The Bourne Identity

Robert Ludlum

Like many people I came to this book through the movies based on Robert Ludlum's Bourne novels. I...more

Like many people I came to this book through the movies based on Robert Ludlum's Bourne novels. I read THE JANSON DIRECTIVE several years ago (blew through it on a 30-hour train ride between Kolkata and Chennai), and though it was entertaining enough to pass the time with, I felt like it was essentially literary packing foam. I wasn't looking for Les Miserables, mind you, but Ludlum's characters are pretty mechanical, operating basically to show off a hidden world of espionage, conspiracy, and cool gadgets. There's nothing essentially wrong with this kind of novel, but I prefer character-driven fiction, where I can see personalities of some complexity and depth grapple with challenges and come out changed somehow. As far as I can tell, Ludlum didn't write this kind of novel often. But THE BOURNE IDENTITY is an attempt at this kind of novel. The main character, so-called "Jason Bourne," is not struggling against assassins and CIA operatives for some political agenda or even merely to save his own life. He is trying to understand himself, to learn who he is. As one character states (as an almost shameless declaration of the "moral of the story"), "In a way, [Bourne is] a functioning microcosm of us all. I mean, we're all trying to find out who the hell we are, aren't we?" Such internal conflict, however, is handled quite clumsily in Ludlum's hands, which seem unaccustomed to dealing with emotional subtleties. Credit should go to the makers of the Bourne movies (Matt Damon and the rest of the cast prominent among them) for breathing life and depth into these characters. I was a bit disappointed at how much of the mysteries surrounding Bourne's character are resolved for the reader not through Bourne himself learning the truth, but through a significant number of scenes where Bourne's adversaries discuss the details of his past life amongst themselves. For me this sucked the momentum out of the winding up scenes, and left me feeling like I'd missed the climax. One last thing: those picking up THE BOURNE IDENTITY having seen the movies should be aware that the novel was published in 1980. While many of the basic premises remain the same, this is not exactly the same story you saw on screen. This is not at all a bad thing, but some people get really upset when they're expecting a perfect translation between literature and film or vice versa.   hide

This book was absolutely amazing! I can’t get over the amount of detail that Robert Ludlum...more

This book was absolutely amazing! I can’t get over the amount of detail that Robert Ludlum put into the plot of this book. It’s a non-stop action packed story with a bit of mystery tied in. I could not put it down. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie and I am glad I did, as I hear that they are very different from one another. The characters in the story are very believable and you can’t help but want Jason and Marie to succeed. The story is about a man “Jason Bourne” who wakes up and can’t remember who he is. However his body is covered in scars and bullet wounds and a piece of microfilm with a Swiss bank account number was surgically removed from his hip. While Jason is trying to get to the bottom of who he is, he finds that he has been targeted by “Carlos” the world’s most lethal assassin.    hide

If you have seen the movie first and expect the book to be similar, you will be disappointed. ...more

If you have seen the movie first and expect the book to be similar, you will be disappointed. Really the only thing that is the same is that Jason Bourne is found in the ocean and can't recall who he is and begins to discover his past. You have to read the book as being separate from the movie to really appreciate it. I personally wish the movie stayed truer to the book because I think the book's story of who Jason Bourne is and why he is running is a lot more compelling than the movie. Plus St. Marie Jaques in the book is so much better in the book than in the movie, the fact that they made her to be a gypsy in the movie is a real let down, it is no wonder they decided to kill her off in the movie. I still really love the movies, but I don't associate them with the books, because they each tell completely different stories about Jason Bourne.   hide

These books are way better than your typical made-into-a-movie crap. Tightly plotted and a thriller...more

These books are way better than your typical made-into-a-movie crap. Tightly plotted and a thriller all the way through. It's worth noting that the movies are entirely different, which means both the book series and the movie series are fantastic and awesome in entirely different ways-- read/watch them both. The movies are great, but the books are just phenomenal. A review below me describes them as 'technical' writing, and that's just right-- if you like flowery descriptions, these books are not for you, but Ludlum has an eye for detail and every move is intricately plotted. Definately some of the best in this genre.   hide

All three movies were fantastic. However, the only things the books and movies have in common are...more

All three movies were fantastic. However, the only things the books and movies have in common are names and the basic idea of an assassin with amnesia. If you enjoyed the movies, great, I did too. But this is not the movie. I could say that this book leaves the movie in the dust, but that'd be a huge understatement. This book was amazing. I remember staying up late into the night reading it, until my eyes were too heavy to continue and then being upset that I couldn't read anymore in that sitting. If you enjoy spy/action/suspense novels this is for you. I haven't seen the original movie from the 80s, but I understand it actually follows the plot of the book.   hide