Spring Heeled Jack [Paperback]

Philip Pullman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Knopf (1991)
• ASIN: B0016D2OPY
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All's well that ends well., May 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Spring-Heeled Jack (Hardcover)

I've just finished reading it to my 6 and 8 year olds. "Read, read," they roared when I threatened to stop and put them to bed. With some of the narrative drive of Raold Dahl, Pullman leavens his darkness with a brilliant combination of cheeky humor, self-satire, post modern machinations all set in a Dickensian London. My only complaint: the kids were so excited they couldn't fall asleep. Me too.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't "Spring" high enough, October 29, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spring-Heeled Jack (Hardcover)

It's a Dickensian Batman, a Victorian Superman. Up on the roof: It's a bird! It's a cat! It's Spring-Heeled Jack, the devil-costumed defender of truth and justice. Unfortunately, while Jack has some intriguing possibilities, they're never used enough in this lackluster little novel.

Rose, Lily and Ned have escaped from the rotten orphanage (their mom is dead and their father is missing), with plans to sell a valuable locket and travel to America. But they are attacked by Mack the Knife, "the most evil villain in London," who kidnaps Ned. Lily and Rose are rescued by a mysterious figure who resembles the devil. But it's not a devil, it's Spring-Heeled Jack, who perkily informs them, "I'm good. I catch villains. I avenge wrongs. I do all kinds of stuff." (But does he slice, dice, and freshen your breath while you sleep?)

Jack takes Lily and Rose to his friend Polly, unaware that the sinister boss and amoral old maid from the orphanage are after the three children, intending to steal the locket as well. Will Spring-Heeled Jack rescue the incredibly outspoken Ned from a gang of thugs? Will he rescue the girls from Mr. Killjoy and Miss Gimlet?

One of the problems with "Spring-Heeled Jack" is the narrative. It's split between comic-strip-style cartoons and regular text -- and unfortunately neither the text or the cartoons can stand alone in telling the story. This jarring transition might be exciting for very young children, especially if a parent is reading the story out loud, but older kids will probably find it jarring. And unfortunately while corny dialogue can be stomached in the cartoon format, the regular narrative just makes it sound trite.

This cutesy arrangement also harms the characters, as every one of them is essentially a stereotype except Spring-Heeled Jack himself. There are the kindly young lovers, the evil orphanage owners, the unusually patient murdering robbers, the loyal pooch and the plucky preteens. With the exception of a very witty cartoon kitchen cat, Jack himself is the only interesting character in the bunch. He's also the most underexposed, since he is present perhaps a fourth of the time that the bland Polly is.

Fans of Philip Pullman's charming "I Was A Rat!" and "Firework-Maker's Daughter" will be disappointed in this calculatedly cutesy tale. One to pass by.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun story for kids and adults alike., June 25, 2009

By 

Monchin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spring-Heeled Jack (Paperback)

This book is a fun, Victorian sort of superhero tale. It's not a long book at all, but that seems like it would be perfect for young readers. I like that some parts of the dialogue are done in comic form, and that there are little funny illustrations on a lot of the pages. I thought that was a great idea, and well-executed. The story is simple, three orphans trying to escape from their dodgy wardens and get on a ship to America. I like that you never find out very much about Spring-Heeled Jack, even at the end of the book, which means that the character still has a lot of mystery to him. I feel like this character could easily become part of a series, and I hope that Pullman will consider writing more adventures for Spring-Heeled Jack.