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ramsyan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
steve_hayer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
pamjo's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It’s really worth reading this book at least twice. The first time I read it (print version) I loved it for the beautiful writing and the portrayal of the characters and their emotional journeys, but I didn’t really “get it” until I’d finished…and then the lightbulb flicked on. Second time through (audio version) I was able to pick up so many hints and connections that I’d missed first time through. After a gap of a couple of years, I’ve just re-visited the audio, and it still held “ah, yes!” moments. The author really nails the personalities and syntax of each of the characters, and the visual descriptions and subtle use of metaphor are just stunning. My only gripe with the audio is in the editing of spaces between sections and chapters (way too short - the listener needs some time to breathe and process before moving on). Other than that, though, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is happy to go with the flow and let things unfold. If you want everything explained upfront, this is not the book for you (and checking the final pages for “the answer” won’t help!) but if you want to immerse yourself and be patient while the connections start to happen, I can’t recommend this book highly enough. PS: For several years I lived in inner Melbourne and the writing of place and community is spot on.
glory317's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
rosebudthom's review against another edition
2.0
The writing is extremely stylised and honestly took me until about halfway through the book to get into the flow of. Some characters are unnamed and go purely by titles, which is particularly confusing in the case of "the nurse" who is probably the 3rd most main character. There's a lot of use of pronouns rather than names, so I often had to flick back a couple of pages to see who we were talking about. It's a quick and easy read despite these things which caused me to have to re-read a lot. The plot is lacking, following two seemingly disconnected people's lives until towards the end, and there is no climax or reveal. I honestly don't know why I kept reading cause at no point was I actually enjoying it.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
4.0
Leap by Myfanwy Jones is a sharply observed story of grief and guilt and the struggle to move on from loss.
Three years after the tragic death of his girlfriend, Joe is still wallowing in guilt. Unable to re-imagine his future without her, he simply aims to stay busy, working two dead end jobs, and running through the darkened streets of Melbourne, leaping any obstacles in his way.
Elsewhere, Elise's marriage is falling apart and her work is uninspiring, mournful and lonely, she is drawn to the beauty and violence of the tigers housed at the Melbourne Zoo.
In Leap, Jones has created two very different characters deeply affected by their respective losses, angry, heart broken and plagued by inertia they are unable to move forward with their own lives.
So Joe is challenged by the slow return of his desire for life. Moving on feels like a betrayal, but his punishing routine of parkour and work is no longer as satisfying as it once was given his attraction to his newest housemate, an enigmatic nurse. He is further challenged by the charm of his blue-eyed workmate, the ailing health of his Uncle and the needs of the young troubled teen he mentors.
Meanwhile the listlessness pressing on Elise is finally pierced when her husband announces he is leaving her. She escapes, not unhappily, to the home of her best friend for a few weeks and on her return home immerses herself in her obsession with the tigers at the zoo, enjoying being unaccountable to anyone but herself. Alone, she is finally able to confront her resentment and grief, to mourn her lost daughter on her own terms.
While I struggled a little with the narrative initially, which is shared between the two characters and moves between the past and present, I soon settled into the rhythm of the story. The emotion is powerful, yet the story is not without humour. The prose is thoughtful and genuine.
Well written, Leap is a moving novel.
"And maybe no trick he pulls off is ever going to bring her back but this one-it's for her. He is going to make a perfect landing.
Breathes: One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Leaps"
laylaloveslimes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
kaydee's review against another edition
4.0
A moving and simple story of grief.
I've read several books on a similar theme this year (and this is the third set in Melbourne, what's with that I wonder?) but Jones approaches it from a different angle. This is not so much about that immediacy and rawness of loss but about how those left behind are living several years later.
There's some gorgeous phrasing and imagery here and the contrast between Joe's perpetual motion and Elise's more reflective sorrow works beautifully.
A worthy inclusion on the Miles Franklin shortlist.
I've read several books on a similar theme this year (and this is the third set in Melbourne, what's with that I wonder?) but Jones approaches it from a different angle. This is not so much about that immediacy and rawness of loss but about how those left behind are living several years later.
There's some gorgeous phrasing and imagery here and the contrast between Joe's perpetual motion and Elise's more reflective sorrow works beautifully.
A worthy inclusion on the Miles Franklin shortlist.
realalexmartin's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for the Booktubeathon of 2015.
I received this book as an ARC for free from the publisher, Allen & Unwin, through Goodreads First reads. The review below is completely my opinion and has not been altered by any outside force.
I had some troubles with this book.
I will start off by saying that overall, this book was a solid contemporary novel, but it was unfortunately not for me, as I did have to temporarily DNF this book about half way through, but I did pick it back up again about 2 moths later and finish it.
Leap by Myfanwy Jones tells the tale of two different people who are seemingly not connected at all. Joe, a 20-something guy working two jobs and living with two other friends finds comfort in the French body training routine of Parkour, after a tragic incident involving his ex-girlfriend a few years before the story takes place. Elise, a mid-30s freelance graphic designer who is currently going through a rough patch in her marriage begins to intensely and almost obsessively observe and paint a small group of Tigers at the Melbourne Zoo.
Through theses two points of view, we see how both try to move on with their lives as the ripples of this tragic accident is still felt by both of them.
Personally, I preferred reading from Joe's point of view. I found Elise's point of views to be quite lonely and needing someone else there for the reader to escape to and discover that character, but we just never got that many supporting characters in her point of views. Joe's POVs, however, had a vibrancy or social aspect that I really enjoyed that allowed the reader to breath and escape this quite depressed state of mind that Joe, and Elise, are in; a mindset we couldn't escape in Elise's POV.
I can definitely say that both characters have the weirdest hobbies. Parkour and seeing some tigers on a weekly basis. I liked the metaphors that both these hobbies produced that made each characters' ambitions and personality come forward, but I felt that they were a bit too farfetched to be relatable.
World building in contemporary books can be quite hard, as you are having the story set in a real place (most of the time), so the author must capture the town/city/setting to perfection and must make the reader feel like they know the city like they've been there forever. Myfanwy Jones does this in Leap quite brilliantly and thoughtfully. But, I noticed that there was some physical description lacking when Elise would describe the tigers. As someone who would paint them and observe every little thing about them, there wasn't much description. I just imagined ordinary tigers that didn't feel somewhat connected with Elise at all.
When I received this book from Allen & Unwin (thank you, again), I had no idea what it was about, I actually thought it was a middle-grade book. Then I started reading, and there was some swearing, so I thought Oh, this is a YA. Then there was a very graphically described sex scene with the nurse which made me realise that this was in fact, a New Adult, making Leap my very first New Adult novel. So, just a warning, if you don't like sex, drug use, and mature language in your books, it's probably best not to read this.
But, if you like a well thought out contemporary, with a solid plot, but cliché characters, I would definitely recommend Leap by Myfanwy Jones
I received this book as an ARC for free from the publisher, Allen & Unwin, through Goodreads First reads. The review below is completely my opinion and has not been altered by any outside force.
I had some troubles with this book.
I will start off by saying that overall, this book was a solid contemporary novel, but it was unfortunately not for me, as I did have to temporarily DNF this book about half way through, but I did pick it back up again about 2 moths later and finish it.
Leap by Myfanwy Jones tells the tale of two different people who are seemingly not connected at all. Joe, a 20-something guy working two jobs and living with two other friends finds comfort in the French body training routine of Parkour, after a tragic incident involving his ex-girlfriend a few years before the story takes place. Elise, a mid-30s freelance graphic designer who is currently going through a rough patch in her marriage begins to intensely and almost obsessively observe and paint a small group of Tigers at the Melbourne Zoo.
Through theses two points of view, we see how both try to move on with their lives as the ripples of this tragic accident is still felt by both of them.
Personally, I preferred reading from Joe's point of view. I found Elise's point of views to be quite lonely and needing someone else there for the reader to escape to and discover that character, but we just never got that many supporting characters in her point of views. Joe's POVs, however, had a vibrancy or social aspect that I really enjoyed that allowed the reader to breath and escape this quite depressed state of mind that Joe, and Elise, are in; a mindset we couldn't escape in Elise's POV.
I can definitely say that both characters have the weirdest hobbies. Parkour and seeing some tigers on a weekly basis. I liked the metaphors that both these hobbies produced that made each characters' ambitions and personality come forward, but I felt that they were a bit too farfetched to be relatable.
World building in contemporary books can be quite hard, as you are having the story set in a real place (most of the time), so the author must capture the town/city/setting to perfection and must make the reader feel like they know the city like they've been there forever. Myfanwy Jones does this in Leap quite brilliantly and thoughtfully. But, I noticed that there was some physical description lacking when Elise would describe the tigers. As someone who would paint them and observe every little thing about them, there wasn't much description. I just imagined ordinary tigers that didn't feel somewhat connected with Elise at all.
When I received this book from Allen & Unwin (thank you, again), I had no idea what it was about, I actually thought it was a middle-grade book. Then I started reading, and there was some swearing, so I thought Oh, this is a YA. Then there was a very graphically described sex scene with the nurse which made me realise that this was in fact, a New Adult, making Leap my very first New Adult novel. So, just a warning, if you don't like sex, drug use, and mature language in your books, it's probably best not to read this.
But, if you like a well thought out contemporary, with a solid plot, but cliché characters, I would definitely recommend Leap by Myfanwy Jones
lolabrigita's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful story about the ways in which grief can entrap us and prevent us from moving (or say, leaping) forward.
As a side note - I loved the authenticity of the dialogue between the main characters - being a book set in Melbourne, of course most main characters would answer a question with a "yeah, no".
As a side note - I loved the authenticity of the dialogue between the main characters - being a book set in Melbourne, of course most main characters would answer a question with a "yeah, no".