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June 22, 2015
I decided I was reading too many fantasy/dragon/magic books and was in a bit of a rut. Luckily, I had just the guy loaded up on my Kindle app to get me out of that realm and into a place much more real...and dangerous. His name...Bond, James Bond! Casino Royale is the first ever Bond novel, published in 1953. Honestly, it was not at all what I expected.
The first part of the book was excellent, exactly what I was looking for in a spy novel. Bond was given an assignment, then he went through the set-up, and then the execution of the job. Two interesting notes in this part of the story. One, Fleming used quite a bit of French language here because the Casino where everything goes down is in France. And there are no translations. You can basically guess at what the dialogue means and you can still follow the plot without exactly knowing what's being said. I think in more modern novels, these French sections would somehow be translated, perhaps in parenthesis or something like that. The second interesting thing in this Casino section, as I call it, is how Fleming describes the Casino games with quite a bit of depth. He uses terms and phrases from the time period, so even though he's kind of telling you what's going on, things still aren't very clear. Unless, of course, you happen to be a gambling expert! The main game they play is Baccarat, which seems to be a bit like Blackjack, but with its own nuances. Again, the reader can follow the action and the story without completely understanding the gambling, so it’s not much to worry about.
The second part of the book, which I call the introspective section, is where things get a little unexpected. Bond is grotesquely and cruelly tortured right at the end of the Casino job but he is rescued by his allies. He then spends some time in a French hospital where he contemplates his future, his interest in the spying business, and his growing doubt of whether he really knows the difference between good guys and bad guys. Or if there even are good guys and bad guys any more. There is some softness, indecision and a bit of weakness displayed here by the unflappable James Bond and I found this a little odd. However, I am looking at this with modern eyes and I'm thinking that Connery, Moore, Craig and the others would never lie whimpering in a hospital bed like this. However, as I mentioned at the top, Casino Royale is from '53, before this man was the Bond, James Bond we know from the movies. It's fascinating to me that these books led to the "ultimate tough guy womanizing badass expert spy" we know and love. I'd like to read more of Fleming's work to see if he as the author was the one to evolve Bond into the cold, shrewd tough guy. Or did the movie producers pull only those attributes out of the books and shape a hero for the big screen?
The last section of the book I refer to as the birth of Bond section. James' wounds heal satisfactorily so he is finally released from the hospital. He then spends some time with Vesper, the girl agent who was with him on the job, at a beachside hotel in France. Fleming does a wonderful job of describing Vesper as this gorgeous, knockout type of babe who's also pretty unstable and unpredictable. Despite her volatility, James falls in love with her and gets this - he plans to marry her! James Bond! Married! I couldn't swallow it. But again, I had to remember that this is the original human being, not the stud of the films. However, before any engagement can happen in the book, things go awry and tragedy strikes. Then, the true James Bond emerges: jaded, motivated, and hell-bent on revenge. He's ready to strike back at the crime syndicate that's crossed him and take them all out, no matter the cost or how long it takes.
Bond, James Bond is born!
Casino Royale is a fairly short, highly intriguing read. Mainly because it's almost like a historical record telling the beginnings of a very famous man. Though it was challenging at times, I did enjoy the 1950s writing style that was a little tighter, crisper and more formal than what we mostly see these days. Ian Fleming, of course, is a fabulous writer. He was a journalist and a bit of a spy himself during WW2 so he had incredible personal experiences to draw from for his stories. Amazingly, he published one Bond book per year for twelve years!
This is an adult book for sure, due to some violence and the torture scene. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries, spies and/or obviously...the man, myth and legend...James Bond himself. If you are a fan of the world's deadliest spy, you'd be doing yourself a favor by reading the books that shaped and defined the superstar we see on the silver screen.
Happy Reading!
The first part of the book was excellent, exactly what I was looking for in a spy novel. Bond was given an assignment, then he went through the set-up, and then the execution of the job. Two interesting notes in this part of the story. One, Fleming used quite a bit of French language here because the Casino where everything goes down is in France. And there are no translations. You can basically guess at what the dialogue means and you can still follow the plot without exactly knowing what's being said. I think in more modern novels, these French sections would somehow be translated, perhaps in parenthesis or something like that. The second interesting thing in this Casino section, as I call it, is how Fleming describes the Casino games with quite a bit of depth. He uses terms and phrases from the time period, so even though he's kind of telling you what's going on, things still aren't very clear. Unless, of course, you happen to be a gambling expert! The main game they play is Baccarat, which seems to be a bit like Blackjack, but with its own nuances. Again, the reader can follow the action and the story without completely understanding the gambling, so it’s not much to worry about.
The second part of the book, which I call the introspective section, is where things get a little unexpected. Bond is grotesquely and cruelly tortured right at the end of the Casino job but he is rescued by his allies. He then spends some time in a French hospital where he contemplates his future, his interest in the spying business, and his growing doubt of whether he really knows the difference between good guys and bad guys. Or if there even are good guys and bad guys any more. There is some softness, indecision and a bit of weakness displayed here by the unflappable James Bond and I found this a little odd. However, I am looking at this with modern eyes and I'm thinking that Connery, Moore, Craig and the others would never lie whimpering in a hospital bed like this. However, as I mentioned at the top, Casino Royale is from '53, before this man was the Bond, James Bond we know from the movies. It's fascinating to me that these books led to the "ultimate tough guy womanizing badass expert spy" we know and love. I'd like to read more of Fleming's work to see if he as the author was the one to evolve Bond into the cold, shrewd tough guy. Or did the movie producers pull only those attributes out of the books and shape a hero for the big screen?
The last section of the book I refer to as the birth of Bond section. James' wounds heal satisfactorily so he is finally released from the hospital. He then spends some time with Vesper, the girl agent who was with him on the job, at a beachside hotel in France. Fleming does a wonderful job of describing Vesper as this gorgeous, knockout type of babe who's also pretty unstable and unpredictable. Despite her volatility, James falls in love with her and gets this - he plans to marry her! James Bond! Married! I couldn't swallow it. But again, I had to remember that this is the original human being, not the stud of the films. However, before any engagement can happen in the book, things go awry and tragedy strikes. Then, the true James Bond emerges: jaded, motivated, and hell-bent on revenge. He's ready to strike back at the crime syndicate that's crossed him and take them all out, no matter the cost or how long it takes.
Bond, James Bond is born!
Casino Royale is a fairly short, highly intriguing read. Mainly because it's almost like a historical record telling the beginnings of a very famous man. Though it was challenging at times, I did enjoy the 1950s writing style that was a little tighter, crisper and more formal than what we mostly see these days. Ian Fleming, of course, is a fabulous writer. He was a journalist and a bit of a spy himself during WW2 so he had incredible personal experiences to draw from for his stories. Amazingly, he published one Bond book per year for twelve years!
This is an adult book for sure, due to some violence and the torture scene. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries, spies and/or obviously...the man, myth and legend...James Bond himself. If you are a fan of the world's deadliest spy, you'd be doing yourself a favor by reading the books that shaped and defined the superstar we see on the silver screen.
Happy Reading!