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The plastic surgery bit in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was taken from the novel YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.
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I am a bit surprised at the regular appearance of racism and homophobia, something I never picked up when I first read them in my early teens. While I can understand that Fleming's viewpoint was a sign of the times for many people, some instances are just not forgivable. One bit of totally unnecessary anti-Jewish description in Thunderball made me wince - unfortunately, it was not just a character's perspective, but seemed to come from Fleming himself.
[ ][ ] { }
Funny, i just listened to a BBC program on ian and it mentioned that Auric Goldfinger was based on an actual jewish architect (with the same surname) and that fleming had a very anti-jewish attiude toward the person.
For me, the only way to enjoy the books and the literary of James Bond, is to see him as not a hero, but a basically unlikeable person.
an anti-hero if you will.
certainly, Fleming created him with many flaws although some of the unsavory aspects, Fleming lionized. These are traits and ideas the reader can accept or reject.
The filmmakers must have recognized this and made an effort to make him more "likeable". The film that came closest to capturing the literary version of Bond was probably DR. nO IN WHICH 007 is a real cad.
I always felt that Moore and to a certain extent Dalton were uneasy with the unpleasant aspects of Bond and this kept their interpretations from being definitive.
Connery and Brosnan are the only actors to embrace the "love 'em and leave 'em", Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Bruce r. MARSHALL
Enjoy!
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Did Fleming ever write anything other than Bond books or shortstories?
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Also two volumes of travel writing, 'Thrilling Cities' and another non fictional piece, 'The Diamond Smugglers'
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Posted: |
Jul 5, 2009 - 1:05 PM
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By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
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I read them all from beginning to end in 10th grade, shortly after DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (the movie) was released. They are great reads! The attention Fleming paid to Bond's tastes in fashion, food and women were obviously his own. Sea Island cotton shirts, scrambled eggs, the cigarettes, and "women with unvarnished fingernails"
Fleming sure could sell the lifestyle, the imagery, and the allure of it all, couldn't he?
I've become smitten with the idea of getting a few Sea Island Cotton shirts, what with the weather here in Florida quite hot now. I'm off to St. Augustine at the end of the month, and it will be a scorcher, so being attired in the smallest possible Bondian way would be nice. I've worn guayaberas for years, but would like to purchase some of these Bond-style shirts. Ian Fleming should've gotten royalties for all he did for these shirts. Don't know if they're are any better than what I already have on my back, but Fleming sure sells the notion in his novels.
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In order to get the maximum enjoyment from them,I would advise you to read them in the order that they were published...ie:
CASINO ROYALE
LIVE AND LET DIE
MOONRAKER
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
DR NO
GOLDFINGER
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
THUNDERBALL
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
OCTOPUSSY
In OCTOPUSSY (AND THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS) there is a short story entitled "007 In New York." For publishing continuity, this should be read between YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN; it was originally published in 1964 in the U.S. edition of THRILLING CITIES (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrilling_Cities).
Enjoy!
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I read 'em all one after the other in published order, some time around 2000 or 2001 I think. Loved 'em all. Fleming was a gifted writer and had the ability to describe exotic locations like nobody else. You literally feel like you are there! I respect the Bond novels immensely and don't compare them to the films, an entirely different set of entities. The only novel that was a tad dull was LIVE & LET DIE, and that may have been due to some expurgated sections. My understanding is that it was heavily edited because of some racial stereotyping.
I swear I've said this in another thread, but I loved how Fleming always referred to Bond's "comma of hair" over his forehead. I think he mentioned it in nearly every novel.
The set-up for THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was absolutely brilliant. That must have really confused people at the time.
One sequence that is unforgettable to me is the torture scene in CASINO ROYALE. It's gutwrenching, especially when getting to the part about assaulting Bond's privates with a rubber weapon. Yikes.
I really enjoyed the OCTOPUSSY short story, and imagine...there's actually an octopus in it!
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Find his book IF's Thrilling Cities about his travels throughout the world. Published first as magazine articles then compiled into one vol. it is an interesting look at the times and the man. Also does anyone have a clue as to who finished the novel Man With TGG. I believe it was published after his death and did not reflect his writing abilities. Same with E Hemingways Islands in the Stream which seemed to have a change in both style and direction before seeing it's posthumous publication. MWTGG with the song by LULU may also have been her first writing adventure in novels. It certainly couldn't have been IF.
Kingsley Amis is said to have finished Man with the Golden Gun. He then went on (under a psuedonym) to do an "authorized" one-off Bond novel himself, Colonel Sun. http://amzn.to/cQj7mC
Another interesting one-off Bond is the "Authorized Biography" by John Pearson. http://amzn.to/8Z1PNc
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So will these books ruin my perception of Bond via the Connery-era films? I'm really on the fence...
I don't think the books will ruin your perception of Bond from the Connery films.The books are different to the films and inevitably are a totally different experience.I read the books in the 60s at the same time as I first saw the best of the Bond movies and I enjoyed both.
However, you might find the books a little dated now as I did when revisiting them recently but your perception of the Connery Bond will remain in tact, I'm sure.
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