Live and Let Die (James Bond Novels) by Ian Fleming
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Book Reviews of Live and Let Die (James Bond Novels)
Book Review: The Second James Bond Adventure
Summary: 4 Stars
After CASINO ROYALE, James Bond returns in the second 007 adventure, LIVE AND LET DIE, and here you'll find the basic formula that defines this series: globetrotting to exotic locations, larger-than-life villians, intoxicatingly beautiful women.
I'd read all of the Bond novels over twenty years ago as a teen and now I'm rereading them as the opening of the film version of CASINO ROYALE approaches this weekend. (The Ultimate James Bond DVD Collection is also being released--volumes one and two of four came out last week--so these are swingin' days for spy fans!).
One of the things I remembered from reading the Bond novels years ago was that I didn't think Ian Fleming really understood Americans. He saw them as either Texas cowboys or Chicago mobsters. So, as I picked up LIVE AND LET DIE, which has an African-American villian and has Bond visiting Harlem, I was prepared to find the same type of rash stereotyping Fleming had applied to everyone else in the USA.
(I nearly gasped when I saw the title to Chapter Five in these new Penguin editions and couldn't remember that from reading it before. I dug out my old copies and saw that the original Signet paperback and the movie tie-in were both changed to "Seventh Avenue").
But I was relieved that LIVE AND LET DIE wasn't rampant with racism. There are more "n-words" contained in any 3-minute rap song than the entire book and Fleming comes across as someone who's trying to understand what Bond sees in the Harlem sequences. If anyone is offended by his attempts to capture the dialogue in Harlem nightspots, I would ask if Fleming's transcriptions were any less challenging than, say, the closed caption people trying to type out what's heard on MTV's TRL show or VH1's "The Flavor of Love."
For an Englishman to write about Black culture in 1954 and not be riddled with outrageous insults is admirable, so I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone is welcome to disagree with me but I was expecting much worse!
Like the first novel, this one breezes along and the action jumps from London to New York to St. Petersburg to Jamaica. The novels are so different from the movies that they don't interfere with each other.
I've already picked up the next 007 thriller!
Book Review: Mr. Big --- the first of the great Bond villains
Summary: 4 Stars
Let me get this out of the way first -- if you can be easily offended by racial slurs, this is not the book for you. One must recall this was written in the mid 50s when racial insensitivity was unfortunately still quite prominent. Still, if you can put all that aside, you will find an enjoyable adventure story.Mr. Big is the first of 007's "super-villains" and deservedly so -- he is portrayed as a criminal intellect that would warm even the heart of Hannibal Lechter. Bond, as in the prior novel, "Casino Royale" is portrayed as a human being and not the Connery/Moore/Brosnan superman most know from the movies, though if you watch carefully, you will spot a couple of death traps that were used in two of the films: Felix Leiter's fate as portrayed in "Licence to Kill" is directly from the "off-camera" action of this book; and the climactic attempt to feed Bond and Solitare to the sharks was directly adapted in the film version of "For Your Eyes Only."
The story itself involves 007 globetrotting from New York to Florida to the Caribbean in an attempt to destroy the crime syndicate of Mr. Big, a believed SMERSH opperative. Along the way he ends up a little the worse for wear (broken finger; mangled shoulder) but he still manages to get the girl, the nubile Solitare; and encounter the first of his many deathtraps. And as a Florida resident, I've been to some of the places Fleming generalized about and was amused by some of the things he said.
For those who have seen the film of the same name, there are similar nuances (Whisper and Tee-hee make brief appearances), but the book is very different from the movie. Again, some may find some of the content abraisive, to say the least, but if that can be overcome, the story is enjoyable.
Book Review: What does it matter to ya?
Summary: 4 Stars
Ian Fleming's novel is far removed from the action-packed, surreal blaxploitation film it would eventually become. While it may be a good read it's a quiet, quaintly-xenophobic thriller with little to no action. It is very fast-paced though, to a point.
It follows the same basic premise. Bond goes to Harlem, finds himself ridiculously out of his depth, meets Mr. Big, falls for Solitaire, travels south and goes to Jamaica for a showdown. But gone is Tee-Hee's metal arm, Baron Samedi, the redneck Sheriff, the speedboat chases, the bus chase, Rosie Carver, the Dr. Kananga disguise, all of the Louisiana scenes and the satisfying ending. While this would have bulked up the novel considerably it would have been a fun read. There are also many plot elements to this novel that never made it to the film but were later recycled into For Your Eyes Only and Licence to Kill. If your a Bond fan you'll be able to easily spot them.
As I said it IS fast paced until the final act, at which point Fleming is distracted by over-describing everything about his beloved Jamaica. There is virtually three chapters of nothing happening. Instead of charging to an explosive finish the book slows down to a crawl and almost loses it. The mere fact that the ending comes very quickly after this saves it from a lesser rating.
I have to admit that Tom Mankiewicz's screenplay is actually better. But don't dismiss this book, it's a letdown after Casino Royale (movie tie-in) (James Bond 007), but still worth checking out.
Book Review: Interesting story conveyed with tight prose and an economy of style
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the first Ian Fleming novel I've read and I came away impressed with the author's ability to convey a lot of information with few words. He makes many of today's crime and adventure novelists look like English-grammar neophytes, using adverbs sparingly and verbs to maximum effect. He also makes excellent use of various cultural vernaculars. I did, however, find the story somewhat disappointing, perhaps due to comparison with its cinematic counterpart, but more than likely because there isn't a big face-off between Mr. Big (the novel's villain) and Bond at the end. It is somewhat amazing how, within the novel's short length, the reader is transported to New York City (U.S.A.), London (England), St. Petersburg (Florida) and Jamaica without feeling at all rushed.
In the novel, Bond isn't quite the rough-and-tumble guy he's generally made out to be in the movies. For example, when he gets to Jamaica, he has to have some local guy get him into shape for his mission on the Jamaican Isle of Surprise.
Those who think Fleming is a racist need only read Ken Follett's introduction to the Folio Society's edition of the novel. Follett points out that Fleming, if anything, is quite impressed with the advancement of American blacks and that he is, in fact, fascinated by their culture and cuisine, all in positive ways.
All in all, worth checking out. 3.5 stars.
Book Review: Fleming finds his style.
Summary: 4 Stars
After "Casino Royale" (1953) introduced James Bond to the world, Ian Fleming quickly followed up with his second novel, the vastly superior "Live and Let Die" (1954). Whereas its predecessor is an apprentice work and one of the weakest of the whole series, "Live and Let Die" is fine Fleming, with all the characteristics that mark the best Bond novels: quick pacing, deft characterization, a solid plot, and Fleming's own inimitable style.
The plot is straightforward: someone is smuggling gold coins into the US and the British Secret Service wants to find out who. M sends Bond to America, where he hooks up Felix Leiter to pursue the nefarious Mr. Big, a gigantic Haitian who works for SMERSH and uses voodoo to maintain his control over his minions. Bond, of course, succeeds, but only after much death, suspense, and sexual tension with Solitaire, his delicious female companion.
I would rank "Live and Let Die" in the second-tier of Bond novels, along with "From Russia, With Love" and "Moonraker." It doesn't quite reach the level of such absolute masterpieces as "Doctor No," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," or "You Only Live Twice," but it's certainly superior to such relatively weak entries as "Goldfinger," "Casino Royale," and the disastrous "The Man with the Golden Gun." All in all, a classic Bond thriller.