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Jumpers
by
Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppers's play Jumpers is both a high-spirited comedy and a serious attempt to debate the existence of a moral absolute, of metaphysical reality, of God. Michael Billington in The Guardian described the play succinctly: "The new Radical Liberal Party has made the ex-Minister of Agriculture Archbishop of Cantebury, British astronauts are scrapping with each other on th...more
Paperback
Published
by Faber & Faber
(first published January 1st 1972)
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Stoppard is obviously a genius. I had hoped earlier in his career he was less jaded about love than The Real Thing suggests, but that was my only real disappointment with Jumpers.
It's not about love, anyway, although it isn't silent on the subject. It's about academic philosophy. The Jumpers are a team of philosophy professors who spend their time tumbling. Their ringmaster is the Vice Chancellor Sir Archibald Jumper, who is a jack-of-all trades. The play pits his moral relativism against the mo...more
It's not about love, anyway, although it isn't silent on the subject. It's about academic philosophy. The Jumpers are a team of philosophy professors who spend their time tumbling. Their ringmaster is the Vice Chancellor Sir Archibald Jumper, who is a jack-of-all trades. The play pits his moral relativism against the mo...more
an academic/acrobatic troupe of university professors becomes entangled in an investigation after one of their number is murdered at a wild soiree. a former actress, struggling with lunacy after seeing the heartless act of an astronaut televised live from the moon, is the primary suspect. her husband the philosophy professor dictates lectures to the mirror, for the benefit of his secretary/stenographer, while the investigation unfolds in the bedroom, where the dean of the department examines his...more
Stoppard's wit and absurdity is on full display in 'Jumpers.' Although I haven't seen it performed on stage, it was a great pleasure to read (even if Stoppard himself is suspicious of definitive written texts).
The story is a bit hard to follow at times because it operates in the realm of the surreal and absurd. But, if one realizes this from the get-go, and involves himself in the silliness of it all, one will realize how much fun Stoppard is having.
'Jumpers' reads like a Monty Python film, an...more
The story is a bit hard to follow at times because it operates in the realm of the surreal and absurd. But, if one realizes this from the get-go, and involves himself in the silliness of it all, one will realize how much fun Stoppard is having.
'Jumpers' reads like a Monty Python film, an...more
I've come to appreciate I don't know jack about Tom. I must see some of these plays mounted, but I think they seldom are. Is that they are difficult and American audiences are too impatient to work hard enough to sit through them. I think so-twice!
Stoppard was so much more comfortable when all I knew was R&G and Shak in love. Then he was my clever fellow. Now, well he's a mature fellow who has written a lot more than I realized and nobody's clever fellow but his own.
Stoppard was so much more comfortable when all I knew was R&G and Shak in love. Then he was my clever fellow. Now, well he's a mature fellow who has written a lot more than I realized and nobody's clever fellow but his own.
This is a relatively early work, but it's got all the hallmarks of my favorite works - music (including some composed by Stoppard), philosophy, clever wordplay, and zany happenings.
Framed as both a murder mystery and a story about an argument between moral philosophies, it is brilliant at refusing to answer questions. Also, best ever use of Zeno's paradox.
Framed as both a murder mystery and a story about an argument between moral philosophies, it is brilliant at refusing to answer questions. Also, best ever use of Zeno's paradox.
Rough start but as it goes on it becomes more interesting and more absurd. Not my favourite Stoppard by any means. But an amusing romp on a handful of genres - how academia can be a bit like theatrics.
Brilliant play. Loved it. Really well written. Saw it when it first came out and was performed at the National Theatre on the South Bank. Bought the book so I could quote from it.
May 29, 2012
Daniel Jones
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
philosophers, historians, anyone else
Shelves:
fiction
Great book about death, morality and the existence of God. It sounds heavier than it is, but like Stoppard's other works, the subject matter is presenting in a whimsical manner with great wordplay.
If you like speeches, you'll love this. If you like dialogue and plot, you'll hate this. I personally like dialogue and plot.
Hilariously funny, but ultimately sad, because I think he's right. The new version of Captain Scott and Oates is great. Thoughtful, and full of pithy lines.
Read this one a while ago. Came across it while cleaning out my bookshelf.
Sep 14, 2009
Albie
added it
Jumpers: A Play by Tom Stoppard (1974)
Pure, silly fun.
I just couldn't get into it.
couldn't much finish the book. give it another shot next time.
Every time I read something by Stoppard I am struck 1. his intelligence, wit, and humor and 2. the thouht "I should read more of his works." No exceptio here. The (literal) lunacy of the modern moral/ethical/philosophical/religious relation was as fascinating as it was disorienting. Would absolutely love to see this staged.
A relatively early work, and it shows. Predictably witty and intelligent, of course, but the farce doesn't carry the play even as well as it does in, say,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
.
Recommended by the ineffable Herb Granger. I can't tell whether this is the perfect indictment or the perfect paean to existentialism.
so much more wacky than I expected it to be; also, Stoppard likes turtles in studies
One of my favorite plays. It is the definition of the term "an embarrassment of riches."
ok, so maybe i only half read it and saw the play twice. that mostly counts.
Bizarre, but in a good way. Also in a forgettable way.
Or did I just see it, many years ago? Cheater!
pure virtuosity...
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Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL, is a British screenwriter and playwright.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Stop...
More about Tom Stoppard...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Stop...
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