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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
Great book! 4.7 I got through this one in about a day. Harsh language throughout the book. It was written in 1953 though. Has a few similarities with the movie.
Just two books into re-reading the 007 novels in publication order and I am already enjoying them more than I thought I would, having not looked at most of them for early forty years.
Compared to the slightness of Casino Royale, Live And Let Die is the first to follow the globe-trotting formula made famous by the film incarnations, so much so that the sections set in Florida and especially the Caribbean could almost be seen as travelogues. It also sees an arguably softer Bond compared to the character in the first book, especially in his attitude towards women.
The focus on "negroes" and the use of the more provocative N-word may be a little jarring to today's readers but this is very much a book of its time.
Now, what would be really interesting would be to read the book and then watch the film, to compare the two. If only I had the time...
Compared to the slightness of Casino Royale, Live And Let Die is the first to follow the globe-trotting formula made famous by the film incarnations, so much so that the sections set in Florida and especially the Caribbean could almost be seen as travelogues. It also sees an arguably softer Bond compared to the character in the first book, especially in his attitude towards women.
The focus on "negroes" and the use of the more provocative N-word may be a little jarring to today's readers but this is very much a book of its time.
Now, what would be really interesting would be to read the book and then watch the film, to compare the two. If only I had the time...
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Murder
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism
Of all the Ian Fleming James Bond novels this is probably the one that has aged the worst. The racial elements of this book, and there are plenty, feel, at best, of their time and an otherwise fun plot and potentially intriguing rouges gallery of bad guys are defanged by stereotypes and man-splaining.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lacking in redeeming qualities. Readable, but mostly boring. A strange brand of racist that pretends to celebrate racial equality in a very condescending and demeaning way.
Bond seems more fallible and vulnerable in the books than in the early films, and so more human. He's still as hard as nails, though, and the Daniel Craig movie iteration seems to be the closest to Bond as written by Fleming.
Inevitably, the story is of its time and there are racial epithets and stereotypes that don't sit too well with the modern reader, but as far as I can tell racism isn't the intent. CIA agent Felix Leiter's immersion in the jazz culture of Harlem is borne from a love of the music and a respect for the musicians, not simply because it's part of his cover. The vibrancy of black New York is starkly contrasted with the anodyne and ailing white culture of the Florida retirement villages. Fleming's scathing description of life amongst the "oldsters" is the most affecting part of the book.
The story itself is as fast-paced as you'd expect, with Bond flitting from one near-death experience to the next with hardly a breath, though his injuries are not glossed over - he's not a superhuman by any means.
To a post-war austerity-stricken Britain, the American and Caribbean locations must have been strange and exotic, the people of those places wonderful and alien. It's little surprise that these exciting stories set in far-away places resonated so keenly in the imaginations of Bond's parochial countrymen.
I'm two books into the series and slowly collecting the 60s Pan editions, because I like the covers. Moonraker next, once I track it down.
Inevitably, the story is of its time and there are racial epithets and stereotypes that don't sit too well with the modern reader, but as far as I can tell racism isn't the intent. CIA agent Felix Leiter's immersion in the jazz culture of Harlem is borne from a love of the music and a respect for the musicians, not simply because it's part of his cover. The vibrancy of black New York is starkly contrasted with the anodyne and ailing white culture of the Florida retirement villages. Fleming's scathing description of life amongst the "oldsters" is the most affecting part of the book.
The story itself is as fast-paced as you'd expect, with Bond flitting from one near-death experience to the next with hardly a breath, though his injuries are not glossed over - he's not a superhuman by any means.
To a post-war austerity-stricken Britain, the American and Caribbean locations must have been strange and exotic, the people of those places wonderful and alien. It's little surprise that these exciting stories set in far-away places resonated so keenly in the imaginations of Bond's parochial countrymen.
I'm two books into the series and slowly collecting the 60s Pan editions, because I like the covers. Moonraker next, once I track it down.