Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Bourne Identity

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, 523 pages

Having seen all the Bourne movies, and seeing the latest Bourne novels on our bestseller shelves, I felt compelled to finally read this book series. I knew the basic premise; Jason Bourne wakes up with no memories and must piece his life together and discover who he is while avoiding all the men trying to kill him. What I didn’t know was how different the book was from the movie. While they both depict a highly trained government agent who has amnesia investigating his past, one has him killing everyone who gets in his way while the depicts him as a confused man who just wants to know who he is and what has happened to him.

Another difference is the style of writing. The movie is a straight out action flick full of shootouts and such while the book is more of a thriller with subtle twists and turns that really make you pay attention. I will admit that both the movie and the book are quite good in their own ways. But having now read the book I now find myself firmly in the “the book is better than the movie” camp.

As a small aside, can anyone tell me why Ludlum choose that picture for the book cover? No where in the book do I recall a seashell and a railroad spike...

2 comments:

  1. I love a good Robert Ludlam book- especially his stuff from the 70's, highly entertaining. The Bournes series is a personal favorite.

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  2. It has been discovered that a very large amount of cover art has nothing to do with the content of the book. Many artists are asked to do cover art knowing absolutely nothing about the book they are drawing for. Not sure if that's the case for this one, but it's a possibility...

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