Wonderful, light read

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	• Being There Jerzy Kosinski Grove Press, 1999 - 160 pages average customer review:based on 76 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Be Here. Now.

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.

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quick short read

Our book discussion group read this book and we all felt that it a pretty good story. The ending was disappointing but after discussing further, was appropriate. This is a quick read book and can be read in about 4-5 hours.

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Wonderful, light read

Simply a wonderful book b/c it brings you into the mind of a simple, friendly person who brings happiness to all around him. Don't watch the movie.

Chance thinks

Loved the movie so thought I would read the book. The book is different in several respects of course. Chance thinks in the book in ways that can be only hypothesized in the movie. He knows how to use the phone and elevator. He knows to say he does not drink. Also note that the sexual observations are much more descriptive - perhaps necessarily so in the book. But in each of these cases I feel the description takes away some of the effect of the movie. All in all, while the plot remains the same the movie seems to me to be the better of the two. The book is a good read none the less. It is light and a good bed book. It reads fast and makes for an interesting comparison with the movie.

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we reap what we sow

Kosinski must have had a crystal ball, because it is all to apparent this story could easily be applied today. Given this political year, I have to recommend this book to anyone who watches the talking heads on television. The main character, Chance, is the epitome of every "expert" on t.v.. We swallow the bitter pill of platitudes and opinions everyday on cable t.v. news and the aftertaste is blissfully sweet. Amazingly, we ask ourselves 100 days into the next presidency and say what happened - where's the beef? Well, I'll tell you what happened, we heard what we wanted to hear and so we bought into it. This book tells this story well. This satire will never go out of date - it is to the point, despite the one odd aside of a meaningless sex act, and it should be put on a mandatory reading list for political science majors.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

A modern classic now available from Grove Press, Being There is one of the most popular and significant works from a writer of international stature. It is the story of Chauncey Gardiner - Chance, an enigmatic but distinguished man who emerges from nowhere to become an heir to the throne of a Wall Street tycoon, a presidential policy adviser, and a media icon. Truly "a man without qualities," Chance's straightforward responses to popular concerns are heralded as visionary. But though everyone is quoting him, no one is sure what he's really saying. And filling in the blanks in his background proves impossible. Being There is a brilliantly satiric look at the unreality of American media culture that is, if anything, more trenchant now than ever.

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