Jason Bourne Needs Some Identity (The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum
Date:	27/11/04 (1821 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good character development, draws you into the story, superbly written, great start to the series

Disadvantages: A little overkill in location desciptions but I feel they become necessary

After finishing The Bourne Supremacy last week I decided that it was probably best to go back and start at the beginning of the series. So I bought myself a copy of The Bourne Identity and sat down on Tuesday night and started reading. Almost a week later and I’ve just out the book onto my shelf having finished it. I’m a big fan of the films and that in part was the reason I was drawn to the books. I noticed during Supremacy that the story of the books to the films was quite different and Identity is similar to the film, but still massively different.

When a fishing trawler pull a man from the Mediterranean sea to find it riddled with bullets the crew need to drop him off to a doctor ASAP. He spent six months living on the Ile de Port Noir after Dr Washburn had saved his life and together they try to solve his amnesia. The only clue to his identity however is found on a small role of film surgically implanted above his hip. The film had only a couple of items noted on it, an account number and the name of a bank in Zurich. It was clear where he had to go.

Once in Zurich we discover his name is Jason Bourne through someone remembering him and the details of the account. Having visited the bank and discovered he has 4 million dollars in an account in his name he gets a nasty shock as he leaves. For some reason he picks up on two men acting suspiciously and using skills he didn’t realise he possessed manage to escape. These skills were again called upon back at his hotel as he kidnapped a Canadian economist to help him escape these men but who were they? And who was he?

As events start to unfold Bourne starts to remember certain details about the past and more importantly about the present where numerous people are trying to kill him. His less than willing travel companion Marie St Jacques is won over when Bourne safes her from a rapist and now she wants to help him. He only has a few details however a man named Carlos and he knows the answer is in Paris.

After reading the Bourne Supremacy first I thought it was a superb book and was probably Ludlum’s best work. Since then I have found that The Bourne Identity is an even better book than the second. It is a much better idea to read the books in order as the story is quite compelling. I found it impossible to put Identity down and found that if I had a spare 5 minutes, I’d end up picking up the book. I think this is where Ludlum’s talent lies. He seems to be able to capture your imagination and really draw you into the story.

He seems to describe locations in such away that you can actually imagine yourself stood there in places you’ve never been before. I noticed it in his second book as well as this that his descriptions are quite powerful and draw a nice sense of realism to the story. There were odd occasions where this seemed to be overkill at the time but when he used the location to it’s full potential you realised just why he described it so well. Throughout the book I found that he gave a good mental image and like a movie events were played out in your head.

I found that the character development was his real talent however. As the main character has lost his memory Ludlum writes the book in a very clever way. As Bourne learns small snippets of information along the way so do we the reader. It helps to really develop his character rather than give you everything all at once in the beginning. This makes you feel for him as you read the book and I also felt it really drew me further into the story.

The remaining characters in the story all play there part, although we learn small snippets about Marie St Jacques as the book carries on. She is quite important to the story and really seems to keep Bourne on the straight and narrow just as you think he’s going to lose it. This is Ludlum’s talent and the reason why I think these books have received the attention they have although the plot is massively different to the films. The relationship with the film seems to vary massively in places. It keeps in line with the start of the film and although it sticks to the principles of the story the two plots veer off in different directions.

The introduction to series is certainly the better book of the two I have read with Ultimatum next on my list to read. The book is just under 570 pages and although not quite as long as the two follow ups it seems to have a lot more detail condensed into it. You can pick it up for £5.59 from amazon.co.uk. If you enjoyed the film or love spy/crime/thriller’s then this is a book I would certainly recommend. The plots are similar between the books and the films but reading this wouldn’t ruin your enjoyment of the film and vice versa. A superb introduction to a great series of books.

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