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Tuesday, Jun. 11, 2002 |
11:30 a.m. |
The Bourne IdentityRobert Ludlum Fiction Wow. That�s the most basic thing I can say about this book. Wow. The book was so encompassing that it was one of those literal page-turners, ones that cannot be put down; it must be finished. In fact, the book was so good that I�m going to rush right out at lunchtime and buy the sequel so I can get started on it. It left questions unanswered. Thus, I�m still recalling every detail that I remember from the book, forming my own opinions and theories. Not everything is spelled out, the way that a book should be. Alright, here�s the basic plot summary: A man wakes up to find himself in the care of a doctor, hidden away from the rest of the town. You know, one of those doctors who is still a master of medicine but was dismissed from any major hospital or practice for some wrongdoing (in his case, he�s a drunk who may or may not have killed some patients). Well, the man wakes up and is told by the doctor that he was found drifting in the sea, his body riddled with bullets. He is told all of this because he has no memory of what happened to him or his life before the incident. The doctor tells the man that he is a man of many talents: speaks several languages, an expert in combat skills and martial arts, and strangely he has a piece of microfilm implanted in the skin under his hip. The microfilm leads to a bank account in Zurich and the man discovers a name attached to the bank account: Jason Bourne. He also learns after being attacked that people are out to kill him and he has the skills to survive. In the process of escaping Zurich he kidnaps a woman, Marie St. Jacques who instantly fears and hates her kidnapper as he thrusts her into his world of violence and espionage. In a strange decision after he saves her life, she decides to join him to help him find his identity and the source of his attackers. I�m going to stop there, out of fear that I�ll reveal too much and spoil the movie for a couple people. I know, after finishing this book, that the movie will not do it justice, but I�m sure there are some consistencies between the two; thus I do not want to spoil anything. The writing of the author is not spectacular, just your average fiction talent. However, Ludlum�s plot twists make the novel so unpredictable that it rivals any unpredictable movie or book in its time. I�m serious, it was more unpredictable than The Matrix, The Usual Suspects, or anything I can even think of. The plot twists are so carefully thought out that absolutely everything makes sense and it leaves the reader gasping at every page. The plot is so well thought out that only reading the book in its entirety can the reader make full sense of what he just read and the depth of the conspiracies and involvements. Absolutely wonderful, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense and action. Because of its association, I would even recommend the movie. I pray that the movie is half as good as the book.
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