Liz Jensen - The Ninth Life of Louis Drax - Book Review

I didn't know what to expect from this book, I must confess to never having read any of Liz Jensen's work before this one. What I found was an exciting, enthralling, quirky, shocking, deeply disturbing, psychological thriller. The novel is set in France and there are two narratives that make up what proves to be a very well structured novel. The first narrative is from the point of view of a nine-year-old boy, named Louis Drax and the second is told by Dr Dannachet whose job it is to discover the secrets of Louis' strange illness. The narrative are seamlessly integrated but are also distinctly different. I must also add the Jensen handles the male narrative with great skill, it is only in writing this review that I realise the author was in fact a woman, dispelling all myths that authors of one sex cannot narrate from the perspective of the other sex.

The novel tackles many contentious issues involving; the family, mental health, spirituality, translocation, love, passion and many more. Jensen is a sensitive and believable author, who doesn't fail to entertain, she uses the cliff-hanger device most effective. The narrative is switched just as the reader feels there is going to be a resolution to a particular plot-line. The only real fault with the novel is that it was a little predictable, the plot twist certainly did not surprise me, indeed it seemed the only reasonable explanation, which may not be a bad thing - why should endings shock us? Better to let a story end naturally? Perhaps.

Due to the troubled young boy narrative this book is bound to be compared to 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' and I believe it compares favorably. As such I give The Ninth Life of Louis Drax a Great Book Guide score of 84% - I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing.