From the Bookshelf of Melbourne Library Service…

Leap

Myfanwy Jones

Why we're reading this: A novel about grief, absence, survivor guilt, love, death and of course, life, this novel made me cry.
It…more
[close] A novel about grief, absence, survivor guilt, love, death and of course, life, this novel made me cry.
It interweaves two stories, that of Joe and Elise.
Joe lives—despite himself. Driven by the need to atone for the neglect of a single tragic summer’s night, he works at nothing jobs and, in his spare time, trains his body and mind to conquer the hostile environment that took his love and smashed up his future.

So when a breathless girl turns up on the doorstep, why does he let her in? Isn’t he done with love and hope?
On the other side of the city, graphic designer Elise is watching her marriage bleed out. She retreats to the only place that holds any meaning for her—the tiger enclosure at the zoo—where, for reasons she barely understands, she starts to sketch the beautiful killers.

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What Members Thought

May 06, 2015 Karys McEwen rated it it was amazing

I want to marry this book and snuggle it at night and cherish it forever. What a smashing story, with so much heart and ALL the emotions packed into a little parcel with a beautiful cover. I whizzed through Leap today, and my brain hurts a bit from not looking up from the pages to give my eyes a rest . I literally missed my train this morning, because I was so caught up in the lives of Joe and Elise and their various comrades (from a wayward teen, to a Ukrainian chef, a Bollywood-loving housemat ...more

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Jun 06, 2015 Michael Livingston rated it really liked it

A lovely, sad book about grief and recovery, obsession and friendship. I'm a sucker for books set in and around the inner north of Melbourne, so I was always likely to be sympathetic to Leap, but Jones has done a wonderful job of drawing out her characters - particularly the three young men. I wasn't entirely convinced by the intersection of the two threads of the story, but the stories worked really beautifully on their own. ...more

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Jan 23, 2016 Meredith M rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2016

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Technically I was meant to read this as an e-book for the purposes of my Summer Reading Bingo card but a copy was available at the library and there is really something about paper and ink. I selected this novel for my card from the Summer Read 2015-2016 list prepared by the State Library of Victoria: "Take a Break with a Great Victorian Book". This is the second book of two I chose from that list. Since my read I have learned that there is an audio book version narrated by Samuel Johnson, which Technically I was meant to read this as an e-book for the purposes of my Summer Reading Bingo card but a copy was available at the library and there is really something about paper and ink. I selected this novel for my card from the Summer Read 2015-2016 list prepared by the State Library of Victoria: "Take a Break with a Great Victorian Book". This is the second book of two I chose from that list. Since my read I have learned that there is an audio book version narrated by Samuel Johnson, which I think would be a good option for those considering reading “LEAP” – I probably would have enjoyed the dimension of an Aussie bloke reading this story.

While it is pleasing to see a story set in Melbourne, I felt that for all the scenery description the storytelling relies on familiarity to evoke the vibe of, say, a bar in Brunswick or standing on Russell Street. The writing is, at times, mechanical and can feel contrived: the nurse’s hair is "an animal's pelt rippling to be touched", she is “tangible” with “catlike containment”, while Lena has "...an economy of movement, like her body is saving itself for bigger things” and Elise is “…a paparazzo stealing the starlet's soul."

I found this to be heavy handed characterisation and was further irritated by the blatant drawing out of themes: "colour is a leap" for Elise and for Joe, "…supposing he pulled it off, the leap..." The novel is already organised into three parts which provides markers against interpreting the story and in itself illustrates the process of grieving. Joe’s hobby reminded me of the words at the title page of the book and I did some side reading on l'art du deplacement, parkour and free running, taking on board the discipline, humility and challenge it entails long before Joe’s explanation to Lena. As we are told early on long before we see it in action both literally and metaphorically, it is “…like he is in position on a ledge, counting his breath, ready to jump.”

I found Joe and Deck's de facto brotherliness the warmest relationship from the outset, maybe followed by Joe and Todd. The rapport between the housemates takes more shape and depth as the story proceeds. While the novel is dialogue-driven, there were some unnecessary additions: “’I'd charge your grandmother’, Jack says. Pointlessly.” It was already apparent to me that the guys are in a bar hanging it on each other, I didn’t need to be told how seriously to read the statement. This feature in the writing intruded upon my reading experience.

I read the first section, “Running”, in one sitting and wondered whether I was being too harsh, whether my recent reading had affected my approach to this summer read, which one would expect to be easy and light. I endeavoured to suspend judgment as I continued but was still exasperated by obvious descriptions with Joe "soft as a cat", Deck “…flick(ing) his hair with a coltish toss…”, Lena looking with “naked eyes”. An author should only describe to a point before the character needs to take shape in the reader’s mind. That said, I did note one descriptor of a character’s dialogue made me smile when I read it: “Said like an affirmation stuck above a smeary mirror."
There was generally an overkill on landscape description and words superfluous for conveying the emotional energy. One sentence moved me to research the finer points of grammar (I only received proper instruction when learning a foreign language) to try to understand 1. if the grammar reference was real and 2. The purpose including it:

"They stood side by side watching the rippling mass, the uncountable noun."

The water is already a "rippling mass" and in the previous sentence also described as "dynamic". There were two mates taking a car trip, dealing with stuff and clearing their heads, I was already on board with all that was uncountable and the enormity of the emotional landscape they find themselves navigating.

It is near the halfway point that the link between the two narratives is made directly, though I had suspected long before. I was relieved to have the fascination with tigers finally grounded in one character’s experience and memory. I have mused over whether or not that explanation would be better woven into the narrative earlier and find arguments both ways when earlier on everyone is adrift in their grief and loss so understanding the fascination with tigers moves into the substance of the cause.

There are 26 chapters and I thought the ending showed some acceptance of experience and more forward motion (“Finally ready to take the advantage”) though with Joe already having opened himself more to others, planning to return to study and engaging with his loss, these words nagged at me as stating the experience the reader should feel. I also thought the novel could have ended at the conclusion of chapter 24 neatly on theme (though with the other narrative from where it began):

“If the cats were not so well fed, so utterly captivated, perhaps they really could. Like that hundred-and-fifty-eight kilo Siberian at the San Francisco Zoo that astounded zookeepers and mathematicians alike by jumping across a thirty-three foot moat, over a twelve-and-a-half foot wall, to freedom.”

While the story was moving, I am not moved to give “LEAP” 3 stars. I would recommend it only to teenagers and young adults as the larger part of the lesson in the story is most befitting that age group.
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Jan 15, 2018 DaniLG rated it really liked it

Between the tiger’s cage and the leaping of a heartbroken young Melbourne man lies a beautiful subtlety of storytelling. “Last days of autumn and the air is like blood...” hooked me in, like the scent of nostalgia. Reading languorously, almost sleepily, I was taken to the streets of my hometown to meet characters of chance, of choice. Leap is a raw and beautiful tale. Treat yourself.

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