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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
I’d like to give it 3.5... it’s a strange but compelling little thing. It’s like Louis himself, full of secrets and weird reveals. But I did enjoy parts of it immensely, I just wanted it to be just a wee bit more developed.
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 Drax.
A mysterious nine year old boy who seems to keep cheating death, and winds up in a coma after a near fatal fall, makes for a peculiar plot. No one in his life is particularly likable, so just be cautious of everyone. Even Louis himself is a brat, and pretty cynical for a child. His mother craves attention from the very get-go and plays the irresistible damsel in distress that men can't help but fall for. Pierre Drax is a doting father, but when you find out he left his first wife while they went through the process of adoption in order to be with Madame Drax, he loses cool points. Lastly, there's Doctor Pascal (who will be portrayed by Dornan in the film adaptation) is slightly despicable. A married man with two grown daughters, It's wonderful to see how he takes solace in helping his pediatric coma patients, but it's far less wonderful when he's immediately attracted to Madame Drax and having an affair with her in the hospital where her son attempts recovery.
Throughout this story, you get the perspective of the doctor and of Louis while he's under. Pascal struggles with his emotions and with finding a breakthrough in the child's condition. During Louis's perspective, things get a bit more creepy. We meet Gustave, a man covered in bandages who is skin-and-bones, who walks Louis through a forest area of the subconscious and gives him things to do between the living and the dead.
Some of this story can only be explained as unbelievable. I wasn't buying it when Doctor Pascal was head-over-heels in love with Louis's mother within such a short time. In one chapter, he discusses his adoration for his wife, Sophie, and the next, he's kissing Natalie Drax in the corridor of a hospital. There's also a scene towards the end when seemingly out of nowhere there's this massive fire and the whole hospital has to be evacuated. There's chaos and people die, and I was left wondering what I just read.
The reason I gave this book the four stars was because of the experiment Pascal runs with the help of others to try to find out Louis's story and lure him out of his coma. This is where the novel got a bit of a Frankenstein feel to it, connecting the doctor to the patient and asking the patient questions that would be answered through the doctor. It gave this work an interesting twist and made it the psychological thriller it deserves to be.
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 Drax.
A mysterious nine year old boy who seems to keep cheating death, and winds up in a coma after a near fatal fall, makes for a peculiar plot. No one in his life is particularly likable, so just be cautious of everyone. Even Louis himself is a brat, and pretty cynical for a child. His mother craves attention from the very get-go and plays the irresistible damsel in distress that men can't help but fall for. Pierre Drax is a doting father, but when you find out he left his first wife while they went through the process of adoption in order to be with Madame Drax, he loses cool points. Lastly, there's Doctor Pascal (who will be portrayed by Dornan in the film adaptation) is slightly despicable. A married man with two grown daughters, It's wonderful to see how he takes solace in helping his pediatric coma patients, but it's far less wonderful when he's immediately attracted to Madame Drax and having an affair with her in the hospital where her son attempts recovery.
Throughout this story, you get the perspective of the doctor and of Louis while he's under. Pascal struggles with his emotions and with finding a breakthrough in the child's condition. During Louis's perspective, things get a bit more creepy. We meet Gustave, a man covered in bandages who is skin-and-bones, who walks Louis through a forest area of the subconscious and gives him things to do between the living and the dead.
Some of this story can only be explained as unbelievable. I wasn't buying it when Doctor Pascal was head-over-heels in love with Louis's mother within such a short time. In one chapter, he discusses his adoration for his wife, Sophie, and the next, he's kissing Natalie Drax in the corridor of a hospital. There's also a scene towards the end when seemingly out of nowhere there's this massive fire and the whole hospital has to be evacuated. There's chaos and people die, and I was left wondering what I just read.
The reason I gave this book the four stars was because of the experiment Pascal runs with the help of others to try to find out Louis's story and lure him out of his coma. This is where the novel got a bit of a Frankenstein feel to it, connecting the doctor to the patient and asking the patient questions that would be answered through the doctor. It gave this work an interesting twist and made it the psychological thriller it deserves to be.
Such a haunting tale that really keeps the sense of the surreal wrapped around the reader even as the perspective shifts between the doctor's and Louis'. Loved the setting - the way the hospital was described and set up; even with the doctor's perspective of a place he is so familiar with, the reader still gets the impression of stark white walls and sterility. The ending was so well-done; the mounting dread and horror as realization sets in, the reveal of clue after clue, and the climax of the story itself was paced smoothly and set at just the right length for best maintaining the tension.
This is exactly what I was saying in a youtube video... One of those books that spoil the pleasure of reading. God awful.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
I’m very conflicted by this book. I chose it from my TBR shelf on the basis that it’s quite short (just over 200 pages) and so would be a good start on my aim to reduce the book backlog on my shelves. I expected to finish it in a couple of sittings, instead I’ve been largely not reading it for four days. It’s not that it’s a bad story, but I just didn’t find it as engaging as I thought I would. For a short novel the storyline dragged quite a bit, taking some time to deliver the clues about what was really going on.
Louis is a precocious nine-year-old who we mostly see through his coma-locked memories and dreams. His thought processes aren’t particularly linear and are quite sinister at times, especially his theory of the right of disposal, that if he keeps his hamster alive for more than a year or two he has the right as the owner to then kill the creature.
We also see the perspective of his doctor Pascal. He’s not a particularly sympathetic character given the way he treats his wife and falls for Louis’s mother within about 10 minutes of meeting her.
The basic plot is reasonable. If you’ve watched/read any medical dramas in the past you’ll guess what actually happened quite quickly. The slightly otherworldly aspect of Louis’s coma thinking and how Pascal engages with him could have made for a stronger story, but it us dealt with in a very light touch and then all wrapped up in the final resolution in a very short space of time.
A slightly disappointing start to my 2022 reading.
Read this book as I saw they're making it into a movie and it sounded interesting. The book is relatively short mystery and a quick read. While they're marketing the movie as "supernatural," there's only a small part of the book which could fit that category. It keeps you wondering until almost the end; if you've got your thinking cap on you can guess the answer, but not right away. I believe it was originally written in French, and as such, there are a handful of phrases which don't translate well, but you'll get the idea.
The writing is sharp and I didn't lose interest in the story. Louis' narration is compelling and his chapters are very strong, and if the book focused on him more, I'd've probably rated it more highly.
Unfortunately, the behaviour of almost every character hinges on accepting that Natalie is irresistibly attractive, despite her constant hysteria, obviously suspicious behaviour, grief and defensiveness. I didn't find that angle - or the related actions of other characters - believable at all.
I also personally don't agree with the social philosophising in the final chapter, but maybe that's just me.
Unfortunately, the behaviour of almost every character hinges on accepting that Natalie is irresistibly attractive, despite her constant hysteria, obviously suspicious behaviour, grief and defensiveness. I didn't find that angle - or the related actions of other characters - believable at all.
I also personally don't agree with the social philosophising in the final chapter, but maybe that's just me.
When I saw this book had been made into a movie to be released in September, I had to read it.
The writing from the perspective of both Louis and Pascal was intriguing, and I couldn't put the book down. Louis' perspective especially had me hooked, trying to figure out his unique way of thinking.
I found myself rooting for certain characters while wishing others' sins would be brought to light. I was wrapped up in the suspense. An excellent read, and I would recommend to read it before the film comes out.
The writing from the perspective of both Louis and Pascal was intriguing, and I couldn't put the book down. Louis' perspective especially had me hooked, trying to figure out his unique way of thinking.
I found myself rooting for certain characters while wishing others' sins would be brought to light. I was wrapped up in the suspense. An excellent read, and I would recommend to read it before the film comes out.
The story felt haphazard and the characters two-dimensional and dull.