Nine-year-old Louis Drax is a problem child: bright, precocious, deceitful, and dangerously, disturbingly, accident prone. When he falls off a cliff into a ravine, the accident seems almost predestined. Louis miraculously survives - but the family has been shattered. Louis' father has vanished, his mother is paralysed by shock, and Louis lies in a deep coma from which he may never emerge. In a clinic in Provence, Dr Pascal Dannachet tries to coax Louis back to consciousness. But the boy defies medical logic, startling Dannachet out of his safe preconceptions, and drawing him inexorably into the dark heart of Louis' buried world. Only Louis holds the key to the mystery surrounding his fall - and he can't communicate. Or can he?
The Ninth Life of Louis Drax
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Review
‘A wonderfully unsettling psychological thriller … An oddly beautiful journey into the darkest corners of the human soul’ -- Mail on Sunday
‘Cunning and compelling …brilliant’ -- Daily Mirror
‘Emotionally compelling, morally fascinating … breathtaking. It has more suspense than many thrillers’ -- Independent on Sunday
‘Extraordinary … a magnetic read that will delight and disturb’ -- Daily Mail
‘Shocking, moving and beautifully written, it is an extraordinary novel about family mystery and medical marvels’ -- Image
‘Cunning and compelling …brilliant’ -- Daily Mirror
‘Emotionally compelling, morally fascinating … breathtaking. It has more suspense than many thrillers’ -- Independent on Sunday
‘Extraordinary … a magnetic read that will delight and disturb’ -- Daily Mail
‘Shocking, moving and beautifully written, it is an extraordinary novel about family mystery and medical marvels’ -- Image
From the Publisher
A spellbinding tale about what the human heart can inflict and the mind endure , this is selected for BBC Page Turners hosted by Jeremy Vine, April 2005
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Caneroad
Format:Paperback
Last year, I purchased a copy of "The Rapture" because I was quite intrigued by some of the comments on the back cover of the book. It turned out to be a gripping read . Indeed such was the excellent impression left on me by that novel that the other day, when I saw " The Ninth Life Of Louis Drax " being displayed among other books, in a shop window, I immediately picked it up when I saw that it was written by Liz Jensen , the author of the "Rapture".
This one is a wonderful little mystery, with an unusual plot, very skilfully and patiently constructed, with each short section adding on a little bit to the suspence and building up all the way to the final sections, all contributing to a most unexpected ending and a brilliantly realised climax.
Louis is a precocious nine-year old boy, who is accident-prone. While picnicking with his parents, he suffers a near-fatal accident by falling off a cliff into a ravine and goes into a deep coma. Taken to a special clinic in Provence, France, he is looked after by Dr Dannachet, who tries to bring Louis back to health, but the challenges , including those intrinsic to the patient's own dream-like state, and those emanating from others in the external environment , are daunting , and there is absolutely no time to spare.
The first fifty pages or so of the narration could prove to be abit of a struggle for some "impatient" readers, like myself , but one should persevere with the unfolding story as the pace soon picks up and the book truly becomes difficult to put down after a little while.
This one is a wonderful little mystery, with an unusual plot, very skilfully and patiently constructed, with each short section adding on a little bit to the suspence and building up all the way to the final sections, all contributing to a most unexpected ending and a brilliantly realised climax.
Louis is a precocious nine-year old boy, who is accident-prone. While picnicking with his parents, he suffers a near-fatal accident by falling off a cliff into a ravine and goes into a deep coma. Taken to a special clinic in Provence, France, he is looked after by Dr Dannachet, who tries to bring Louis back to health, but the challenges , including those intrinsic to the patient's own dream-like state, and those emanating from others in the external environment , are daunting , and there is absolutely no time to spare.
The first fifty pages or so of the narration could prove to be abit of a struggle for some "impatient" readers, like myself , but one should persevere with the unfolding story as the pace soon picks up and the book truly becomes difficult to put down after a little while.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Secret Spi
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition
This is a very original and gripping psychological thriller about a nine-year-old boy in a coma, his family and the doctor who tries to bring Louis back into a normal state of consciousness.
This book covers a multitude of themes, from the nature of parental love and a child's bonds and relationships with his parents, states of consciousness, the capacity of the human brain and the human heart, the soul, free will and determinism and more. All of this is against a context of very well-drawn characters and a wonderfully authentic atmosphere of a time of heat and forest fires in France.
The way that the author uses - rather than " to designate speech (and other forms of communication) needs getting used to, but it is clear that there is a good reason for this device.
The sections written in Louis' voice are exceptional - the child is angel and devil in one, but human above all.
I will be looking out for other books by this author.
This book covers a multitude of themes, from the nature of parental love and a child's bonds and relationships with his parents, states of consciousness, the capacity of the human brain and the human heart, the soul, free will and determinism and more. All of this is against a context of very well-drawn characters and a wonderfully authentic atmosphere of a time of heat and forest fires in France.
The way that the author uses - rather than " to designate speech (and other forms of communication) needs getting used to, but it is clear that there is a good reason for this device.
The sections written in Louis' voice are exceptional - the child is angel and devil in one, but human above all.
I will be looking out for other books by this author.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the best literary thrillers I have read. Sparse and atmospheric, Liz Jensen has the nerve to hold suspense longer than most authors, yet at the same time evoke the very real confusion of the human heart. Her concept is one that immediately appeals. A precocious young boy is in a coma after a family cliff top accident. His mother finds the one doctor in France who might have the expertise to cure him, but with the cure will come stories perhaps better left secret.
In the hands of film director Anthony Minghella I expect Louis Drax will become a thought-provoking movie.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A little predictable
I bought this for my Kindle as it was on special offer.
It is one of those books which kind of drops you right in, with little explanation of character or events. Read more
It is one of those books which kind of drops you right in, with little explanation of character or events. Read more
Published 15 days ago by FiggyB
5.0 out of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Great story - weird and intriguing characters. The main character is Louis - a damaged child who tells half of the story whilst he is in a coma. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Mrs. J. Marsh
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping
A strange book, in a good way. Part thriller, part psychological mystery, with supernatural elements, there is very little one can say about it without giving too much away, read... Read more
Published 18 days ago by A. E. Williams
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting story but a bit slow to get going
This was a clever and unusual story, with a mystery to work out, and I enjoyed it once I got into it, but I found it a bit slow at first.
Published 19 days ago by Christine W
3.0 out of 5 stars
I wasn't sure
It was a very slow start, and I put down the book for about a month after I started before finally pushing myself to finish it off. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jess
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky but good
Interesting book . Child in coma and the mystery of that and his story unfolds through the people caring for him.
Published 1 month ago by A. Hunter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely
Page turner beautifully written
Finished too soon was my only criticism
Would recommend for commuters you really get absorbed in it
Finished too soon was my only criticism
Would recommend for commuters you really get absorbed in it
Published 1 month ago by Aisha Regan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unusual
Weil written readable book. The storyline is unusual, I found it an absorbing read that really took me to the place where it was set
Published 1 month ago by Merril N Kebbell
5.0 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book
Excellent writing style and story line. Loved this book, definitely one of the best I've read in a long time.
Published 1 month ago by lauren_o
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unusual story
I enjoyed this book. It is very different from many of the books that I have read. The psychology of the human mind is explored. It has a very strong French feel to it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Peter
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