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andrew_russell 's review for:
The Bourne Identity
by Robert Ludlum
This book in my opinion ws far richer in detail and in fact had a different story to tell from the film. It was pacey, exciting and had me gripped from the start.
It tells the by now well known story of Jason Bourne - a man who loses his identity due to the fact that he is shot in the back and flung over the side of a boat. When recovered from the water, he soon realises that he has suffered complete memory loss. Throughout the book, fragments of his memory are recovered and the reader sees the story from the point of view of Bourne, i.e. at the start of the story there is little known of him by the reader and gradually they are introduced to various aspects of his past as Bourne recovers his memory. This approach has good points and bad points. The main negative is that the reader never really feels they have a full grip of the plotline until the final pages. The good point is that they are able to empathise more keenly with Bourne as they have a greater understanding of his lack of knowledge about his own past.
I liked the dichotomy in Bournes personality in that he acts as a ruthless killer at certain points and at other points he is a caring, honest and compassionate human being. This is most apparent in his relationship with Marie, whose life he initially threatens in order to force her to comply with his wishes but who ultimately becomes his lover. After this, he thinks primarily of her protection from the horrific life which he knows she will be exposed to if she remains with him.
Also central to the book is the character known as Carlos - a character notably absent from the film adaptation. He is a prolific assassin, known worldwide for his exploits but who has thus far avoided the best efforts of law enforcement agencies worldwide in their attempts to capture or kill him. This is the purpose for which Bourne was recruited to Treadstone (a CIA project which is top secret in nature) - to act as a lure and appeal to Carlos' competitive nature to lure him into the open and make him more vulnerable. He is to achieve this by taking the credit for assassinations which have been conducted, thus making Carlos jealous of Bournes perceived achievements.
I will not spoil the ending but needless to say there are too many twists and turns in this thriller to mention and ultimately Bourne ends up with Treadstone believing he has betrayed them by turning as well as being pursued relentlessly by Carlos.
A great book and I am thoroughly looking forward to reading the others in the series....onwards to The Bourne Supremacy!
It tells the by now well known story of Jason Bourne - a man who loses his identity due to the fact that he is shot in the back and flung over the side of a boat. When recovered from the water, he soon realises that he has suffered complete memory loss. Throughout the book, fragments of his memory are recovered and the reader sees the story from the point of view of Bourne, i.e. at the start of the story there is little known of him by the reader and gradually they are introduced to various aspects of his past as Bourne recovers his memory. This approach has good points and bad points. The main negative is that the reader never really feels they have a full grip of the plotline until the final pages. The good point is that they are able to empathise more keenly with Bourne as they have a greater understanding of his lack of knowledge about his own past.
I liked the dichotomy in Bournes personality in that he acts as a ruthless killer at certain points and at other points he is a caring, honest and compassionate human being. This is most apparent in his relationship with Marie, whose life he initially threatens in order to force her to comply with his wishes but who ultimately becomes his lover. After this, he thinks primarily of her protection from the horrific life which he knows she will be exposed to if she remains with him.
Also central to the book is the character known as Carlos - a character notably absent from the film adaptation. He is a prolific assassin, known worldwide for his exploits but who has thus far avoided the best efforts of law enforcement agencies worldwide in their attempts to capture or kill him. This is the purpose for which Bourne was recruited to Treadstone (a CIA project which is top secret in nature) - to act as a lure and appeal to Carlos' competitive nature to lure him into the open and make him more vulnerable. He is to achieve this by taking the credit for assassinations which have been conducted, thus making Carlos jealous of Bournes perceived achievements.
I will not spoil the ending but needless to say there are too many twists and turns in this thriller to mention and ultimately Bourne ends up with Treadstone believing he has betrayed them by turning as well as being pursued relentlessly by Carlos.
A great book and I am thoroughly looking forward to reading the others in the series....onwards to The Bourne Supremacy!