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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2.5/5
I picked this book up because it is a short easy read that I wanted to squeeze between 2 longer novels as a reprieve and still maintained an undertone if spookiness perfect for October. The long and short of it is though that this book has some PROBLEMS. Maybe not by British 1950s standards, but certainly by 2019 standards. I find it impossible to put it up as a book I would recommend as it was quite a challenge reading through all the racist remarks which are especially clustered near the beginning of the novel. I won’t get into every detail of them because other reviewers have and it’s very extensive.
That being said, the story of this one is more exciting than Casino Royale for sure and has an entertaining and tense ending without too much fluff afterwards unlike the previous novel. If you don’t have the patience to deal with 229 pages of Fleming unsuccessfully trying to write in black vernacular or Jamaican accents then I would just recommend you watch the movie as it is the best Roger Moore Bond performance.
I picked this book up because it is a short easy read that I wanted to squeeze between 2 longer novels as a reprieve and still maintained an undertone if spookiness perfect for October. The long and short of it is though that this book has some PROBLEMS. Maybe not by British 1950s standards, but certainly by 2019 standards. I find it impossible to put it up as a book I would recommend as it was quite a challenge reading through all the racist remarks which are especially clustered near the beginning of the novel. I won’t get into every detail of them because other reviewers have and it’s very extensive.
That being said, the story of this one is more exciting than Casino Royale for sure and has an entertaining and tense ending without too much fluff afterwards unlike the previous novel. If you don’t have the patience to deal with 229 pages of Fleming unsuccessfully trying to write in black vernacular or Jamaican accents then I would just recommend you watch the movie as it is the best Roger Moore Bond performance.
My biggest issue with reading this book, and what placed it all the way down at two stars, is the pacing. Casino Royale had a nice three act structure that kept it moving right along, and kept the experience easy. These are spy novels with derring-do, but they aren’t behemoth texts. As I settled in initially with Live and Let Die, I was anticipating the same basic structure, which honestly befits its 1954 publication date. Initially, things were on track. What I would coin Act 1, the info dump, opened with us picking up with Bond several months after the events of Casino Royale, and learning along with him the intricacies of the Harlem underworld, Haiti, and voodoo.
But then Acts 2 & 3 never properly materialized. Based on my expectations of the previous book, and the movies which were then based on them, there should have been a meet cute, spy shenanigans, and then escalation and romance. These things happened, but in an extremely disjointed and overly languorous manner.
Full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/live-and-let-die-cbr8-59/
But then Acts 2 & 3 never properly materialized. Based on my expectations of the previous book, and the movies which were then based on them, there should have been a meet cute, spy shenanigans, and then escalation and romance. These things happened, but in an extremely disjointed and overly languorous manner.
Full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/live-and-let-die-cbr8-59/
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder
Not even sure where to start on this one...
I straight up felt super uncomfortable at times reading this book, especially on a crowded subway. I totally understand that it was written in a different era…an era where the term "negro" wasn't what one might consider shocking or taboo, but the way that Fleming OVERUSES that word (and all it's variants!) is beyond unnecessary and simply racist. Once you've established the fact that Mr. Big (and his various henchmen) are dark skinned by calling him "negro", there's no need to keep hammering home that point! I'm wondering if Fleming had never heard of a thesaurus!
Anyways, regarding the read itself...it's not as strong, overall, as its predecessor ('Casino Royale'). It was nice getting introductions to a few characters (Solitaire and Quarrel) as well as the idea of the villain's lair. But all-in-all, just not so great.
I straight up felt super uncomfortable at times reading this book, especially on a crowded subway. I totally understand that it was written in a different era…an era where the term "negro" wasn't what one might consider shocking or taboo, but the way that Fleming OVERUSES that word (and all it's variants!) is beyond unnecessary and simply racist. Once you've established the fact that Mr. Big (and his various henchmen) are dark skinned by calling him "negro", there's no need to keep hammering home that point! I'm wondering if Fleming had never heard of a thesaurus!
Anyways, regarding the read itself...it's not as strong, overall, as its predecessor ('Casino Royale'). It was nice getting introductions to a few characters (Solitaire and Quarrel) as well as the idea of the villain's lair. But all-in-all, just not so great.
Absolutely terrible. Besides being a kitchy dime novel, it's a kitchy dime novel from the 50's so it is also incredibly sexist and racist. The racism in this one is worst than any other Bond book I have read so far. And the plot is just not good enough to warrant wading through the bigotry. Cannot recommend.