Leap in Aussie Readers

Feb 06, 2020 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, aussie-authors, 2015-release, borrowed-from-library, gift-from-author

Three years after Joe’s life was shattered, he was still grieving. But he’d worked hard, no longer drinking, working two jobs as well as looking after himself with his rigid exercise regime – the parkour he continued to master. He was fit and healthy, living in a place with two others – now good friends – behind a laundromat. Joe knew that part of Melbourne like the back of his hand. Mentoring a young teenager was satisfying but could he stop the direction Deck was heading?

Elise’s marriage to Ad ...more

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May 13, 2015 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, arc-are

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 b
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" ...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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Nov 15, 2017 Kathryn rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, australian-authors, reading-list-2017

Not a great start to my 2018 reading year, but it can surely only improve from here! I started this a couple of months ago and it wasn't grabbing me then, so I put it aside in order to concentrate on other books, and I can't say it was any better when I picked it up again!

The characters mostly irritated me, as did the swearing and the casual attitude to sex and drugs.

I'm glad I've read it, I'm just sorry it wasn't what I was anticipating. ...more

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Dec 03, 2016 Emma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, contemporary

Two of my top books for 2016 are from the Miles Franklin 2016 longlist this year. I think this is a sign that my literary taste is improving beyond thrillers and whodunnits.

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