Book Review -- The Bourne Identity

I read "The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum for my book club and thought it was a fun, fast-paced thriller. The strength of the book is its plot. Jason Bourne is shot in the head and has amnesia regarding his past life. However, he is surprised to find that he still possesses remarkable skills and knowledge which appear related to espionage. He uses these skills and his limited recollection of a few key events to try and retrace who he is before he is killed by the CIA or a rouge assassin. If you have seen the movie, the book's plot is a bit different and, of course, much more complex. Also, the female character in the book is much more developed and believable. She is an international banking expert for the Canadian government. She is not only capable and helps Bourne several times, but the book has time to create the conflict and sacrifices they each undergo that leads to their falling in love. As a character, Jason Bourne is a true gem because the author gives so many layers to his character. Throughout the book neither the reader, nor Jason Bourne himself, know whether he is a monsterous assasin or a heroic super intellegence agent. Sometimes I felt sympathetic to his dire situation and sometimes I felt repulsed by his cool efficiency in dealing out death and destruction to preserve his own life.

The down side of the book is that the prose is not very rich. Mr. Ludlow seemed to feel that just the pertinent facts were needed to keep the plot speeding along, and so some of the scenes seemed sterile to me. I would definitely recommend this book, but I enjoyed more thrillers such as Patriot Games by Tom Clancy, The Eight by Katherine Neville or The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown because the prose draw me more into the scenes and the characters.

Do see the movie also, Matt Damon is truely awesome as Jason Bourne in the trilogy of movies.