tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post3116788075569115544..comments2024-03-28T22:42:54.810-07:00Comments on Bitter Tea and Mystery: Diamonds Are Forever: Ian FlemingTracyKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-69237837925163848842016-08-27T12:58:17.661-07:002016-08-27T12:58:17.661-07:00The Devil's Chessboard sounds very interesting...The Devil's Chessboard sounds very interesting, Nancy. I do hope you enjoy reading a James Bond novel. All of the ones I have read by Fleming are a bit different.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-24591351254778994532016-08-23T05:16:49.988-07:002016-08-23T05:16:49.988-07:00I had to think of you today while enjoying some co...I had to think of you today while enjoying some coffee and my book "The Devil's Chessboard" (D. Talbot). It is about the 'dark side of USA politics" (1950's Allen and rise of CIA). Talbot mentions the 'real' Jamses Bond, British William Stephenson. Churchill sent this spymaster' to US 1940 b/c UK needed to persuade US to help them win WW II. Churchill made it clear to WS that he was quite willing to engage in 'ungentlemanly warfare.' Wonderful stuff...great book too. Now I am going to start my very first James Bond book! Thanks for all the Ian Fleming reviews.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-40661626355607063682016-07-28T12:38:06.102-07:002016-07-28T12:38:06.102-07:00I was not that much into Bond movies when the Conn...I was not that much into Bond movies when the Connery films came out, Prashant. Now i wish I could go back and see them in the theater. Although I cannot remember exactly, I don't think I saw a lot of the Bond films until they were on VHS tape or DVD. I did not really get into action films at all until I was in my 40s.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-86261079293275717142016-07-27T05:40:53.585-07:002016-07-27T05:40:53.585-07:00Tracy, I have not read the book but, strangely, I ...Tracy, I have not read the book but, strangely, I watched the film in the theatre when I was young, probably in my very early teens. Which was surprising since the movie would have been released with an 'A' certification. This was also my first Bond film.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-75290935105427958562016-07-24T21:48:05.923-07:002016-07-24T21:48:05.923-07:00Me, too, Moira. This has been and continues to be ...Me, too, Moira. This has been and continues to be a great experience for me. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE next. I am excited. <br /><br />It is funny, I am more critical of the movies now that I am reading the books, but I still enjoy them. Both the books and the movies are good, just a different experience.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-64137023688256266542016-07-24T12:09:35.618-07:002016-07-24T12:09:35.618-07:00I'm so glad you're reading some of these t...I'm so glad you're reading some of these too, I love benefitting from your perspective. I can feel myself getting sucked into the films too... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-3174922969605729892016-07-24T10:07:02.246-07:002016-07-24T10:07:02.246-07:00Ryan, even though I had watched the movie 3 times ...Ryan, even though I had watched the movie 3 times before (over the years) I did not remember much either, but as soon as I got into the movie this time I remembered some elements. The pair of hit men who are at the beginning and end of the movie are memorable.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-78401252857551597252016-07-23T19:03:23.539-07:002016-07-23T19:03:23.539-07:00I know I've seen the movie version, but I reme...I know I've seen the movie version, but I remember nothing about it.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17786139533776263328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-88689271685338322522016-07-23T13:02:04.955-07:002016-07-23T13:02:04.955-07:00I lean more toward the realistic spy fiction, Math...I lean more toward the realistic spy fiction, Mathew, but this is good escape reading. Now I want to watch all the movies I haven't ever watched, and try some of the continuation novels to see how close they stay to the Bond of Fleming's books, or the Bond in the movies. Not that I have the time to do all of that.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-47169089834774776422016-07-23T12:45:02.393-07:002016-07-23T12:45:02.393-07:00I read all of the Fleming Bonds when they came out...I read all of the Fleming Bonds when they came out, and saw all of the movies. The only one I reread some years later was <i>Dr. No</i>, which was the first Bond movie and the only plot I remember much of. I do remember enjoying all of the novels and movies at the time. I guess my tastes started leaning more toward realism with the advent of Deighton's <i>The Ipcress File</i>, and then, the most realistic of all, LeCarre. Mathew Pausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06157135006791553019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-40147259832629893722016-07-22T19:38:30.393-07:002016-07-22T19:38:30.393-07:00Barry, From Russian with Love is my husband's ...Barry, From Russian with Love is my husband's favorite Bond film and we have watched it many times. I am looking forward to reading it next. That one and Goldfinger and GoldenEye and all of the Daniel Craig films are favorites for me. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-67207505923184124602016-07-22T19:32:02.183-07:002016-07-22T19:32:02.183-07:00Yes, it amazes me that the Bond novels written by ...Yes, it amazes me that the Bond novels written by Ian Fleming have stayed in print, and that the movie franchise has lasted so long. I have not read any of the continuation novels. Eventually I may try a few of those.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-80691661865764494262016-07-22T17:51:25.291-07:002016-07-22T17:51:25.291-07:00I wish I could remember the ones I read, Charles. ...I wish I could remember the ones I read, Charles. I do know I read On Her Majesty's Secret Service because the heroine was named Tracy and at the time that name was not in use much. I keep adding old paperback editions to my collection, but they are sometimes hard to find. Usually I just luck into them at the annual book sale.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-9266500427433574662016-07-22T17:35:35.528-07:002016-07-22T17:35:35.528-07:00I like Sean Connery a lot, Col, although other tha...I like Sean Connery a lot, Col, although other than the Bond films, I only remember him in The Longest Day and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Oh, and The Hunt for Red October. I love that film and the book.<br /><br />TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-56744301852694560312016-07-22T17:31:22.137-07:002016-07-22T17:31:22.137-07:00Your comments make me want to read more about Ian ...Your comments make me want to read more about Ian Fleming, dfordoom. You suggested Andrew Lycett's biography in comments on an earlier post and I am going to have to find a copy.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-91593249091317477052016-07-22T15:17:09.607-07:002016-07-22T15:17:09.607-07:00Fleming's contribution to the genre is indelib...Fleming's contribution to the genre is indelible--at least, as long as our planet survives. My favorite of the Bond novels is DR. NO, which was the first one I read when I was fourteen, and which subsequent first Bond film was fun but at the same time disappointing for completely skipping crucial moments from the novel--e.g., the way Bond dispatched the titular villain. My favorite films in the series are "From Russia, With Love," "License to Kill," and those starring Daniel Craig (not counting "Spectre," which I haven't seen as of this message) because Craig and his scripts seem to embody Bond as portrayed by Fleming as originally conceived: someone who shot first and took names afterwards. Barry Erganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04305184548497082776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-58667187977276294302016-07-22T13:41:58.883-07:002016-07-22T13:41:58.883-07:00I don't know if the Bond books count as litera...I don't know if the Bond books count as literature, any more than I know whether the Sherlock Holmes stories count as literature, but they may be something more important: they are permanent additions to our popular culture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-75571170741452366782016-07-22T07:59:48.586-07:002016-07-22T07:59:48.586-07:00One of the first ones I read, and I really enjoyed...One of the first ones I read, and I really enjoyed it. I still have a very old copy of it.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-66601560408014119842016-07-22T00:57:51.427-07:002016-07-22T00:57:51.427-07:00I can't recall the film, but I was never a fan...I can't recall the film, but I was never a fan of Bond or Connery in anything. I have the book somewhere, but not tried Fleming yet, unsurprisingly!col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-75688300576349182592016-07-22T00:44:44.140-07:002016-07-22T00:44:44.140-07:00In the movies, Bond may be intrigued by the main ...<em>In the movies, Bond may be intrigued by the main Bond girl but he is not committed to her. In the books, at least so far as I have read, he grows very fond of and sometimes wants to commit to a relationship with the woman he has been adventuring with. </em><br /><br />Very much so. Just as Bond dislikes the betrayals that are part and parcel of espionage work he also dislikes romantic betrayals. He wants to find one woman, get married, have kids and eventually settle down in the country somewhere and retire from the spy business. His first problem is that the kinds of romances that a spy gets involved in don't usually work out that way. His second problem is that he doesn't have the money to set himself up as a country gentleman.<br /><br />So he flits from woman to woman but it's not a lifestyle that suits him.<br /><br />There are serious undertones like this throughout the Bond books that most critics blithely overlooked. Fleming took his writing quite seriously. He wanted to make money but he wanted to write high quality spy fiction as well. He actually succeeded but he suffered the fate of so many thriller and mystery writers (Alistair MacLean comes to mind) - his achievements were ignored by critics who thought that fun and good writing were incompatible.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-90102142415635931002016-07-22T00:33:53.707-07:002016-07-22T00:33:53.707-07:00There is a melancholy tone to the book that I foun...<em>There is a melancholy tone to the book that I found impressive</em><br /><br />I think there are touches of that throughout the books. Being a spy isn't all it's cracked up to be. It might be glamorous and exciting but there's a price to be paid.<br /><br />Bond likes being a spy mostly because it's the one thing he's good at. Which is a bit autobiographical. Fleming himself failed at everything he attempted until the war came along and he discovered, to his own surprise, that he was very very good at intelligence work.<br /><br />But there is that price to be paid and espionage is a world of betrayal of treachery. Which Bond doesn't like because he isn't really like that.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-32382280682572874332016-07-21T22:09:26.082-07:002016-07-21T22:09:26.082-07:00You should read one of the books, Katrina, just to...You should read one of the books, Katrina, just to see what they are like. But each seems to be a bit different. I prefer the grittier Bond actors, and Connery will always be my favorite. I do like Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig too. Roger Moore is OK, just a different interpretation that doesn't work as well for me.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-16703609067809989282016-07-21T22:06:31.277-07:002016-07-21T22:06:31.277-07:00There were parts of the plot in this movie that I ...There were parts of the plot in this movie that I did not care for at all on this watching, Margot, the Willard Whyte storyline and Bambi and Thumper. And I would have preferred that they stick with the original storyline. But I have yet to see a Bond movie I disliked. They are all fun, just in different ways. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-7021667473759582222016-07-21T22:01:17.664-07:002016-07-21T22:01:17.664-07:00I envy you your good memory of this book, I forget...I envy you your good memory of this book, I forget so much about the books I read. Fleming definitely has something that pulls the reader in (at least this reader) and he created a very memorable character.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-54954135348036119222016-07-21T12:21:57.871-07:002016-07-21T12:21:57.871-07:00I haven't read any of the books, maybe I shoul...I haven't read any of the books, maybe I should, but I agree with you about Sean Connery. I've always disliked Roger Moore as an 'actor' and particularly as Bond.Katrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138715309807238198noreply@blogger.com