Customer Reviews

The Jump Artist

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Austin Ratner joins the ranks of physicians-turned-writers (Rabelais, Keats, Chekhov, Somerset Maugham, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, William Carlos Williams, Michael Crichton, Khaled Hosseini, etc) in this very impressive debut novel THE JUMP ARTIST, a 'fictionalized biographical novel' of Philippe Halsman, considered to be one of the world's top 10 photographers. Ratner proves himself to be not only a fine investigative historian, but also a writer adept at exploring several languages and countries and enhancing the character perception of some very famous people. And he accomplishes this with a gift for story telling that promises he will be around for a significant new career!

THE JUMP ARTIST, a title given to Halsman as a photographer who achieved complex demands on celebrities who served as his models: 'Everyone jumps (quite literally) when Halsman commands.' But to understand this gifted photographer's approach to his art, author Ratner takes us back to Halsman's childhood when in 1929 he was accused and abruptly imprisoned for the death of his father - an unsolved incident when Halsman was hiking with his father, his father fell and died, and circumstantial evidence (real or placed) lead to an anti-Semitic kangaroo court convicting him of murder/patricide. Released from prison with tuberculosis and a broken spirit, Halsman's family and friends and nurse him back to health and Halsman discovers the art of photography, moves to Paris, and becomes - gradually and with the backing of such celebrities as Andre Gide and Albert Einstien - becomes a renowned photographer. Between the anti-Semitism that flooded Europe during and after World War II Halsman proved himself not only a survivor of his self-imposed guilt but also his surviving the purge of Jews.

Ratner makes his writing more solid by using quotes form the famous people in Halsman's life/story. For example, he introduces his book with Andre Gide's statement ' fiction is history which MIGHT have taken place, and history is fiction which HAS taken place.' Later in the book, when Halsman is photographing Gide he adapts the language of Gide to further create his drama: "Some people speak of 'finding oneself'.....but most people don't know what that means, They think of themselves as a mystery to be found out. But no one is a mystery. Everyone is what they always were. The courageous thing is to be who one always was and to find in the world those people and places that are like oneself.' Ratner unfolds his story slowly, carefully, rich with atmospheric descriptions of settings - from the filth and agony of prisons to the beauty of the Alps and the excitement of the streets of Paris. It all comes together to enhance our understanding of a man we know only as a famous photographer in a novel whose title not only recalls the 'jump technique' of a camera genius, but also the 'jump accident' of his father' that started it all. This is fine writing and a solid introduction to another physician novelist! Grady Harp, September 09

"The Jump Artist" is one of those books that will stay with you forever--a classic like D.M. Thomas's "The White Hotel," that shows how the forces of history resonate in the life of one person. Philipp Halsmann, a 22-year-old Latvian Jew, is falsely accused of his father's murder while hiking in Austria, where the terrifying malevolence of a rooted and superstitious anti-semitism is re-emerging. The horrors of the imprisonment and trial endanger his life, even after his pardon through the intervention of such men as Freud and Einstein; he is tormented by feelings of shame and guilt, and enraged at a world he can't control. The novel is intensely suspenseful, posing a primal, ultimate question: can someone recover desire and meaning when stripped of everything, and so save his own life? One reason we read the literature of the Holocaust, people like Elie Weisel and Primo Levi, is to understand how to live in the aftermath of the unimaginable. This book, with great beauty and passion, shows us how.

"The Jump Artist" by Austin Ratner is a pleasure to read: a compelling adventure about a brilliant talent with a dark and troubling past. Good and evil, nazis and movie stars, murder and redemption all feature prominently. But "The Jump Artist" is much more than a great story worthy of a Spielberg adaptation -- as you turn the pages, you realize in short order that you are holding in your hands a true work of art. "The Jump Artist" is a tribute to one great artist written by another. Through vivid language and lush narrative, Ratner turns the human soul inside out and reminds us that pain and loss define our lives but also teach us how to love and live during the short time that we're here. Do not miss this book.

Every page of "The Jump Artist" was as much of an unpredictable adventure as was Halsman's life. I was so drawn into his life, I had to remind myself that this was not Halsman's own journal, but rather historical fiction written by a brilliant author. A must read.

Ratner's The Jump Artist is a fabulous book. It is both a fascinating and suspenseful story and a psychological study. When Philipp Halsman's father is murdered while the teenage Halsman and his father are hiking in the Austrian Tyrol, Halsman is unjustly accused and convicted. The anti-semitic forces at play are a precursor to the events about to be unleashed on the world. The tale of Halsman's life after these traumatic early events gives the reader insight into victimization and guilt, as well as redemption and hope. The writing is beautiful, the story riveting, and the content resonant and meaningful. This is a must read.

A must read! This is a compelling book that I couldn't put down. It combines beautiful writing and a suspenseful story that has an affirmative ending! Those who know Halsman's art will love knowing more about this complicated and inspiring figure. I am eager for my book club to read it!

I highly recommend this sensational debut novel by an immensely gifted writer. Powerful, moving, triumphant.

This is one of the most emotional and thought-provoking pieces of literature I've read in many months. The Jump Artist is a work of art. I can't decide whether I admire it more for its subject matter (the heretofore little-known life story of Philippe Halsmann) or the literary style in which it's written, with its intense sensory descriptions and lush artistic - almost poetic - use of language. In fact, I can't remember a novel that combines such a wonderul story with meticulously developed characters, and sublime writing. I loved it. Highly recommended.

A reader's read!!!! A most extraordinary novel that explores the complexity and beauty of human emotions-love, innocence, guilt, anger-against the harsh realities of anti-semitism and fascism at the beginning of World War II. Philip Halsman is one of the most full presented young men I have ever encountered--He suffers an horrific wrong and tragedy but once saved remains true to the events and to his character--There are no easy fixes for him---He has not left my mind--

In addition I found the writing superb and many of the images breathtaking.

Beautiful writing and images, meticulous research, intriguing characters, photographic details, and intonations of ominous gathering clouds combine in a splendid book. The author's ability to re-create, imagine, and convey interior and exterior worlds is remarkable. This is a book club feast -- so much to chew on!