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psychobillygrrl 's review for:
The Ninth Life of Louis Drax
by Liz Jensen
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 [b:Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|2|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)|J.K. Rowling|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MH9T1MTGL._SL75_.jpg|2809203] 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.
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.