Review by J. Kevin Tumlinson   —   July 6, 2001

Picture this: it's 6p.m., 110 degrees outside and the air-conditioner in your car is busted. You've been sitting in a parking lot known locally as the interstate for over an hour and the traffic guy on the radio is yucking it up with the corny afternoon DJ. Admit it, you'd sell your soul to the devil to be able to blink your eyes and be in the comfort of your very own living room, sipping a tall-boy and watching Sci-fi channel in your underwear. You wish.

Teleportation. It's been a staple of fantasy and Sci-fi since before there even WAS fantasy and Sci-fi. Greek and Norse mythology, Biblical tales, even Egyptian hieroglyphics have hinted that everyone was looking for a short cut from A to B. Human beings want instantaneous transportation (and we want it right now!). But what would you do if you really could blink and be… anywhere?

That's the question that writer Stephen Gould (no relation to Stephen J. Gould, the famous scientist) asks and answers in his phenomenal book, "Jumper." Along the way, Gould looks deeply into the psychological ramifications of abuse and escapism.

David "Davy" Rice is a teenager living with his abusive, alcoholic father in Stanville, Ohio. Davy's daily routines include choirs such as mowing the lawn or doing the laundry, school, and generally taking a beating from his old man. His relationship with his father is a classic example of the abuser/abusee relationship. Davy is quiet and introspective, and we are left with the sense that he feels somehow responsible for the abuse he receives.

Victims of abuse typically pursue some form of escape, and Davy is no different. He seeks out the comfort of books, getting "lost between the lines of text," as he puts it. The Stanville public library is a second home to him, a refuge from the rage of his drunken father. Here, he feels safe and protected.

When Davy forgets to finish his chores on one fateful afternoon, his father becomes enraged, pulling off his belt and shifting the large, heavy buckle so that he can use it to hit Davy. "No, Dad, you promised!" Davy yells. "Shut up! I didn't hit you near hard enough the last time!" And with that, Davy braces himself for another beating. He closes his eyes, tenses… and falls forward into the stacks of books at the Stanville Public Library.

Somehow, through some miracle, Davy has the ability to teleport. In literally the blink of an eye, he can be anywhere. But there is one rule--he can only teleport to some place that he has been before.

Gould takes this ability and its limitations and uses it as only a single story element in a book that is really about victims--how they deal with life in an abusive relationship, the psychological need to escape, the anger that they, themselves, feel.

"Jumper" is the ultimate escape fantasy, and Gould plays it to the hilt. He is unafraid to ask the big questions--what would you do with this power? Should you use it for profit? What lifestyle would you lead if you could be anywhere in the blink of an eye? This book is rich with stories of delicious revenge, deep searches into the human soul, and questions of ethics and freedom. You will find yourself identifying with David Rice, letting him become a part of you. You will feel his rage, his grief and his love as if these emotions were your own. On nearly every page, you will certainly pause and say, "That's me!"

Unfortunately, citing specific examples of how Davy uses his power would give away the plot. Let me say, then, that Davy uses his teleportation ability just as I myself would have chosen to use it. That may be why I have always been so fascinated with this book. It delves into fantasies that I've had all my life.