Les 9 vies de Philibert Salmeck

by John Bemelmans Marciano, Sophie Blackall (Illustrator), Mickey Gaboriaud (Translator)

Philibert Salmeck est un abominable enfant… Dernier représentant d’une longue lignée de vauriens aussi menteurs que voleurs, le jeune héritier milliardaire a un jour une idée incroyable : afin d’échapper à la mort précoce qui semble frapper tous les membres de sa famille, ne pourrait-il pas se faire transplanter les neuf vies de son chat ? Se retrouvant soudain avec plus d’existences que nécessaire, il les gâche cependant en multipliant les actes insensés, dignes de l’enfant gâté qu’il est. Il faudra attendre qu’il ne lui en reste à nouveau plus qu’une, comme au commun des mortels, pour qu’il saisisse pleinement la mesure de son inconscience.
Un roman illustré à l'humour noir.

Genres: Humor, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Juvenile, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens

166 pages, Broché

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

John Bemelmans Marciano carries on the legacy begun by his grandfather, Ludwig Bemelmans, author and illustrator of the Madeline books, with stunning watercolor artwork and playful, energetic storytelling.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

There has been a long line of awful and obscenely wealthy Baddenfield men.

To say that the Baddenfield family had a checkered past is to insult innocent board games everywhere. It is also inaccurate. The lives of the Baddenfields were not checkered. If their family tree had been a chessboard, their squares would all be black.

Thankfully, none of them seem to live very long. In fact, there's only one left - 12-year-old Alexander.

So how bad was Alexander?

Alexander always wanted to be a bully. When on the first day of kindergarten, he realized he was the smallest kid in class and thus unable to beat anybody up, he paid a couple of second-graders to do the job for him.

One day it occurs to Alexander that his "worthless" cat, Shaddenfrood, gets to live nine lives while Alexander, who is "richer than rich" and wants to do "unimaginable things," gets only one. Suddenly, the search is on for a doctor who is unscrupulous enough willing to "surgically remove" the cat's extra lives and transplant them into one evil, rotten boy. Eventually one is located, though his skills may be a bit questionable. Enter Dr. Torvic "I may be a mad scientist, but I'm not crazy" Kranstenenif, who is known for grafting animal parts onto other animals. The operation is a success! We know this because Alexander immediately begins a series of daredevil experiments - from eating forbidden foods to bullfighting - to see how many different ways he can die.

Then suddenly, there's only one life left and Alexander discovers what Bonnie Raitt has known for decades - Life gets mighty precious when there's less of it to waste.*

Gulp!

I suppose this is aimed at middle-grade readers, though I think a younger kiddo with a somewhat dark sense of humor would appreciate its charms. Anyone who likes Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket should also be enthralled. This is one of those books that you don't want to think about too much, 'cause if you do, you'll start to wonder how there are so many Baddenfields when there appear to be no female Baddenfields.

If you believe in attaching morals to these things, I guess it would be something like trying to find a balance between utter recklessness and overly-cautious behavior. Either that or All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat. I say with this book, as in life, just relax and enjoy the ride.

*Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time

[Jillyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

---

The Baddenfield family has always been filled with scoundrels, living up to the bad in Baddenfield. And for centuries, they've been cursed to die young, despite the Winterbottoms, a family who has always served (and tried) to protect their horrible bosses. Alexander is twelve years old, and as bad as the rest of them. He hatches a brilliant plan- to take the surplus lives away from his pet cat, and transplant them into his body. He starts to live like never before, having been overprotected by Winterbottom, but eventually his lives start to dwindle, and he has to try and change his reckless ways before he lives up to the Baddenfield curse.

I have to say, that as an adult, I really liked this book. It's dark and a bit macabre in the same vein as writers like Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, and Tim Burton. The illustrations that accompany the text go with that theme as well, giving it a spooky, bad-guy type feel.

I also really liked the smartness with which this book was written. It integrates a few Spanish words, some references to mythology, and his cat's name is even Shaddenfrood. There was also a fair bit of humor and snark, that made be chuckle aloud. It was easy to read and understand, and was well detailed. Among other things that I enjoyed about this read was the actual printing itself. The pictures that separate paragraphs actually count down his deaths, something I didn't notice until he only had two remaining. Plus, stuff like print fading to illustrate his blacking out happens within the book, which I think was a nice touch.

Perhaps the best part of this children's book is the overall message that can be taken away from it. Alexander learns too late that while it is dangerous to be reckless and to act without thinking, it is also dangerous to stay inside, afraid of living life cooped up inside. It takes a fine balance of both to be happy and healthy.

That all being said, I have to look at this from the perspective of a parent or a child (of which I am neither) since this book is intended for a younger audience. This book deals with things like death. A lot. And not all of Alexander's deaths are pleasant. Some are quite gory or violent. I recommend that this is for a more mature child's reading age, for those who can understand death fully and still find humor in it. If you're a parent or adult who walks a bit on the darker side (guilty as charged) this may be right up your alley. Just be warned that this book doesn't spare many details. And the ending, while it made me chuckle, was definitely continuing the trend of dark implications.

All in all, I think this book has good illustrations and good writing, as well as a good message. I do however warn that this book deals heavily with death and injury, though it is spun in a humorous if dark way.

Thanks to Goodreads First Reads program for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This review can also be found on my new blog, Bitches n Prose.

[Sara Truog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark comedy for kids about a boy who is the last in a long line of tried-and-true baddies… and who asks a quack doctor to implant his cat's nine lives into him so that he can live forever. He proceeds to die in all kinds of dramatic and wild ways, attended by the last in a long line of loyal servants who is as cautious as his master is reckless. Enjoyable for those who appreciate dark humor - and THIS is the point of my review.

Daniel really enjoyed this book and suggested that my library book club read it, so of course I picked it right up. While I myself enjoyed this book (and Sophie Blackall's great illustrations - she's familiar to all devotees of Ivy and Bean), I feel concerned that not every 3rd-5th grader would find the humor in continual deaths, and take it too personally. This is a case where it REALLY depends on the kid.

So, while my son and I both liked this book, the Bookbusters won't be reading it. Imagine the flak I'd take from parents who thought I was encouraging their children to fight bulls, go boating without safety equipment or swim lessons, adopt exotic and dangerous pets, and fly with mechanical wings….

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexander Baddenfield is an anti-hero -- a terrible boy at the end of a long line of despicable Baddenfield men, who have all died mercifully young. (No female Baddenfields or wives are ever mentioned and, considering that some of Alexander's ancestors died as young as 17, it seems they spawn asexually and all but raise themselves, with limited guidance of the likewise all-male line of Winterbottoms who attend them.)

Determined to escape the fate of all the Baddenfields before him, Alexander finds a mad scientist willing to extract and transplant the extra 8 lives of his cat, Shaddenfrood. Of course, he proceeds to waste most of them in frivolous and entertaining ways.

A quick read (one quick sitting for myself, less than a week to read aloud to my boys), this will appeal to those who enjoy the dark humor and playful vocabulary of Lemony Snicket.

One note: I skipped the epilogue when I read this to my boys. The bit with Alexander apparently beginning his descent to hell was a little too moralistic for me. Otherwise, I found the book delightful.

[Jeni · Rating 2 out of 5]

We read this aloud as a family. The kids liked it, overall, but they were sad that Alexander died a bad kid. I think this might be the first book they've read where there was no redemption at the end. My husband and I kept calling it their "intro to goth." The book is a tad darker than Lemony Snicket's books; the death by bull scenes were a little too much for all of us. My husband called the book "morose," I called it "morbid." The kids got to learn what those words meant, so that's something!(Which reminds me. This book contains some of the "define as go" writing that Snicket made popular. That trend bores me.)
Overall, I prefer my darkness with some light.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 4 out of 5]

Какъв е по традиция главният герой в една детска книга? Симпатичен, самоотвержен, находчив, смел, проявява щедрост и съчувствие... С колко от тези качества може да се похвали геройчето от днешното ревю? Нула! Всъщност, Александър Баденфийлд е пълен противовес на всички жанрови традиции. Ето ви едно надменно, арогантно, себично, самодоволно създание, което направо ще ви иде да удушите. Но няма да ви се наложи. Защото Александър намира далеч по-изобретателни начини, по които да сложи край на своя (пореден) живот. А е задигнал от котката си цели девет! Добре дошли в „Деветте живота на Александър Баденфийлд” (изд. Millenium), написана от Джон Бемелманс Марсиано и илюстрирана от Софи Блекол. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":

https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Alexander comes from a long line of bad-to-the-bone Baddenfields, all of whom died at an early age, possibly because of all the bad karma they have created for others. After providing background about Alexander's family, the author describes how the wealthy young boy decides to have his cat's nine lives transplanted into his body, thus, allowing him to die and then have several second chances. Despite the resistance of his faithful family retainer, Winterbottom, he finally finds a doctor willing to perform the surgery. Although immortality is not assured, suddenly Alexander is taking all sorts of risks and burning through all those extra lives quickly. Readers will smile at the way he meets his end each time and shake their heads in sadness at the risks he takes. Sadly, once he is left with one life, he is also too afraid of losing it to be willing to take any more risks, and becomes fearful instead of fearless. The ending, while not unexpected, seems somewhat anticlimactic. Alexander never really learns his lesson or truly appreciates his one true friend, and he does get his just desserts. In the end, as often happens when dealing with felines, his cat Shaddenfrood lives on in triumph. There are sly references such as one to author Thomas Pynchon that will need to be explained to young readers, but still, this title is well worth reading and discussing if no other reason than the fact that its protagonist doesn't learn from his mistakes and seems to have no redeeming qualities.

[Христо Блажев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Най-злото суицидно хлапе на света: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/d...

Спомняте ли си Ричи Рич, доброто хлапе с мнооогото пари? Е, Александър Баденфийлд е той, но наобратно, неговото зло алтер его. Той е чичо Скрудж на младини. Той е дори автентичният Ебенезър Скрудж на младини! Няма епитет, с който може да бъде описана лошотията на това хлапе – а неговите антикачества са достойна сумаризация на гените на рода Баденфийлд, които десетилетия наред са тормозили света със себе си и тарикатлъка си.

Издателство "Милениум"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/d...

[Nikoleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Понаписах нещо за книгата:

"Сюжетът тук е като никой друг. Пълно е с герои, които няма как да не обикнеш - просто защото те са невъзможни и е половин лудост да бъдат заключени между кориците на нещо класическо като книга. Затова си представям тази история като малка награда за твореца в Марсиано. Една лудория, извън очакванията, почивка или глезотия за собствено удоволствие."

[Lorin Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's the dark, witty style of Lemony Snicket, without the greatness. Could have done with more length (one of the nine lives is one page long, which could have been hilarious, instead it felt rushed) and investment in character development. Was not much moved.

[NeDa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мрачно-забавен и поучителен текст, който въпреки достойнствата си, не би впечатлявал така без илюстрациите на Софи Блекол.
Чудесна нетипична книга, с оригинален поглед върху смъртта и животите ...

[Ана Хелс · Rating 5 out of 5]

По принцип съм особено чувствителна на тема насилие върху животни, и картината дори на една сритана котка може да ме откаже от принципно читав текст. Така де, защо трябва да си го отнасят единствените верни до гроб приятели, от които няма как да очакваш нож в гърба – толкова ли няма някой пършив язовец или мравояд с колики, който да ритат и разчекват многоужаваемите герои по разни книжа. Та, идеята , че някакво изродче ще вземе да заколи собствената си любима котка, за да и присвои животите, си представяте колко ми е първосигнално отблъскваща и как съм се заредила с правата лопата да го префасонирам туй лекенце Александърчо, ако котето вземе да мръцне и веднъж от болка. Марсиано обаче успява едновременно да напише извънредно мрачна и наситена с мастилена смърт книга, като запази бройката на труповете до един, но многократно усмъртяван по всевъзможни жестоки начини, напълно заслужено от дребното богаташко нищожество.

Кратичко, графично и иронично, черна комедия за деца с особено мнение към живота и възрастни с правилен поглед към детските книги. Може би една от най-добрите изненади на книжния пазар, които съм се пречупила да прочета само възоснова на едно наистина добро и вдъхновяващо ревю, гледащо откъм светлата страна на умирането, със здравословна кръвожадност и утешително чувство за справедливост, което в някои по-задръстени общества може и да се сметне за противоречиво. Но не и в моя ум. Та поуката е ясна – я сте пипнали някое котенце, я сте умрели по шестнайсет различни начини свързани с много болка и тъмнина. Карма, ако ще и изфентазирана.

[Змей · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Деветте живота на Александър Баденфийлд” е книжка за малчуганите. За тези, които все още се учат, че лошотията и проклетията винаги си намират заслуженото, а добрината заслужава поощрение.

http://knigozavar.com/2013/11/20/the-...

“Деветте живота на Александър Баденфийлд” е и книжка за порасналите. За тези, които имат нуждата да ��и припомнят, че животът е само един и не бива да го пилеем и за тези, които трябва да се укротят от проумяването, че няма резервен вариант. Освен това книгата е писана с един прекрасен сарказъм, едва-едва прокрадващ се от следващата страница.

[Петър Панчев · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://knijenpetar.blogspot.com/2014/...
Да имаш девет живота хич не е лесно, особено ако се казваш Александър Баденфийлд и си на дванадесет години. Александър е последната издънка на едно гадно, направо отвратително семейство, което през вековете е създавало само неприятности около себе си. Не стига това, ами дори е пазено и дундуркано през годините от друго семейство - Уинтърботъм, което е дало клетва да му служи, докато се раждат Баденфийлдовци.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, but funny story! Kids with really black sense of humor, and maybe even teens and adults, will enjoy this story. Alexander Baddenfiled comes from a long line of bad Badeenfields. He finds an quack doctor to transplant 8 of hi cats 9 lives into himself and then goes out hell bent of destroying each one of them! Yeah, he's a bad one. Too fun! There aren't too many illustrations in the book, but the few are really fun! Great book!

[s · Rating 1 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Jeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my daughter before bed. She laughed a lot. It's a cute little story with charming illustrations.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent premise and opening chapter - the last Baddenfield (he and his family really lived up to their name - they were called the Baddenfield's for a reason!) comes up with a Great Idea which involves transplanting his cat's (Shaddenfrood!) 8 extra lives into himself giving him a grand total of 9 lives. After the ridiculously dangerous surgery works, Alexander lives his previously sheltered life(s) recklessly and preferably in the most outrageous ways. Since Baddenfields have a history of dying young (all that bad karma!), why wouldn't he want to give himself this advantage?

I also loved the dark humor and tone of the story - very Roald Dahl with a hint of Lemony Snicket! I wouldn't recommend this for too young of a reader but at least 10 and up. And that Thomas Pynchon reference on page 36 is pretty awesome for the adult reading the story!

I also really enjoyed Sophie Blackall illustrations. The style really fits the tone of Alexander's lives and deaths, especially the full-page Grim Reaper scenes. Which reminds me, I really loved the shift in narrative after the "The End" and the final illustrations. By the way, I'm pretty sure all cats, like Shaddenfrood, are Baddenfield's at heart! :D

Here's the real question: What in the world will Winterbottom and his descendents do from here on out?

And now for the negative points: The family backstory is very important for setting up the rest of the story, but at points it kind of drags. It was good, but after awhile I just wanted the story to get on with it. Of course, after you've read the first third of the story does get with it and doesn't slow down (great touch with the skull and cross bones warning, by the way). Another point that kind of irked me, there's no real change in Alexander. He's a Baddenfield through and through, even to the very end. It fits with the family backstory, but I did have some hope for the character to somehow redeem himself. I also wish the author would have dealt a little more with Winterbottom after that final scene...his entire family back through time immemorial served the Baddenfields and now that Winterbottom, the antithesis of Baddenfield in every way, has no one left to serve what happens - see my question mentioned above.

I definitely recommend The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, especially to fans of Roald Dahld and Lemony Snicket.

[Elisheva Rina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexander Baddenfield is a bad, bad boy. He is filthy, stinking rich and a spoiled brat. His faithful retainer, Winterbottom, is desperate to prevent Alexander from dying an early death like his ancestors. But Alexander is as reckless as all the other Baddenfields and when he decides to remove his cat's (extra) eight lives and give them to himself (with the help of a mad scientist, who had discovered that cats have extra stem cells in their belly buttons), he seizes the opportunity to live wildly and do every crazy thing formerly forbidden to him by Winterbottom.

And then Alexander dies nine times.

This book is hilarious! It takes only about an hour to read, so go for it, everyone!

I love how the protagonist is unapologetically NOT GOOD. He's a splendiferous anti-hero! Of course, the author makes sure to criticize all the nasty things that go on, such as bullfighting. In the end, the little brat gets his...

[Adele Broadbent · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alexander hails from a long line of nasty, selfish, self absorbed, Baddenfields. He is the last living Baddenfield and has the last living Winterbottom (from a long line of caring, kind, thoughtful Winterbottoms) to look after him. Winterbottom has tried to protect Alexander from every possible threat - sunburn, traffic accidents, drowning, dog bites and food allergies, to name a few. But it results in Alexander wanting to rebel.
He decides his cat doesn't deserve 9 lives and finds a doctor to perform the special surgery to transfer his cat's lives to himself.
Alexander goes wild, trying everything and anything - much to Winterbottom's horror. And then we are counting down the lives as Alex throws them away.
I liked the grim reaper pics as the lives dwindled, and the grisly humour throughout. There's a couple of messages in there too.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really good!! Way better than what I was expecting! A funny/cynical tales of a bad kids who came from a long lines of bad people. The humor of it is so well placed that there jokes that would please children, around ten maybe, but there's also a more adult message behind it, so older people may like it as well. I enjoy it!

[Sara-Zoe Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a weird and annoying first chapter I fear most kids won't have the patience for, it gets going fast. The main character is horrible to the core, and steals his cats 9 lives which he promptly and mostly purposefully blows through.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

very cute! Given to me by my student Patrick. He loved it and wanted to share the story!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I shouldn't have laughed at the end, but I did. Dark humor at its finest.

[Judy]

A very interesting one. Deliciously dark humour and goings on and a fun premise. A devoted line of cautious and loving manservants cares for a terrible line of amoral nobility, the last of whose line is Alexander. Alexander wants to live forever, but only succeeds in dying in all sorts of gruesome ways throughout the book. Weirdly pleasurable. (Perhaps I was subconsciously substituting some self-interested, emotionally immature world ‘leaders’ into his small, self-centred form and working out my feelings...)

The author gleefully refuses to tie the story up with a happily ever after, or any character growth. The ending was pretty witty actually, and gave me a giggle, but perhaps that need for character growth is really part of our genetic makeup. I did feel there was something missing.

Some kids with a dark sense of humour would absolutely love this, so it’s well worth a try for them. And the illos are good.

[MaryEllen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full review can be found on my blog: https://maryellenherrera.com/2018/10/...

I have to say I really liked this book; even with the dire circumstances surrounding Alexander’s many deaths, this book also provided humor through Winterbottom’s perspective. Winterbottom is the keeper of Alexander’s safety and to see Winterbottom’s interaction with Alexander, and his precarious ways, kept the story from being too dark and dreary.

Sophie Blackall’s illustrations were vivid yet dark in nature, which I liked and which I think will attract the attention of the young reader. The pictures are sporadically placed between chapters and I liked to look at them after reading about one of Alexander’s adventures – he didn’t die in all of them! The depictions were detailed and had me pondering what I had read. To me, these illustrations really added to the overall story.

Another part of this book that I liked was the way it was written; as if a story was being told to me. Kind of like an informal conversation with the storyteller and me. I liked this style of writing because it brought me into the story as a participant. I was there listening to a story being told about Alexander and Winterbottom.

My only minor complaint would be with the length of this book. Since this book was less than 150 pages, I thought The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield felt a bit rushed because the author had to fit all nine lives within so few pages. I would have enjoyed reading more pages about each incident or more of Alexander’s life in general.

Due to the nature of the story, this is a book I can only recommend to the older reader even though it’s intended for the middle grade reader. Because it deals with death and tells about the different ways Alexander dies, I would say it is really up to the parent since they would know the sensitivity of their child to such topics as death/dying. Parents can also use this as a door to opening communication about death with their child by reading this with them and answering any questions which might come up as the story unfolds. And although there really isn’t a moral to the story, parents can certainly add them to the story as they read about the bad choices Alexander made or how he treated certain people, etc.

[Annie Grigorova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книгата е много по-различна от стандартните детски книги. Главният герой Александър Баденфийлд е много непослушно дете, наследило лошотията си от своя род - всички до един негодници. Той живее много безразсъдно и решава да вземе деветте живота на своята котка за да ги използва за себе си. Профуква ги всички по всевъзможни начини. Интересно ми беше да разбера какво е намислил за всеки нов живот. Ако ви е омръзнало да четете типични детски книги, където доброто побеждава, това е вашата книга. В нея обаче на мен краят малко не ми хареса, защото не очаквах да свърши по такъв начин. Като цяло книгата ми беше интересна.

[s.e · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is great. It's about a idiot kid who gets 9 lives and kills himself in 8 different creative ways and then becomes paranoid and holes away in a room then dies again and goes to hell.

I just remembered it after having read it in like 2nd grade. I vividly remembered the part where he killed himself in the subway. I vividly remember thinking wow there sure are a lot of ways to do yourself in.

I love how this was in the school library : )

[Tellatale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it is a children's book - on the surface.
But read between the lines and under the pages and it is so much more. Such a short but delightfully presented offering on human behaviour and the importance of making the right choices.
Lived the right way - one life is enough. Live them wrong and even 9 is a waste.
I remember my children reading them a few years back and the fun hour we had discussing Alexander Baddenfield and his proclivity for making bad choices.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read but a little too dark. Alexander is the last of his line. He comes from absurdly bad people who all die young. He figures out a way to have nine lives and squanders them because he can.
A Lemony Snicket type story but doesn't have the full character development or plot line.