A modern classic now available from Grove Press, Being There is one of the most popular and significant works from a writer of international statur...
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Jan 25, 2012
Gavin
rated it: 
At a scant 128 pages, this is a small book with enormous implications. Although written in the seventies (with a movie starring Peter Sellers in the eighties), the storyline is very prescient today. Before reading this slim novel, think about the myriad of ways people continue to infer incorrectly important issues, or how they get their information pertaining an issue.
A slender gem that needs to be read by all.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A slender gem that needs to be read by all.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Aug 28, 2008
A.J.
rated it: 
You can Google this book and come up with numerous learned and not-so-learned papers discussing it, and this might lead you to think it significant. You might be swayed by people who call it a postmodern masterpiece or an existential gem, or by the fact that it was made into a film. But look at Kosinski's prose: this particular emperor is stark naked. In short, this novel has a good premise and is full of good ideas, amateur in their execution.
A back-of-the-book puff piece in my copy More...
A back-of-the-book puff piece in my copy More...
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Apr 14, 2009
Evan
rated it: 
So, there was a German film in the mid-1970s, a Werner Herzog-directed movie of cult status titled, The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser, based supposedly on a true incident from hundreds of years ago in which a man, a kind of idiot, suddenly appeared in a town and his origins remained a mystery. In the film, Hauser is shown to be raised in a dark, prison-like condition, cut off completely from the ways of the world and socialization. Raised like some factory farm animal. Then one day his caretaker dies
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Sep 10, 2008
Jim
rated it:
It's interesting that I've picked up and read this story right now in view of McCain's selection of Palin, a virtual unknown, and her rapid escallation to the front page of the country's newspapers. That's almost exactly what occurred to Chance, the name of a man who had served without pay as a wealthy man's gardener until he suddenly found himself without a job or a family when the man died. While roaming the streets deciding what to next, a chauffeur backing into a parking place, pinned his
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Jan 02, 2012
Butterflyinthesky
rated it: 
Loved Blind Date, so I tried this. Was very disappointed. The plot and characters were not believable at all.
The film with Peter Sellers is great though! The story really comes to life and adds whatever it is that is missing from the book. I especially loved seeing all of the things Chance watches on TV throughout the movie. The shows and commercials are extremely dated, which makes them amusing from a modern standpoint, and the content often adds something to the mood/story. In the b More...
The film with Peter Sellers is great though! The story really comes to life and adds whatever it is that is missing from the book. I especially loved seeing all of the things Chance watches on TV throughout the movie. The shows and commercials are extremely dated, which makes them amusing from a modern standpoint, and the content often adds something to the mood/story. In the b More...
Sep 17, 2011
April the Cheshire Meow
rated it:
What an awful, horrific, hateful book. Kosinski must have had a bad year or ten in high society. Nobody is ok in this book. In Kosinski's bleak, black satire it blasts away at who we we are, our thinking selves (avatars is what I actually want to say) which in truth hide self-knowledge or awareness of the extreme self-involvement and the resulting recursive solipsism of every single human being, in the author's opinion. I don't think some readers have caught on that Chance is a symbol of the
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Dec 21, 2010
Jeff
rated it: 
I had read The Painted Bird a number of years ago on the suggestion of a good friend, and loved the book. But until now I hadn't read any of Kosinski's other book. Tonight I was looking for a quick read after muddling through another novel that was becoming too laborious. I picked up Being There. It's not nearly as dark as The Painted Bird...duh, it's a satire. But I love Kosinski's direct style. Yes, many of the reviews I have read have compared Chance to Obama and/or Palin. (I think the
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Jun 30, 2010
AdultFiction
rated it:
TCL Call #: 641.0973 KINGSOLVER
Madeleine - 5 stars
Huh. That's all I can seem to say.
For a book that is almost too basic in it's language and structure I ended up feeling totally spun around by it. In short, a housebound man whose only experience consists of what he's seen on TV is thrust out of his familiar into the real world . . .where he lands in the most powerful of households and becomes an overnight sensation. Will he survive with his limited grasp on reality?
Madeleine - 5 stars
Huh. That's all I can seem to say.
For a book that is almost too basic in it's language and structure I ended up feeling totally spun around by it. In short, a housebound man whose only experience consists of what he's seen on TV is thrust out of his familiar into the real world . . .where he lands in the most powerful of households and becomes an overnight sensation. Will he survive with his limited grasp on reality?
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May 14, 2011
Gemma
rated it:
It was as though Kosinski took a manual for writing postmodern novels and copied it verbatim. Omnipresent television, personality-less hero, lampooning of society's empty values...and did I mention omnipresent television? With painfully childishly-wrought, obvious metaphors about "being seen" and "watched"? Did you know we only exist if we are seen? Blah, blah, Baudrillard, whatever bleh.
I've heard this was a great film, though, and Kosinski did win a BAFTA and a Wr More...
I've heard this was a great film, though, and Kosinski did win a BAFTA and a Wr More...
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Jan 25, 2010
Mad Dog
rated it:
The whole premise of people continually 'misoverestimating' (thank you Dubya) the protagonist doesn't work for me. This premise is so 'over the top' and farcical, and the writing is pretty dry (in comparison to the premise).
None of the characters in this book ever became interesting to me. I think it is safe to say that there is no character progression (and very little character development) in this book. Without interesting characters, there is 'pressure' on each scene to be funny More...
None of the characters in this book ever became interesting to me. I think it is safe to say that there is no character progression (and very little character development) in this book. Without interesting characters, there is 'pressure' on each scene to be funny More...
Oct 31, 2011
Erin
rated it:
At only 140 pages, this was a very quick read but fun.
Chance was sheltered from the outside world his entire life. He never left the house of his employer except to tend the garden in the backyard. He cannot read or write and spends his off time watching TV. When his employer dies he is left homeless and thrust into the outside world. After an accident and a few gardening metaphors he is thrust into America's financial and political society.
I found this book incredibly hu More...
Chance was sheltered from the outside world his entire life. He never left the house of his employer except to tend the garden in the backyard. He cannot read or write and spends his off time watching TV. When his employer dies he is left homeless and thrust into the outside world. After an accident and a few gardening metaphors he is thrust into America's financial and political society.
I found this book incredibly hu More...
Aug 16, 2011
Matthew
rated it:
There is something to be said about society that is satisfied with itself. However, the world portrayed is quiet the opposite. In fact, there is so much insecurity that a man whose talents lie in the garden only seems to do well.
Overall, this is a fantastic tale of a man who is swept along with the worlds current. It could have held the title, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." I really enjoyed this book because of the extremely blind people that surround the More...
Overall, this is a fantastic tale of a man who is swept along with the worlds current. It could have held the title, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." I really enjoyed this book because of the extremely blind people that surround the More...
Feb 15, 2008
Gerald
rated it:
Kosinski was one of my instructors in college. He taught a seminar on Camus and Sartre.
I remember he said, "The only moment of true freedom I ever experience was on airplane suspended between the two collectives."
The movie version was excellent but with much of the thematic weight of the book missing. And it's not that the book is too voluminous. That part is just unfilmable.
I remember he said, "The only moment of true freedom I ever experience was on airplane suspended between the two collectives."
The movie version was excellent but with much of the thematic weight of the book missing. And it's not that the book is too voluminous. That part is just unfilmable.
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Sep 09, 2010
Kim
rated it:
This book fascinated me. I loved not only the writing style but the unique perspective of Chance, the main character. Because he has no experience of the world outside of the garden he tends and what he watches on television, it's interesting to see what unfolds when he does have to strike out into the real world. His perspective is unique, unpredictable, and enjoyable to read about. Kosinki's writing is sparse, which some have criticized, but I find it to have the powerful effectiveness of auth
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Oct 26, 2011
Simay
rated it:
http://zimlicious.blogspot.com/
Being There is the story of Chance, who's a gardener working for an old man. He doesn't have a family, he's never left the house his entire life, and all he does pretty much is tend the garden and watch TV. And then, after the man he works for dies, he has to move out because there are no records of him working there or living there or even existing at all. On his first day out, Chance is in a car accident and ends up living at the home of an ill, wealt More...
Being There is the story of Chance, who's a gardener working for an old man. He doesn't have a family, he's never left the house his entire life, and all he does pretty much is tend the garden and watch TV. And then, after the man he works for dies, he has to move out because there are no records of him working there or living there or even existing at all. On his first day out, Chance is in a car accident and ends up living at the home of an ill, wealt More...
Sep 17, 2011
David
rated it:
Chance (the) Gardener is a blank page, there is very little of the 'Dasein' in him. He is always overcoming, disclosing, because he is in the flow of life, etc.
Chance to me seems to be a possible Heideggarian figure, but I'm not sure whether his being is being mocked?
He is a mirror to society and reflects what people want to hear in themselves. I'm not quite sure what the significance of the importance of TV has though? Possible to show his detachment, or that his only interactions (?) with p More...
Chance to me seems to be a possible Heideggarian figure, but I'm not sure whether his being is being mocked?
He is a mirror to society and reflects what people want to hear in themselves. I'm not quite sure what the significance of the importance of TV has though? Possible to show his detachment, or that his only interactions (?) with p More...
Dec 23, 2008
Shana
rated it:
Chance the gardener - recently, Obama was compared to Chance. So, we read Being There to get the scoop. Truly, an interesting commentary on this year's election, although it was written in 1970.
A light, quick read, it nonetheless is scathing commentary on the fickleness of the public.....
Chance is a middle-aged gardner that has been kept hidden in a wealthy man's home for his entire life. When the old man dies, Chance is forced into the world. He is hit by a car, an More...
A light, quick read, it nonetheless is scathing commentary on the fickleness of the public.....
Chance is a middle-aged gardner that has been kept hidden in a wealthy man's home for his entire life. When the old man dies, Chance is forced into the world. He is hit by a car, an More...
Nov 08, 2011
Portia
rated it:
This book was cool, I liked it.
I believe it covers about four days in the life of Chance, an illiterate gardener who was taken in by the Old Man from birth. He never left his home until the day his guardian died, only leaving the house with knowledge of the world derived from constant television viewing. He encounters EE, the wife of an old dying Wall Street tycoon, and his muses about his actual garden are mistaken for metaphorical philosophies reflecting the hard times the Americ More...
I believe it covers about four days in the life of Chance, an illiterate gardener who was taken in by the Old Man from birth. He never left his home until the day his guardian died, only leaving the house with knowledge of the world derived from constant television viewing. He encounters EE, the wife of an old dying Wall Street tycoon, and his muses about his actual garden are mistaken for metaphorical philosophies reflecting the hard times the Americ More...
Sep 26, 2011
Mcatania21
rated it:
Being-there-ness
“Human beings can be understood neither as substances with fixed properties, nor as subjects interacting with a world of objects.” This is the root of existentialism, a philosophical belief that that human existence cannot be proved through only the physical. The human mind and spirit, the intangibles, are essential in explaining our whole being, not just empirical scientific evidence. Kosinski explores this belief with Chance’s character in the book Being There as does More...
“Human beings can be understood neither as substances with fixed properties, nor as subjects interacting with a world of objects.” This is the root of existentialism, a philosophical belief that that human existence cannot be proved through only the physical. The human mind and spirit, the intangibles, are essential in explaining our whole being, not just empirical scientific evidence. Kosinski explores this belief with Chance’s character in the book Being There as does More...
Oct 01, 2008
Ted
rated it:
I don't care if he stole the idea. This is one of my favorite books.
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Dec 19, 2010
Andrew
rated it:
I haven't read any Kosinski before, but many years ago I saw the movie of this book (with Peter Sellers) and enjoyed it, so when I saw this secondhand I picked it up.
It's a slim volume (111 pages) and the language is very simple. I read it over a couple of weekend mornings before getting out of bed. Having seen the movie there were no surprises in the plot (although the ending of the book feels truncated and rushed compared to that of the movie). Difficult to know how much I would ha More...
It's a slim volume (111 pages) and the language is very simple. I read it over a couple of weekend mornings before getting out of bed. Having seen the movie there were no surprises in the plot (although the ending of the book feels truncated and rushed compared to that of the movie). Difficult to know how much I would ha More...
Dec 07, 2011
Jake
rated it:
It has some interesting ideas, and a plot that made me literally laugh out loud at some points, but it is all presented with terrible prose. It's very drab, as if every bit of description and imagery and poetry has been scrupulously removed. Kosinski is famous for this spartan writing style. Some may like it, but it probably wouldn't have held my interest for more than 128 pages. If you are a plot person and like political and social criticism in your novels, you will enjoy this book. As for me,
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Sep 23, 2011
Zakaria
rated it:
The human mind is a kingdom of dreams, ideas, concepts and intellect. Reality, or what lays outside the mind, is undoubtedly disconnected from the realm of the abstractions known only in mind. The five senses, however, try hard to establish a sort of instantaneous connection between the physical world and the mind, but unfortunately fail most of time. The novel "Being there" is a great artwork written by the polish author Jerzy Kosinski. This work of art draws a clear image of the
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Jul 20, 2011
Jeremy
rated it:
In the case of whether it is better to watch a movie based on a novel or to read the novel prior to watching the film, I feel you can take either approach with "Being There". Jerzy Kosinsky wrote the screenplay, adapted from his own novel of the same title. The plots of both novel and movie are nearly identical, and several conversations in the book are repeated verbatim in the movie. Nonetheless, the novel was about as enjoyable to read as the classic Peter Sellers movie was to wat
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Mar 08, 2011
rachel
rated it:
During certain moments of non-linear daydreaming, my thoughts have intermittently nodded in the direction of this book. My initial perception, since reading the book several years ago, might not be totally congruent with my current impression, but in any case, what the hell – I’ll go with it. Haven't we all met moments when our mere presence enhances mood, understanding, the intangible intricacies of reality? Or maybe I am narcissistic? My friend was writing something that resembled a book or l
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Aug 10, 2010
Dan
rated it:
This novel could be read as commenting on expectations with regard to literacy in Western civilization, and on how civilization brings with it estrangement from nature (in that regard, the title of the book might be an allusion to the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, who comments on our relation to both technology and to nature). The notion that a formal education somehow erodes our connection with nature may be exaggerating the point, but the comedy in Kosinski’s novel exploits a situation in w
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Feb 28, 2008
Lil2bizzy01
rated it:
I was a bit hesitant to read this book, due to its description as a satire. I have always avoided satires because of my lack or knowledge.
I know, I know. I have a degree in English. However, there was a lot I was not exposed to before and throughout college, satires being included.
This book was extremely easy to read. There was no complexity to the language, although there was much complexity to the characters. Again, because this is a satire, there were many references More...
I know, I know. I have a degree in English. However, there was a lot I was not exposed to before and throughout college, satires being included.
This book was extremely easy to read. There was no complexity to the language, although there was much complexity to the characters. Again, because this is a satire, there were many references More...
Aug 17, 2011
Jim
rated it:
If you haven't read this short little gem, read it now, then go to some sort of republocrat/conservative/teaparty party and try some of Chance's minimalist conversation techniques. While people are discussing debt ceilings and budget re-toolings, respond with things like "Tilling has its place, but I've always believed in allowing the subsoil to settle." I'm sure you'll be invited to visit various yachts and private estates, as well as being introduced to their unmarried sons and daug
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Jul 01, 2007
Stace
rated it:
A strange, but somehow plausible, premise of non-identity in the official governmental sense. A simple man whose entire life is spent cloistered away from the world is thrust into it at the death of his benefactor, who essentially employs him as a gardener. His only experience with the outside world is through watching television. Through a series of curious events he is brought to international attention as a wise and insightful person. Chance, the main character, however is not really aware of
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