Post #10: The Bourne Identity Review

                One of the most suspenseful and intriguing books out there is The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.  There is suspense from the very beginning of the book as an unknown man is shot six times on a boat and falls into the sea.  This man wakes up with no memory of who he is and people are trying to kill him for reasons he doesn’t understand.  The book is about him looking for clues to find who he is, with a lot of danger along the way.  This book is an intense page-turner.

                The plot of The Bourne Identity has many twists and turns.  This makes the book very exciting and interesting to read.  One instance in the book when the plot turns is when Jason is in a bank in Zurich and as he is leaving, he sees a man pull a gun out.  This man and other men attack Jason and he fights them off, but then he realizes there are many other killers coming after him.  This was very suspenseful because we don’t understand why Jason is being attacked, since we don’t know about his past.  Another moment of suspense in the book occurs just as Jason thinks he has escaped the killers in Zurich.  It says, “His eyes were looking at two thin intersecting lines!  Crosshairs!”  This was very suspenseful because it seemed like the killers were everywhere and it seems to the reader like it is going to be impossible for Jason to get away from them.  As in the examples mentioned so far, the plot in the book is very fast-paced at most times.  However, the plot can also be very slow-paced.  For example, the plot is very slow at the part when Jason and Marie are working to find clues in order to discover his identity while they are in Paris.  This part of the book is slow because there is a lot of dialogue and not a lot of action.  The book is still interesting at this point even though the plot is slow, because the reader is intrigued to discover more of Jason’s past and answer questions that might have come up earlier in the plot.  There are many unknowns in the book and it can become very confusing.  Overall, the plot of The Bourne Identity is intriguing and suspenseful.  It forces the reader to turn the page and keep reading.  The author also uses characterization to add to the book.

                The main characters in The Bourne Identity are well-developed.  Jason Bourne and Marie St. Jacques are both very likeable characters.  Robert Ludlum characterizes these characters through their dialogue and their actions.  We can see that Jason is willing to do anything to discover his identity when he abducts Marie and uses her to get himself to safety.  We can also see that Jason is a good person even though he does this because he was only doing this to keep himself safe and he also keeps her safe.  We can also see that Marie is a good person because she refuses to leave at any of the times Bourne tells her to leave because it is too dangerous.  Carlos is a very mysterious and evil character.  He is not characterized as much as Jason and Marie, but he still adds a lot to the plot of the book.  The reader sees small glimpses of Carlos throughout the book and is intrigued to find out more.  The characterization of Jason, Marie and Carlos enhances the book, as does Robert Ludlum’s writing style.

                Robert Ludlum does many things with his writing to make the book more interesting.  The book is written in third person, but sometimes it changes to first person in italics for one sentence to show Jason’s thoughts.  These thoughts come to show what Jason thinks about the things he finds and what he thinks those things might mean about him.  They also show him remembering what the doctor told him to do when he sees something familiar.  One time when Jason was thinking, the book said, “Specifics may come to you…certain repressed conduits…prodded into functioning.  Was it happening now?  Oh Christ, I can’t stand it!”  Jason’s thoughts add suspense to the book because they are popping up in his head when he needs to focus on getting to safety.  The writing style of the book definitely adds suspense.

                The Bourne Identity is a great read.  Anyone would like this book, but especially people who enjoy thrillers.  It is intense, suspenseful and hard to put down.