Being There by Jerzy Kosinski Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Being There
Book Review: Be Here. Now.
Summary: 4 Stars
When humans are not "talking past" one another, they're busy trying to "read" the other person or figure an entranceway for their own personal agenda. Rather than developing a genuine appreciation of another - requiring time and effort - too many of us are already mentally asking, "What can (identity) do for me?" In a culture keyed to instant gratification and focus groups, who has time to cultivate a genuine understanding of someone else on this planet?
"Being There" presents us with a human being who enjoys the serenity of knowing who he is and living in the moment. His conversations are factual and honest, his dealings with the self-absorbed are courteous to a fault and his approach to interpersonal relations is camera-like, taking in as much of someone as possible and trying to fathom "the complete picture". Where politicians try to separate a candidate from his negatives, Chauncey seeks to imbue the famous he meets with as many characteristics as he can discern - not ascribe notions to them, but simply capture the whole of their personality to take their "full measure". And he attempts to do so despite his limited mental capacity.
When Chauncey strolls into the garden at the end of this odyssey, he's at peace. The colors, sights and sounds of the world's natural state surround him, and he is at one with them. It's connectedness, being "in the zone", and few of his more "gifted" contemporaries could ever appreciate what he has discovered.
This is a thoughtful little book that rolls around in the back of your mind.
Book Review: Being Here
Summary: 5 Stars
After watching the film several times over the years -- but before reading the book -- I concluded that Being There was a prime candidate for one of the rare instances in which the cinematic version of a story was superior to the literature it was based on. The story is so simple and so much of it is communicated by expressions, gestures, and tone of voice that it seemed unlikely that the written word would be up to the task.
Instead, finally reading this thin but ambitious effort showed me again that good writing trumps good cinema almost every time.
To be sure, the film is good cinema. And the talented duo of Peter Sellers and Shirley McLean are so convincing in their silver screen roles that it is hard to imagine the characters they portray looking and sounding any different than the way they were played in the film (my effort to disassociate them from the story wasn't helped by the fact that my edition of the book has Mr. Sellers larger than life on its cover).
Yet the book takes the story to another level. Chance, the main character, is still a fortunate simpleton, But in the book author Jerzy Kosinski can reveal what is happening in his head, the swirling and disconcerting mystery that even the most obvious events seem to someone like him. These passages add an unexpected depth and darkness to the story, which is without most of the comic relief so prominent in the film.
The end result is a book that isn't the wry comedy with precision timing I expected after knowing the film so well but rather a biting and trenchant satire about the culture of modern media, politics, and business, and of the gullible nature of a people far too eager to follow anyone they think may be willing to lead.
Book Review: Being There
Summary: 4 Stars
Being There by Jerzy Kosinski, London: Black Swan 1983 (1971) 111 pagesThe novel "Being There" is about a retarded person called Chance who has been living isolated from the outside world at an Old Man's house since his birth.When the Old Man dies he is confrontated with the real world, which offers new opportunities and obstacles to him.With the help of a couple called "Rands", he is in the position to lead a life in which he's made popular and famous by TV.
This novel is written well and in an easy understandable language so that everybody is able to understand the content.It is a criticism on American Society and its culture.It is shown very well which role TV plays in the Americans' everyday life.First the protagonist spends most of his time with watching TV which is a substitute for any kind of relationship for him.Later he even gets in a TV show and becomes very famous. It is very interesting to read how a person, in this case even a mentally disabled one, can be made up by the media, especially by TV. His whole image is made by the media and people do not care whether it is right or not. A negative point to make on the novel is that there is no real action in it, so it seems to be long-winded sometimes. Further more it is very exaggerated and hardly to believe.But without this exaggeration the content and the message would not come over so clearly.
Book Review: Being There and boring?
Summary: 4 Stars
Jerzy Kosinski's Being There is an entertaining and funny novel which was immortalised by Peter Sellers in the film of the same name.Reading it at first it seems to be uninteresting but as continuing it gets more and more exciting when the lonely gardener Chance has to move out of the large mansion ,he has been living since his childhood .Chance is led by various misun- derstandings which reach their top when he is ellected for a president candidate.Book Review: Being there
Summary: 5 Stars
In keeping with a postmodern perspective, I am willing to entertain multiple interpretations of this story. But I cannot help but think that despite the many potential understandings about this work, there is a most important lesson to be learned.
How did a simple-minded gardener--"dumb as a jackass" according to his maid Louise--become Chauncey Gardiner? The heir to a billionaire's fortune. A media guru. An advisor to the president of the United States. A potential presidential candidate himself. Maybe even a prophet. Was there something innately great about Chauncey? Maybe. But probably not. Being there begs the question, "Being where?"
Being there is about three things: location, location--and location! Chauncey Gardiner, upon getting hit by the Rand's car, was in the right place at the right time. But the lesson goes beyond a mere bump on the leg by a billionaire's fender. Chauncey Gardiner's greatness lied not in the man but, rather, in the relationships of people who chose to define him as great. Simply put, Chauncey Gardiner was a socially constructed reality.