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 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.

( )

Freezer book. ( )

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 ( )

'Ik ben niet zoals andere kinderen. Dingen overkomen mij die niet zouden moeten gebeuren, zoals gaan picknicken en dan verzuipen. 'Zo begint het levensverhaal van de negen jaar oude Louis Drax: een jongetje dat even slim als onbetrouwbaar is, met een neiging ongelukken te krijgen.
Wanneer hij van een klif valt lijkt ook dat een ongeluk te zijn. Louis overleeft dat weliswaar, maar belandt in een diep coma. De familie is verscheurd. Zijn vader verdwijnt, zijn moeder is geheel verstijfd door de schok.
Aan dokter Dannachet de taak hem bij bewustzijn te brengen. maar Louis heeft zijn eigen gedachtewereld om zich heen gebouwd, een wereld waarin hij veilig is en zichzelf kan zijn. En hij is niet van plan deze wereld te verlaten.

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 - 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?" ( )