Leap
Allen & Unwin, $26.99 pb, 336 pp, 9781925266115
Leap by Myfanwy Jones
Set in Melbourne’s cafés, under its bridges, behind its laundromats, and within its zoo, Leap is a contemporary Australian novel about love and loss. It entwines the narratives of Joe, whose guilt over the accidental death of his high-school girlfriend drives him to work dead-end jobs and train furiously in the art of Parkour, and Elise, a recently separated graphic designer who finds clarity in weekly visits to the tiger enclosure at the zoo, where she feels compelled to sketch the animals. The unusual pairing of a twenty-two-year-old traceur and a middle-aged mother is typical of the intergenerational connections Myfanwy Jones weaves throughout the novel. Joe mentors Declan, a disaffected teen who reminds Joe of himself when he was younger, and their relationships with their parents are a recurring theme.
Continue reading for only $10 per month. Subscribe and gain full access to Australian Book Review. Already a subscriber? Sign in. If you need assistance, feel free to contact us.
Leave a comment
If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.
If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.
Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.