« #29 - Despair, by André Alexis | Main | #31 - Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett »

#30 - For Your Eyes Only, by Ian Fleming

Despite being labeled as "A James Bond Novel" on the cover, this book isn't actually a novel; it's a collection of short stories (the first of which is actually "From A View to a Kill," a title which makes considerably more sense in the context of the story than it did for the film) with "For Your Eyes Only" being the most prominent. For the most part they are typical Bond fare, if on a smaller scale. They deal with Bond in between major assignments, which is actually quite refreshing, even if labeling it as a novel made the changes in continuity jarring (the stories are presented in the same format as the chapters in the previous seven books).

My favourite stories were actually two that had nothing to do with espionage. There was "Quantum of Solace" which was actually a meditation by the Governor of the Bahamas on romantic relationships between men and women and human interaction, with Bond listening and occasionally commenting. The reader winds up seeing a much more human side of Bond than in any other of the works, and it becomes clear just how vulnerable he actually is to his emotions, and how that drives him to push human connections, particularly with women, away. Speaking of women, I was almost willing to be pleased with Fleming's treatment of female characters in this book, but not quite. I don't know if he was writing to his audience's expectations, or if he actually believed that women at heart were weak and submissive (neither would surprise me, and I don't know which would disappoint me more). All the female characters, with the exception of the battered wife Liz Krest in the final story, "The Hildebrand Rarity" (the other non-espionage piece in the book; it focuses instead on compassion and empathy as Bond helps a woman cover up the murder of her rich, abusive husband), and Rhoda, the young woman in the Governor's tale (she is cruelty itself) start out strong and independent, but pass through stages where they are little more than sexual props or quivering figures of fear and servility. I suppose it's part of the Bond mythos, but it's both dull and irritating after a while (not to mention it makes the female characters less attractive as characters; who can bring themselves to care deeply for someone who cannot stand on their own two feet most of the time).

Next, Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett.

Posted by August on 06.06.07 at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)

Comments

Post a comment