Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Jumper



by Steven Gould

App. 11 hours, inc sleep,fb etc3
So the book is... Good

It tells the story of Davy, a teenager who escapes an abusive household using his ability to teleport. As he tries to make his way in the world, he searches for his mother (who left when he was a child), develops a relationship with a woman he keeps his ability secret from, and is eventually brought into conflict with several antagonists.


Overview(me/without spoiler):
The story is a fiction of a boy with unnatural powers. The book is nicely paced, well prosed and the storyline doesn't seem so linear like most of its kind. I think it's suitable for teenagers onward and especially for someone wanting of fiction with reality not left to the dump.

Spoiler/review/opinion/whatever-you-say:
The book opens with domestic violence, how the character got abused by his father and runs from home. Or rather jump.
Up to the point the story follows the movie. Correction, the other way around. Then the books merit itself by describing how the antagonist got through his life and nurture his power. It does seem like a bit Catcher in the Rye in the beginning, but it then changes the plot, quite subtly. It's not like there is no climax, but the story is a bit different. The first part was about him getting over emotional turmoil, left by her mother.
Then they reconciled.
Then she died, which was very unexpected.The chase after that seems like normal fiction, until I noticed it's also about reconcilation and those stuff. The good thing is it is not too straight-forward, where the emotional part would otherwise get lame and sticky.

What I like about the story was how it made the 'jump' seem more probable. There are rules to it, and they make the story real. Plus the way how he practices and discovers the powers are described and spaced out nicely. They are not so abrupt and sudden. In short, it doesn't feel manga-like.
The character is evidently smart, and if the fact that a jumper exist, this story can really be real.
Owh and in the story it did touch the theme of terrorism, which I think is handled in a neutral way.
Other than that, the story is told in the first person view, the language is enticing yet not bombastic and the story beliavable.


I really feel sad the movie was bad. Since it was written by the original writer.


*******
haha.gmbr cilok amazon.kantoi

1 comment:

Aimi Jaafar said...

haha spot typo-ed 'believable' at the end XD