Angelus Domini, child of God... this was difficult to rate. I think I will give this one a 3.6. I may read the rest of this series. The idea and the world is interesting enough for me to want to keep going but MY GOD the dialog between some of the characters and how certain parts were written irked me. Especially between Marie and Jason. Can two characters have drier and more unnatural flowing conversations? Give us the spice Robert! Chee-sah!

I read this back in the 80’s when someone I worked with handed it over to me. I was drawn in immediately and could not out it down! I think I’ll go and read all of them right now. (The movies were pretty good also)

Okay, people, let's be real. Are we all prepared to be real?

This joins other books on my 'the movie is better' shelf. It actually joined that shelf when I was only about 100 pages in, and I'll soon explain why. I'm not such a bibliophile that I always universally declare that the book is better. Specifically, sometimes the movie is a better example of a movie than the book is an example of a book. See also: The Godfather. The story itself may be improved or degraded by the adaptation. In this case... the movie is a better example of its form, and the story was also significantly improved. The film adaptation of this is the most radical departure from the book I've seen since Starship Troopers, but whereas that one was worse than the book in every way, the movie version here is a huge upgrade.

Not that the movie's a masterpiece, mind you. But let's consider some points where Robert Ludlum goes laughably wrong. First of all, this book was published in 1980 and seems to bear some hallmarks of the chauvinism / misogyny of certain 1970's "heroes." Jason Bourne, in the book, repeatedly slaps, threatens, kidnaps and endangers the life of innocent-bystander Marie St. Jacques-- and what's her response? She falls in love with him. I kid you not. It's like the most rapid onset of Stockholm Syndrome I've ever seen. The ostensible explanation is that he saves her life... but he put her in harm's way in the first place! Ridiculous.

Okay, another point is the villain: Carlos. Clearly based on the real-life Carlos the Jackal. I didn't have a problem with that except, of course, the outcome of the climactic fight scene is  inconclusive. Huge let-down. Maybe Ludlum didn't feel like he could kill off a character based on a real terrorist who was still alive and at-large at the time. Meh.

Another point, all the repetition. This covers both the intentional recycling of phrases ('Stop it!') in Bourne's mind, but also Ludlum's frequent use of the same words to describe the same actions. Compared to the way he handles the gag-inducing love story and dialogue in this, the action scenes are the tolerable parts... and yet Bourne's always "lashing" his foot out or "plunging" his heel into someone rather than, you know, kicking. There are other examples of this but just trust me.

So, yeah. Why two stars? I don't know. There is some solid action here and there. The idea behind Jason Bourne is compelling and it's the reason there was a (radically different) movie produced. And, what do you expect, it's Robert Ludlum. At least he's not Tom Clancy...

The fascinating world of agents, double agents, undercover agents, international crime and secret services is for sure complicated and dodgy.

Add into this, an agent who lost his memory and does not know who he is and has to understand if he is one of the good guys or one of the bad guys using scraps of memory, initiative, diligence and cunning, and you get a good story.

I liked this book and will be reading more of this series/author.

I was a big fan of Ludlum a loooong time ago, and Bourne Identity was the book which convinced me the love affair has come to an end. Maybe it was the translation, maybe it was bad timing, who knows. This time around (20 years later) I enjoyed almost every part of this wild ride. I am as happy now as I was sad 20 years ago. Now I just have to pace myself.

Ah the Bourne Identity. Yes, I finally read it.

A book starring Jason Bourne, ex CIA operative or something like that, who wakes up on an old drunk doctor's little island with serious memory loss. Not even knowing what his name is, after he heals, he plans to go on a huge excursion to discover who he is. He does however have a few clues. While unconscious, Bourne would mutter numbers and places in his sleep. The doctor has a suspicion that these are places he's been, a lot. The doctor also found a tiny laminated piece surgically implanted in his side. The piece has a number on it. With hunches that the piece is the number to a safe keeping box, in one of France's biggest banks, Jason is off to find out first his name, and later, the rest of his story.

It was okay. A lot of action scenes. I find them hard to synthesize on paper, but they were quite interesting if you could follow exactly what was happening. That would probably be my only complaint. The way the author builds up the pieces of Jason's life into a very slow construction of himself is well done. He doesn't give you too much at one time, but when he does, you want more. A lot of set ups, hard to keep track of but in a good way, kept you thinking and guessing. I only gave this book a three out of five stars because I personally do not so much like action adventure set in modern times. I read the book as a more of a personal thing, and they are not so bad that I will not read the rest. Only 1/4 the story has been discovered in this first book so it's definitely worth finishing the rest.

I recommend this book for people who enjoy action adventure, with a lot of guns, shooting, fight scenes, and tricky spy dialogue. If you were a huge fan of the movie, you will be an even bigger fan of the book (way more goes on).

I recently had this book recommended to me. Thanks James for making me read this masterpiece.

The Bourne Identity movies were good, but this book is WAY better!!!

It has everything you could ask for. Fight scenes, intrigue, suspense, and a character that you can relate to. He has flaws, noble traits, and a skillset that would make Liam Neeson jealous!

Reread - This book is truly AMAZING.

The trilogy of the Bourne series of movies, is built within this one book (The Bourne Identity) and updated, and perfectly adapted. The edits in the second and third movies are so perfect...which were done in the book too...but since you are reading it as one, it is more linear.

Chapter 34 is AMAZING! If you have been paying attention while reading, then the payoff of this chapter (and the following) is in spades. Such an amazing couple of chapters.

Now, I am going to read the second and third books, knowing that they do NOT represent the second and third movies. I think...when I first read them...since I had watched the movies first...got me confused and really hated them.

First time reading this book...What a great book. I wish that he could have finished the series as good as he started. It is like he lost his way, and didn't know how to land the plane...it just crashed and burned. Enjoy this book, but you will regret reading the next one, but you will punish yourself for reading the last in the Trilogy. Please, just settle for a one book adventure. Trust me.

I'd kinda ignored the original three Bourne novels as I'd already seen and enjoyed the movies, but it had always nagged at me that the later Lustbader novels sat at odds with the story I new from the films. Having finally gone back to read the originals I understand why - the movies and the novels are not the same, not even close. It's the same characters and the same premise of amnesia, but pretty much everything else is different - especially the plot. Suddenly, some of the things in the later novels that didn't make sense started to...

As we probably already know, an unidentified man is brought ashore having been shot in the head. As he recovers physically he also tries to piece together his memories. However, instead of being constantly on the run from the CIA, the novel takes him across Europe following clues to his identity and coming up against Carlos the Jackal instead of the CIA.

It's a big book, but an enjoyable one. I couldn't put it down and am already well into the second novel now...

I fear this is a DNF at 47%

I love the concept, but the characters are so flat and oddly predictable for a story in which the main character has amnesia.

The worst offense, however, is in the writing of Marie. In what world does a woman thank a man for saving her from a rapist by having sex with him?? Let alone the exact same man who, just hours before, had held her captive at gun point and abused her to keep her in line? And then spent the vast majority of their relationship yelling at her for trying to help him remember his past? Does Ludlum know any women?

I saw another review that said we didn’t know the characters were “in love” until we were explicitly told so, and I totally agree. Marie (and every character for that matter) had the potential for so much depth and development but instead Ludlum opted for tired, boring stereotypes.

It got to the point where I grimaced every time I had to push play on the audiobook, so I thought I’d forgo the torture and DNF instead.

Watch the movie and be happy with how they improved upon the characters and story line. I’m sure some people truly enjoy this book, but it just was not for me.

why can I read a 500 page long romance book without trouble but when I have to read a 100 page long book for school I almost die

عالی بود.
به جرئت می‌تونم بگم بهترین کتاب جاسوسی که تا حالا خونده بودم. پر از هیجان و اتفاقات پیش‌بینی نشده و افت و خیز. همه چی به بهترین شکل تصویر شده بود.
اگر فیلمش رو دیده باشید هم باید بگم اصلاً هیچ ارتباطی با فیلم نداشت. فیلم فقط یه اقتباس آزاد از کتاب بود.