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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
I loved this book. It took me a little while to get into the writing style, and the fact that it is not as modern as the film, but once I got past that I truly enjoyed it. The end was a little too easy, as in they seemed to sum everything up in a nice package in just a few too few pages but aside from that I did truly enjoy it!
A new genre for me. While i was bored to tears with the repetitiveness of the storyline, i also could not, not finish it. Blah, please give me back the 20+ hours it took to read!
I had a hard time following some of the intrigue, especially once more characters started to show up most of the way through. I think some of that was on purpose, especially when we were with Jason and he didn't have all the facts. But I really enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the next one!
Good book. Def. more character depth than his later work.
This book did not hold my attention the way I thought it would and wanted it to. It’s not fair to compare it to the movie when the book came out first, but I love the movies. They are my go-to’s often. The book was not like the movie and was dry and slow moving in lots of places.
If I hadn’t seen the movies first and if crime mystery political dramas were my jam, then I’d love this. But it was only so-so.
If I hadn’t seen the movies first and if crime mystery political dramas were my jam, then I’d love this. But it was only so-so.
The main character, Jason Bourne, takes a woman, Marie, hostage. He repeatedly threatens to kill her and he is fully aware of the fact that getting her involved, regardless of what he does to her, makes her a target. He hits her, manhandles her, tells her what to do, threatens her, uses her as a human shield, etc. All around horrible treatment. When she finally escapes him, she is captured by the people who are after the “hero” of this story. She spills everything she knows thinking they are law enforcement. After they get what they want out of her, she is raped and nearly killed. But Jason saves her, getting hurt in the process. This is enough to convince her to save his life in return, which kinda makes sense, but she goes the extra mile and then some to make sure he is okay, even though nothing would have happened to her in the first place of he didn’t mess with her! She is a blatant male fantasy. The moment she appeared in the book, I knew she would be victim to male egos.
The way she is described rubs me the wrong way. When she is terrified for her life the author dedicated a paragraph to sexualizing her body. This is moments before her rape and the “hero” is describing in detail how her nipples are pressing against her satin dress as her chest rapidly rises and falls with her heavy breathing (because she’s in pain and confused and scared shitless, because of Jason😐). And beyond her looks, when she is given the opportunity to express herself and go into her background, everything described is such a cringey cliche. She was a farm girl who went to Oxford despite her parents wishes, her male classmates were impressed and surprised by her ability to out drink them in beer, she doesn’t like shopping, etc.
And then as she tenderly nurses Jason Bourne back to healthand tells him her life story, she also tells him how she could tell he was a good man and not a cold hearted killer by how he treated her when she was being held hostage by him. Excuse me lady??!! What are you on??!! And then, after all of that abuse, the icing on the cake: she sensually gets undressed and seduces him. Bro. What. Pure male power fantasy.
I’m 99% sure they will fall in “love,” she will be dragged along in many more life threatening conspiracies because of her Stockholm Syndrome, and live “happily” ever after. 🙄
Okay also regardless of the misogyny, Jason is boring and not a sympathetic character at all! I think I would finish the book if Jason was more interesting and showed more hints of being a decent guy. Or the opposite! If he had a crisis because he realized he was actually a villain, that would be such a fun twist. Another twist I would have enjoyed reading was if he targeted her because he unconsciously recognized her and she was planted there to sway him one way or another before someone else could get to him. Instead he just grabs her cuz she’s hot.
Boring. Gross. No.
The way she is described rubs me the wrong way. When she is terrified for her life the author dedicated a paragraph to sexualizing her body. This is moments before her rape and the “hero” is describing in detail how her nipples are pressing against her satin dress as her chest rapidly rises and falls with her heavy breathing (because she’s in pain and confused and scared shitless, because of Jason😐). And beyond her looks, when she is given the opportunity to express herself and go into her background, everything described is such a cringey cliche. She was a farm girl who went to Oxford despite her parents wishes, her male classmates were impressed and surprised by her ability to out drink them in beer, she doesn’t like shopping, etc.
And then as she tenderly nurses Jason Bourne back to healthand tells him her life story, she also tells him how she could tell he was a good man and not a cold hearted killer by how he treated her when she was being held hostage by him. Excuse me lady??!! What are you on??!! And then, after all of that abuse, the icing on the cake: she sensually gets undressed and seduces him. Bro. What. Pure male power fantasy.
I’m 99% sure they will fall in “love,” she will be dragged along in many more life threatening conspiracies because of her Stockholm Syndrome, and live “happily” ever after. 🙄
Okay also regardless of the misogyny, Jason is boring and not a sympathetic character at all! I think I would finish the book if Jason was more interesting and showed more hints of being a decent guy. Or the opposite! If he had a crisis because he realized he was actually a villain, that would be such a fun twist. Another twist I would have enjoyed reading was if he targeted her because he unconsciously recognized her and she was planted there to sway him one way or another before someone else could get to him. Instead he just grabs her cuz she’s hot.
Boring. Gross. No.
Definitely not like the movie. The story was very detailed and intricate.
2.5/5 Stars
Honestly, I was disappointed by this. The primary reason this merits a 2.5 star rating is that Ludlum crafted a brilliant premise, but otherwise it was a solidly mediocre and often frustrating novel.
The primary reason I disliked this novel is that for the first third of the book (at least), I was given absolutely no reason to care about Bourne or what happened to him. We were given a very close physical description of Bourne, but there was no reason to cheer for him. He was an emotionless man without a personality. If he had done something positive it would have been a slightly different story, but instead we see him early on crippling fishermen, stealing thousands of dollars and a car, and then threatening a woman, physically abusing her, and using her as a shield to escape from people who are chasing him. Overall not a great first impression, and while I understand the stress he was under, it certainly didn't make me care about him.
The prose of this novel also drove me around the bend. Ludlum seemed to be under the impression that he could write an action packed thriller in a monotone using antiquated language. As an example of this, the author appears to be from the generation that thought you can use French liberally without any explanation given to readers (I fortunately understood enough French to keep the thread of the story, but it was nonetheless frustrating). Needless to say, I wasn't a fan. Many of the descriptions were downright confusing, and keeping track of the action was often impossible.
Concluding thoughts: The premise is nothing short of brilliant, and the climax is fantastic. The drudgery of the rest of the novel makes this an often-times frustrating read, however. In four words: Good premise, poor execution.
Honestly, I was disappointed by this. The primary reason this merits a 2.5 star rating is that Ludlum crafted a brilliant premise, but otherwise it was a solidly mediocre and often frustrating novel.
The primary reason I disliked this novel is that for the first third of the book (at least), I was given absolutely no reason to care about Bourne or what happened to him. We were given a very close physical description of Bourne, but there was no reason to cheer for him. He was an emotionless man without a personality. If he had done something positive it would have been a slightly different story, but instead we see him early on crippling fishermen, stealing thousands of dollars and a car, and then threatening a woman, physically abusing her, and using her as a shield to escape from people who are chasing him. Overall not a great first impression, and while I understand the stress he was under, it certainly didn't make me care about him.
The prose of this novel also drove me around the bend. Ludlum seemed to be under the impression that he could write an action packed thriller in a monotone using antiquated language. As an example of this, the author appears to be from the generation that thought you can use French liberally without any explanation given to readers (I fortunately understood enough French to keep the thread of the story, but it was nonetheless frustrating). Needless to say, I wasn't a fan. Many of the descriptions were downright confusing, and keeping track of the action was often impossible.
Concluding thoughts: The premise is nothing short of brilliant, and the climax is fantastic. The drudgery of the rest of the novel makes this an often-times frustrating read, however. In four words: Good premise, poor execution.