Tuesday 17 September 2013

Jump by David Stokes.

Jump is a 206 KB screenplay that was first performed at the Hop Poles in Hammersmith, London in April 2008. This play features 4 characters in 4 scenes. In scenes 1 and 4 there are 2 girls, Bibi and Tilly. In scenes 2 and 3 there are 2 men, Carl and Ted. One man is standing by an open window on the 9th floor, intending to jump to his suicide.

This is a strange book to read as it is not a novel or a short story. Being a screenplay it is just a listing of each characters words. It is not easy on the brain or eye because each paragraph will start with the actors name, eg Bibi: or Carl: - so that mentally you may think that Bibi: Hello - means Tilly says "Bibi, Hello".

Your reading experience is like listening to 2 seperate pairs of people having a long conversation. You feel like an eavesdropper. It is also like listening to a play on the radio.

As a play, I thought Jump was disappointing. As a book I thought Jump failed big time. The dialogue between the characters is nothing special. The humour is rather weak. The thoughts on suicide are quite shallow and I would be happy for all the characters to jump. This screenplay does not work as a book. Jump is simply a POOR read and I shall vote it only 2 stars. There are lots of good books going for free on the Amazon Kindle, so I suggest you give Jump the MISS.

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