Start earning points for buying books! Uplift Native American Stories. Add to Bookshelf. Read An Excerpt. Jan 05, ISBN Add to Cart. Buy from Other Retailers:. Aug 14, ISBN Audiobook Download. Paperback —. Listen to a sample from The Bourne Identity. Also in Jason Bourne.
Also by Robert Ludlum. Product Details. Inspired by Your Browsing History. The Bourne Supremacy. Robert Ludlum. The Matarese Circle. Patriot Games Movie Tie-In. The Day of the Jackal. Frederick Forsyth. The Marching Season. Daniel Silva. The Scarlatti Inheritance. The Unlikely Spy. The Cardinal of the Kremlin. The Aquitaine Progression. A man wakes up with amnesia This can be difficult in the best of times.
If people are trying to kill you that can sometimes add to the Microfilm, competing assassins, double and triple identities and of course a love story. As noted, this is a great read and it's much better than the movie by the same name in my opinion. Although back in there was a miniseries staring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith that stayed very close to the book.
The special effects are dated and so on, but it's better story-wise if you care to look it up. Really, do yourself a favor and read the novel. View all 63 comments. Apr 13, Duckie rated it did not like it Shelves: biblio-bile , daoban. I don't remember how this ended because I had to buy myself a Jack-and-Coke to get through the last chapter. Ludlum belongs in a very small, elite group of authors who don't know what words mean.
To illustrate this, here are some passages from the book followed by the first image that came to mind when I read them: "'If I scream, Monsieur? The chameleon. The c I don't remember how this ended because I had to buy myself a Jack-and-Coke to get through the last chapter. The charade had worked He had done such things before, experienced the feeling of a similar accomplishment before.
He was a man running through an unfamiliar jungle, yet somehow instinctively knowing his way, sure of where the traps were and how to avoid them. The chameleon was an expert. View all 21 comments. Oct 16, Seth T. I loved the movie and heard that I the book was comparatively awesome.
And it was. The thing is: I haven't the faintest idea how the movie came out of the book. Sure, there's a girl named Marie, but s I loved the movie and heard that I the book was comparatively awesome. Sure, there's a girl named Marie, but she's an entirely different character. Sure, there are people trying to kill the man named Jason Bourne, but they're entirely different men. Sure, there's an American government-run company called Treadstone Seventy-One that is looking for Bourne, but for entirely different reasons.
But are all these differences a bad thing? They are not. I really think the first Bourne movie is among the best action films ever created. That said, for most of its running time, Ludlum's novel is better than the movie. The premise is so much more intriguing and Bourne's turmoil better perceived. Instead of an enemy as doughy and effeminate as cloak and dagger U. The book is action-packed, one of those thrillaminnut rides that refuses, for the most part, to let up.
I don't read cheap thrillers often, but The Bourne Identity was worth my time. And I like to think that my time is valuable. This is not to say that Ludlum's thriller is not without fault.
The book's requisite romance is rushed and artificial. We know that Bourne and his interest are in love solely because Ludlum tells us that this is the case, not because we see any evidence that this should be the case.
And, actually, there is a far greater problem. The climax is poorly wrought and much more difficult to follow than anything previous encountered in the book.
The ending is not satisfying in that by the time it comes, emotional resonance has long-since evaporated. But still. I was in love with the book until the last forty pages or so. View all 18 comments. Jan 05, Fergus rated it liked it. And why then can I nevertheless remember highlights of the Dickens, Shakespeare and Bronte works I read more than 10 years earlier? You always remember a real Wallop.
Ludlum, on the other hand, thrives on shadow boxing. And filling his books with shadow characters. View all 11 comments. Mar 16, woody rated it did not like it. Maybe it was above my reading level. There were just too many "alpha, bravo,cain, delta Cain is for Charlie, Delta is for Cain! I just kept hoping that jason bourne would die Good thing I shop at Goodwill and it only cost me 50 cents!
Everyone tells me that I should give the movie a chance and that it is better than the book, but I ask, won't it remind me of the book and b Sorry if you loved this book, I HATED it. Everyone tells me that I should give the movie a chance and that it is better than the book, but I ask, won't it remind me of the book and bring all those bad memories back?
Aug 18, Bagtree rated it did not like it Shelves: random-basement-finds. This book caused me pain. Intense boredom, odd moments of indignation, and pain. It's poorly-paced. The prose is a clunky, redundant, pointlessly vague affront to all that is good in the English language. The dialogue is stilted and horrid. I don't care how many rapists a man rescues you from; This book caused me pain. And seriously, the prose is awful. Get Carlos!
Trap Carlos! Cain is for Charlie and Delta is for Cain! Find a man! Some nonsense about traps! Maybe if I repeat the same meaningless statements over and over and italicize everything and sprinkle liberally with exclamation marks, people will - - people will what? I can't even begin to think of a rationale for that. And I want my afternoon back. View all 4 comments. I saw the first movie and didn't understand anything. Too much action for me! But this retold version is quite different from the movies, because the story takes place after the Vietnam War.
Then now I completely understood this abridged version from the original book with MP3. I studied German at the university 30 years ago and I thought this language was very difficult, but learning English is also very difficult, but I'll succeed.
View all 7 comments. This book was my introduction to spy novels and its still the best I've read in that area. Incredibly detailed and full of suspense. My favorite spy and one of my favorite villains rolled in to one in to exhilarating package with fast pace action.
If you like an authentic touch in what you read you'll love this! Must note that the movie is completely different from the book. In my opinion the book is a much better experience. View 1 comment. Aug 15, David Putnam rated it it was amazing. Read it a long time ago, but still rate this one as a five. Couldn't put this one down and for it's time it was a breakout concept the set the stage for many other great authors.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series. View all 3 comments. Jun 03, LaFleurBleue rated it it was ok Shelves: paperback , crime-thriller-mystery. What an imagination! The story and the characters are slightly different from the movie; I should say the storyline is way much more complex in the book; the characters could do with a bit more substance.
The major drawback which explains my rather poor quotation of this book is indeed the writing quality, or lack thereof. Some sentences simply do not make any sense even when read 3 or 4 times, on their own and within the paragraph ; some images are not relevant;wording is usually poor and quite inadequate; there are mistakes in grammar and conjugation.
So much actually of all of this that I really had trouble to open the book again, even though I knew the story was so compelling I would not put it down so easily. Ludlum, to my opinion, is the worst writer I've ever read, but with one of the best story-lining and imagination. Indeed I believe Ludlum should not have worked on his own but teamed with a skilled writer who would have put that into right words and made this book into the 5-star winner it really should be.
This has been my first and probably my last book from this author. View all 6 comments. Sep 08, Benjamin Stahl rated it it was ok Shelves: movie-was-better , particularly-shit , heartbreak-hipster. More like the Bored Identity.
Am I right? This shit was unbelievably boring. The cool kids in school dressed like Simple Plan — long shorts and high, black socks; a perpetual look of middleclass melancholy haunting their feminine faces. Who the hell ever heard of Facebook?
You wanna chat, damn it, you call me mate. The going trend was jeans that looked like you had tussled with a dog. Long sleeves under short sleeves. Running with a discman in your pocket. Your deepest secret was that you had a crush on Hermione Granger. Flip-screen mobiles. Weekly television guides. Jacking off over Jessica Simpson. Playing Eminem in the family car, desperately convinced your mother would eventually get him because of those cringey songs about his daughter.
That poor, poor child. Working school holidays was just a myth — a fucked up one. Childhood did not evoke a sense of loss and yearning, but instead was present and beautiful. Am I done reminiscing? Well, shit, I guess I have to be. There was also the fear and shock of High School. Old friends fade, new friends replace them Atheism is the new black.
Teachers swear in class. But to get to the point already. I remember seeing The Bourne Identity the first time. Damn, it blew me away. Especially after Die Another Day - the absolute worst of the James Bond films - The Bourne Identity , with its realistic action, vulnerable though efficient hero and intriguingly believable villains was ground-breakingly refreshing.
And, despite many saying Paul Greengrass carried the trilogy to its critical peak, I disagree and say the first one remains the best. It just gets everything right. And among other things it was one of the earlier inspirations I had for going to Europe. I loved the film right from the start. My younger brother tried to read it after the film came out. He was like ten. I think he made it to about the fourth page before giving up. So, yeah, since I actually got into reading I always thought I would try this book eventually.
But what a total disappointment it is. Nothing close to what I expected. Firstly, the film is nearly completely different. A moot statement by necessity, I hasten to add. Judging from a good many reviewers here on Shitreads, I take it the novel is appreciated. But man, I would say without hesitation I preferred the film. Matt Damon brought charisma to Jason Bourne. He and the actress who played Marie had such good chemistry.
Every action sequence mounted the tension flawlessly. But I will point out The film has Jason climbing from the top window of an embassy, guards hot on his tail. Jason leading the cops on a high-speed chase through gridlocked Paris. Evading a deadly assassin outside a farmhouse.
Riding a dead body down a stairwell, shooting his attackers at he falls towards the ground. Meanwhile, the book mostly revolves around this highly trained assassin making withdrawals at the bank, phoning people, catching taxis, sitting in restaurants and talking, shopping for clothes and shit. Damned thing should have been called The Bourne Transaction. I have included an excerpt from another spellbinding moment He picks his clothes discreetly; a trained consumer, cold and ruthless.
Heading to the counter he smiles at the cashier. An attractive girl, name badge: Cynthia. Not at all. Maybe you would like to use pay-pass instead?
She dreads to give the answer. Yes, sir. His skin breaks out in goosebumps. His lips tremble. Whatever, oh whatever - Oh, sweet Jesus!!! Cain is for Charlie and Delta is for Cain. Find Carloss - trap Carloss. Kill Carloss. Get used to me saying things like that for no damned reason.
So the book actually starts off good. Two thumbs up and all that. I was surprised when I learned it was written in I had just assumed it came out nearer the film. Stop it. Find Carloss. It had a … classic kind of feel to it. It just did. Stop being such a moping git". So this stranger wakes up on a small coastal town on the Mediterranean.
For months he works at rebuilding himself with the help of a curious alcoholic doctor. Dr Washburn sends this unnamed man on a fishing trip for a jolly good time. Turns out somewhat differently.
And what a name for a doctor, by the way. I will refer you to an old colleague of mine - Dr Healcut. We go back a long way. Everything that happens in the first fifty pages could well have taken place between the scenes in the movie. It was good. I liked how Jason sent the doctor a million bucks in gratitude for his help. She was Marie St. Another difference is that Bourne steals a car, takes Marie hostage and forces her to drive it. The Matt Damon movie has no scene where Bourne and Marie get captured and tortured.
However, in the book, Bourne and Marie get captured, tortured, and abused. Why do the bad guys keep doing this? They should know how it always ends. Anyway, as expected, Bourne frees himself and kills his captors. He also saves Marie from men who are trying to sexually assault her. During the incident, he is shot Oh no! Not again. The two then go to a hotel so Jason can tend to his wounds.
By this time, Marie has developed Stockholm Syndrome. In the film, Bourne discovers that before getting shot and forgetting his identity, he was an assassin with the name John Michael Kane.
He was sent to kill an African dictator named Nykwana Wombosi in his yacht. However, his conscience kicked in when he saw Wombosi with his children. He fled and was shot two times in the process, ending up in the sea. In Robert Ludlum's novel, Bourne discovers that he was an assassin with the fake name Cain.
As part of a mission named Treadstone Seventy-One, Cane was tasked with challenging the international terrorist known as Carlos The Jackal. Carlos goes on to be Bourne's main threat in the novel. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie happens when Bourne is chased by the police in Paris. Here, he easily establishes himself as one of the best movie drivers of all time. The only difference is that Cruise uses a motorbike. Anyway, whereas the movie portrays Bourne as an efficient driver, there is no Paris chase scene in the novel.
Ludlum clearly states that Bourne isn't so good behind the wheel. That's why he doesn't drive the car himself after stealing. He holds Marie hostage and forces her to drive him out of Zurich.
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