the present sometimes he’s just recalling his past. I kinda love how it was written. I love the interview style of telling a story.•tAt first I thought this book is some sort of paranormal-thingy. But then the story goes on… I realized it’s mostly a ‘fantasy’ that a nine year old boy came up. I really didn’t know what to think then. •tLiz Jensen captured the spirit of a nine year old boy. It was just amazing. I love it everytime Louis parts come up.•tThere are some scenes that are so predictable. But you know what? It makes it even greater. Then I have this feeling that I-know-what-is-going-to-happen-next but still feeling the mystery that I still want and trying to solve.•tI love the way it ended. It’s just perfect!t@gleekidMC
—★MC's Corner★
I've seen this book around throughout the years but never read it, obviously. When I heard the movie was in production, it made it even more interesting to me so I had to give it a go (the fact that Jamie Dornan will be a lead role is purely a bonus). I finished it last night but had to sleep on my thoughts before writing my final review this afternoon. Take The Shining, The Sixth Sense, Insidious, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and roll it into a big, old ball.. voila! You now have Louis
—Elizabeth Antoinette
