I really enjoy Liz Jensen's books; really quirky, all different and this one is no different. Louis Drax is a nine year old "difficult" child. He has had several life changing experiences in his short life, he has been seeing a shrink, his mother and father love him dearly. And then, on a family day out, he has a bad accident and is left in a coma.
I am not telling you anything here that you won't find out from the back cover of the paperback, but there is so much more to the story that is revealed slowly over the 220 odd pages. The voice of Louis - a rather naughty wee boy who is called "Whacko Boy" at school where he has no friends, and who sees a therapist on a regular basis. It is clear that he as problems, but he is unwilling or unable to reveal all to his therapist, so we have little clue at the beginning what the problem might be. But very shortly the voice of a new character, Doctor Dannachet arrives, the doctor at the clinic where Louis has been transferred. The clinic has some success rate with patients who have been comatose for long periods, we hope that Dannachet will do the same for Louis. Maybe he will be lucky? But circumstances surrounding Louis' accident, and the people involved in his life have several different points of view, and all of them build a picture of the real Louis.
Brilliant read - a "couldn't put it down" kind of book that I enjoyed immensely. The cover I have is not the one shown below, which I don't like at all. For some reason the publishers changed the original to one that whilst eye-catching, does not really capture the heart of the book. Oh well, can't have it all. Certainly a good read, bad cover or not!
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