The Leap
UK edition cover art of The Leap
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| Author | Jonathan Stroud |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Corgi |
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Publication date
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2001 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 233 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 59581488 |
The Leap is a fantasy novel by Jonathan Stroud, published in 2001. It centres on a girl whose best friend drowns in a mill pool.
Everyone says that Max has drowned, but Charlie thinks differently: she was in the mill-pool with him, and knows exactly what she saw. When she begins to see him in her dreams, her hopes are raised. It seems the reunion she craves is possible. But where exactly is Max leading her? And will she be able to return?
The story weaves a fantasy into everyday life, but for the most part it is confined to Charlie's dreams (and later, her perception of the waking world). With only a few clues, the reader is kept guessing whether it is all in Charlie's imagination, or whether there is a reality behind the dream. No simple answer is given, even at the end.
After the high adventures of Buried Fire, I was interested in a more low-key and subtle investigation of how fantasy and reality collide. The book is split between the perspectives of Charlie, who believes something strange has happened, and her brother James, who doesn’t. It is up to the reader to decide whose side to take. - Jonathan Stroud
Protagonist. At the beginning of the story, Charlie witnesses the drowning at a mill pool of her best friend, Max. Her memories of the events are fanciful, involving a vision of Max in the water, being kidnapped by strange women with bright green eyes. Her doctor, Peter Andover, believes theses memories are the cause of asphyxiation (from being under water), for the restriction of blood to the brain may induce visual disturbance, such as prolonged dreamlike hallucinations. Her mother and James, her brother are also skeptic of her tale. In spite of this Charlie continues to fully believe what she had seen. Charlie also has vivid dreams in a fantastic land, where she attempts to find Max. At times she will see him walking in the distance, but is always to far off to catch up with. She keeps a dream journal.
After many nights of trying to find Max, Charlie meets in one of her dreams a stranger named Kit who wants to help her in her quest to find Max. He tells Charlie that Max is what is known in this country as a Walker and that all the Walkers are going to The Great Fair, which celebrates the coming of winter. At The Great Fair there is a Great Dance that welcomes newcomers like Max. Kit then tells Charlie that if Max were to join the dance he would truly be of this country and will forget not only Charlie, but all of his past life. He tells her that there are also many entrances to his country, through dreams (Such as Charlie's) and "true" entrances, like the mill pool, and the only way to catch up to Max was by searching for entrances in the day (when Charlie is awake). These entrances are the places Max once loved since he is still close to his "old country".
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