Elmer Foster's Reviews > The Bourne Identity

Jumped ahead eight books in the Ludlum chronology to get to The Bourne Identity and now I am scratching my head as to what I was thinking. Catching up the backstory: a local chain bookstore went out of business, and I took the opportunity to purchase nearly all the Ludlum stories in paperback. He has so many titles inferring there must be something there to enjoy, er, worth reading.

Holding onto the belief that nearly every movie stemming from a novel is inferior, I have to reconsider where I place the Bourne legacy of titles. Rewatched the 2002 Bourne. Seeing the vastly different, pared down and nearly non-existent backstory to support the plot, while I enjoyed it the first time, this time was less for me.

Back to the 1975 story, yes 1975, which was probably better received nearer to its release, wasn't what I expected it to be. Certainly, didn't expect Vietnam to be in the equation. Nor the rambling repetition of Cain is for Charlie, Delta is for Cain, nonsense, etc. which didn't further the cause of David Webb in my view. While I think I know where Ludlum wanted to go, closer to the 2002 film version, I just couldn't get behind this version.

His writing was expansive, paranoid, grand in essence, but brittle in delivery. The CIA creation methods held little in the "how" they did it, and more in the "how would one deal with brain problems of this magnitude?". It dragged its feet several times trying to relate what David Webb aka Jason Bourne was dealing with but made few connections. Compound internal conflicts with external hostilities involving Carlos (the uber-villain, even less explained), Marie (his hostage/love interest... don't ask), and the General, the through line was dull, long winded, and mostly boring unfortunately.

This one was no Scarletti Inheritance nor Osterman Weekend more akin to the Matlock Papers and that's not a good thing. It had its high moments, but those were far between and too few to count. Same goes for his action writing, felt lacking to my eye. Surely no Gray Man or John Wick although Bourne would be their forefather.

Worth reading for the curious comparison to film but highly disparate and mildly disappointing.
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