Being There

By: Jerzy Kosinski

Narrated by: Dustin Hoffman

Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Audie Award Nominee, Best Solo Narration, 2013

Jerzy Kosinski’s clever parable of a naive man thrust into the modern world is more pointed now than ever. Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man, The Graduate), perhaps best known for his portrayals of vulnerable characters and antiheroes, gives an understated and exemplary performance of this satiric look at the unreality of American media culture.

Chance, the enigmatic gardener, becomes Chauncey Gardiner after getting hit by a limo belonging to a Wall Street tycoon. The whirlwind that follows brings Chance to his new status of political policy advisor and possible vice presidential candidate. His garden-variety political responses, inspired by television, become heralded as visionary, and he is soon a media icon due to his unknown background and vague, yet appealing, conversational nature. Being There was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, starring Peter Sellers as Chance, in 1979.

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©1971 Jerzy Kosinski (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Dustin Hoffman's performance of this spare and provocative novel is a revelation. The story is surreal (though certainly not difficult and certainly highly amusing); to deliver it, what is needed is not pacing or vocal pyrotechnics but a thorough, thoughtful understanding of the text and the restraint to perform only exactly what is there." (AudioFile)

Wasn't quite my cup of tea

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would make it a bit less insulting to the media and to people in general, whom the book portrays time and again as supremely gullible and superficial.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I felt dissatisfied with the ending. I wanted more credibility.

Which scene was your favorite?

I felt sad when Chance walked out of the garden and the gate closed behind him, locking him out (forever) of the only place he had ever known.

Also, how Chance was dubbed Gardiner was a really smart bit.

Did Being There inspire you to do anything?

The book has opened my eyes some more to the cynicism and insincerity that underlies many public political interactions and relationships. Perhaps what it inspired me to do is set out to be more authentic in my interactions.

Any additional comments?

I feel vaguely unsatisfied at the end of the audiobook. Something substantial seems to be missing, but I cannot say exactly what. I think it has to do with the portrayal of so many people as so easily misleadable. Perhaps there is some truth in that, but not given this book's premise. I wonder what the movie portrayal was like, but I do not think I would undertake this story a second time.

Still There

Amazing that 45 years later, Jerzy Kosinski's political fable remains not only relevant, but magnified by contemporary American politics. In 1970, Kosinski imagined Chance, the newly homeless gardener, as just one slow-witted figure who is given the steering wheel to the political bus by people who should know better. Today, we have the clown car of candidates, filled to overflowing, growing more crowded each day, taken far too seriously by people who should know better.

Being There posits the notion that politics is all about just, well, being there -- years before Woody Allen coined the phrase "80% of life is just showing up" in Annie Hall (although some still debate whether Kosinski actually wrote any of this stuff himself). Thus does Chance, despite his mental handicaps, rise to become a revered political pundit and even presidential candidate within a matter of days, his truisms about gardening and TV watching mistaken for profound metaphors about the political and economic climate (pun intended).

The 1979 movie version is wonderful, one of my all-time favorites, Peter Sellers pitch-perfect as Chance ("I like to watch"), as is the entire supporting cast, and with Basketball Jones making a memorable video cameo. The original novella is not quite as fully realized, the difference being a more complete depiction of the impact of TV upon a simple anonymous character like Chance, via actual TV clips like Basketball Jones (easier for a visual medium like film to pull off).

But it is still a great, quick read. I read it way back when, and welcomed this opportunity to listen to Dustin Hoffman narrate it in audio format. Hoffman's reading is a tad slow and gruff, but it is still a treat.

So great I can't wait to see the movie!

This is a fabulous book with a very new (to me) story; a protagonist who is so truly simple that he's mistaken for a genius. "Chance the Gardener", dressed in hand-me-down - yet expensive, lovely, & hand tailored - clothes gets misunderstood as "Chauncey Gardener", & away we go. Chance's views on gardening happen to make wonderful metaphor for the nation & world's financial & poitical woes. The less he speaks, the more leaders in world politics & business/finance thinks what he "says", through what they deem as pregnant pauses or speaking louder through one's silence than through words, is profound. When he answers "I don't read newspapers; I watch tv" (SORTA SPOILER ALERT: cuz he doesn't read) to a reporter's query on which newspapers he reads, he almost starts a journalistic revolution. This is a brilliant book, & hilarious - just not in a "haha" manner. The plans for Chance at the end of the book will leave you with a grin on your face. Gets you thinking & wondering...

Perfectly narrated

This is an engaging story made even better by exceptional narration. Dustin Hoffman brought the subtlety of every character to life.

This is great!

Any additional comments?

This is a wonderful story, related by a superb actor.
Many will remember the incredible performance of Peter Sellers in this film. But the narated book is possibly better. I would recommend this to everyone.

a good story read by a master

I liked the story and man ascending by circumstance. Dustin Hoffman's style lended a warm reality to the story.

Brilliant timeless classic

Movie was always my favourite and audio book did not let me down.
Dustin Hoffman is fantastic narrator, highly recommended

Great political satire

One of my all time favorites. Dustin Hoffman did a nice job. Perfect for 2017!

political and human satire

author made excellent social comment through satire. Suspend your disbelief and just savor the nuggets of insight.

Dustin Hoffman Brings Chance to Life

What did you love best about Being There?

This charming and thought-provoking story was most famously portrayed by Peter Sellers in the movie of the same name. I have always loved the possibilities - is Chance purely a simple man whose words translate for other into deep contemplations or is he truly singularly insightful. Mr. Hoffman's performance breathed believable life into Chance. Great listen! Try this one with a first-time audiobook listener.