The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Identity is a 1980 spy fiction thriller by Robert Ludlum about an amnesiac who must discover who he is and why several different groups, including an assassin and the CIA, are trying to kill him. It is the first in a series of novels written by Ludlum, and later Eric Van Lustbader, featuring Jason Bourne.

The Bourne Identity has been adapted into a 1988 television mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith, and a 2002 movie starring Matt Damon and Franka Potente.

Plot summary

For a more in-depth background of the character Bourne, see Jason Bourne.

The protagonist is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea with several bullet wounds, including a head wound which has given him amnesia. The doctor treating him finds a message surgically embedded in his hip, containing details of a Swiss bank account, presumably anonymous.

In Zürich, the protagonist learns that his name is Jason Bourne; and, while attempting to retrace his steps on his previous visit to the city, attracts the attention of several people who either fear him, warn him of danger, or try to kill him (but all unhelpfully assume that he already knows why). He also meets a woman named Marie St.Jacques in Zürich and uses her as a hostage to escape. He is forced to take her with him when he flees after it becomes clear that by associating with her he has put her life in danger as well.

As the evidence and the double-crosses mount up, it appears that Jason Bourne is an associate of the infamous terrorist Carlos the Jackal In the end, however, it is revealed that the protagonist is actually a CIA Agent in deep cover as a fictional assassin, Jason Bourne, in order to get close to Carlos, and that he received his injuries after blowing his cover trying to prevent an assassination. Jason Bourne goes by many names, such as Cain, and Delta One. His real name, however, is David Webb. In a dramatic finale, he faces Carlos (alone and unaided, because the CIA believes, due to his recent erratic behaviour, that he's gone rogue), but Carlos escapes, to return in a sequel.

The 1988 miniseries is reasonably true to the plot of the novel, but the film was changed to exclude the subplot about assassin "Carlos" and, equally or more significantly, the fact of Bourne's innocence — it is maintained that he actually was an assassin (though of CIA employ).

Sequels

Ludlum penned two sequels, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. In addition, after Ludlum's death, Eric Van Lustbader continued the story of Jason Bourne in a sequel titled The Bourne Legacy. He is also currently writing the fifth novel in the series tentatively titled, The Bourne Trajectory.

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Plot summary

Sequels

See also