tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post6727318229086103016..comments2024-03-28T20:46:22.875+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming: Part 2Clothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-83242688847210853012017-11-19T22:16:32.268+00:002017-11-19T22:16:32.268+00:00Thanks for that terrifying quote!Thanks for that terrifying quote!Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-49024015548070302212017-11-19T12:26:15.419+00:002017-11-19T12:26:15.419+00:00Never felt the same about flying after reading a p...Never felt the same about flying after reading a pilot's comment that every landing is a controlled crash !<br />Mike Hobarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-82400736610078314002016-04-28T19:25:46.148+01:002016-04-28T19:25:46.148+01:00Yup, seems fair enough to me that James Bond shoul...Yup, seems fair enough to me that James Bond should have the same fears as the rest of us.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-89506208462717750712016-04-28T07:13:05.597+01:002016-04-28T07:13:05.597+01:00I finally read the part about the "existentia...I finally read the part about the "existential funk" on the airplane (in a second or third scan of the text). Nice, because I use to go through something like that every time I flew somewhere.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-86032773542367656872016-02-25T10:14:55.432+00:002016-02-25T10:14:55.432+00:00I will definitely bear that in mind - it wouldn...I will definitely bear that in mind - it wouldn't really have occurred to me to try that one because it is non-canon almost, so good to know - thanks. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-52593129999931351292016-02-25T08:02:33.320+00:002016-02-25T08:02:33.320+00:00The Bond movie for people who don't like Bond ...The Bond movie for people who don't like Bond movies is <em>On Her Majesty's Secret Service</em>. Rather different in tone from any other Bond movie, and closer in spirit to the novels. There's less of the overt tongue-in-cheek feel. Plus it has virtually no gadgetry (although it does have spectacular action sequences). <br /><br />And I won't say anything about the ending other than this - you won't see it coming.<br /><br />There are those who consider it to be the best of all the Bond movies. I would certainly put it in the top three.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-43275990563140528332016-02-24T22:01:52.363+00:002016-02-24T22:01:52.363+00:00Yes indeed, and please do them soon - it would be ...Yes indeed, and please do them soon - it would be great to compare notes...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-72642053442723181682016-02-24T16:18:00.505+00:002016-02-24T16:18:00.505+00:00Looks like I have some interesting reading ahead o...Looks like I have some interesting reading ahead of me when I tackle the next few Bond novels. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-60638701538033392612016-02-24T09:19:25.965+00:002016-02-24T09:19:25.965+00:00I think Kingsley Amis would have appreciated that ...I think Kingsley Amis would have appreciated that idea...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-40022320251592920062016-02-23T12:37:59.045+00:002016-02-23T12:37:59.045+00:00Thank you, that's a fascinating reading. I lov...Thank you, that's a fascinating reading. I love the comments from you and ggary (above) on these books - I find them illuminating and thoughtful and clever. Please keep them coming as I continue to read the books...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-83654001772907890782016-02-23T12:36:38.584+00:002016-02-23T12:36:38.584+00:00Yes, and it is kind of endearing...Yes, and it is kind of endearing...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-27404242644971879722016-02-23T00:49:24.770+00:002016-02-23T00:49:24.770+00:00"Anyone reading this book now is faced with I...<em>"Anyone reading this book now is faced with Ian Fleming’s attitudes to women "</em><br /><br />I find Bond's attitude towards women to be extremely interesting. He's actually a closet romantic. His ambition is to retire from the Secret Service and get married and have kids. And if and when he does that he intends to be a faithful husband. His attitudes are actually very old-fashioned by 1950s standards. <br /><br />In fact Bond is an old-fashioned guy in general. He's not really at home in the new post-war world. Britain in the immediate postwar era was a grim, grey, depressing place and the country was virtually bankrupt and had been reduced to the status of a second-rate power entirely dependent on the US. That was very humiliating and Fleming was clearly not happy with the new situation. The Bond novels are a desperate attempt to prove that Britain still counts for something - to prove that however weak Britain was it still had the best Secret Service in the world and that when it came to the crunch it would be a British secret agent who saved the world.<br /><br />Which of course was supremely ironic, given that there were more KGB agents in the British Secret Service than there were in the Kremlin. It was all an illusion. In reality Britain really did count for nothing, as they found out in 1956.<br /><br />To me that makes the Bond books more interesting, and even gives them a touch of pathos.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-69675094523603343552016-02-23T00:37:13.461+00:002016-02-23T00:37:13.461+00:00"Bond comes over as something of an idiot, th...<em>"Bond comes over as something of an idiot, thinking he is so clever and doing well, while we know better."</em><br /><br />That's one of the things I like about the Bond books. He's a fallible hero. He makes mistakes. Sometimes very serious mistakes. dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-6974817244563673522016-02-22T23:29:18.233+00:002016-02-22T23:29:18.233+00:00That's such a good way of looking at it - I lo...That's such a good way of looking at it - I love the headmaster's study! The more I read of the books, the more I enjoy them - and the more weird they seem. They are so much not what one might be expecting...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-50771289664217060222016-02-22T23:28:21.018+00:002016-02-22T23:28:21.018+00:00Nice point Lucy. Nice point Lucy. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-58187248194255386252016-02-22T22:37:16.393+00:002016-02-22T22:37:16.393+00:00"I know full well that, given post-war standa..."I know full well that, given post-war standards of British workmanship, the thing would either choke him or take him straight to the bottom."<br /><br />Maybe Q bought it from the French?Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-57178460397712848712016-02-22T22:29:23.779+00:002016-02-22T22:29:23.779+00:00The thing about Bond thinking that he is safe, but...The thing about Bond thinking that he is safe, but the reader knowing that he isn't, is one of the ways that Fleming drums up tension. In FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE we know all about the plan to kill Bond from the beginning of the book, but he knows nothing. Fleming always liked to portray the villain as more powerful than 007. They were the terrifying dragon that had to be slain by the knight errant. I think that in the Amis book he talks about 'the scene in the headmaster's office' which occurs in nearly every book, where the villain tells Bond what a complete idiot he is, how none of his plans have worked, how he knew everything that Bond was doing... It's the authority figure from his childhood, who always told him that he was worthless, but now he is able to strike back at. If Bond can win out against such a foe it makes him even more potent and magical.<br /><br />The thing about Fleming being a product of his time, his background, his upbringing, are all true, but they are true of all of us. Attitudes shift incredibly quickly, and very often we aren't aware of it. Reading one of James Mitchell's CALLAN novels recently, I was struck by some of the things written about both race and homosexuality, which would probably get edited out if the author wanted to be published by someone in the mainstream. Mitchell was considered a much more anti-establishment writer than Fleming, and probably saw hiimself as much more right-on type than him. But time grinds on, even though our prose doesn't. Ultimately we all go out of date!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-60678001895414984732016-02-22T20:29:00.200+00:002016-02-22T20:29:00.200+00:00Good point that the "How to Succeed" boo...Good point that the "How to Succeed" books (Think and Grow Rich) are just another brand of voodoo. Still are.Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-11855258699894958562016-02-22T14:36:18.176+00:002016-02-22T14:36:18.176+00:00I'm really enjoying Fleming, and at the moment...I'm really enjoying Fleming, and at the moment feel no interest in anyone else's version. But that might change if I get withdrawal symptoms when I finish.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-23775103423002400642016-02-22T13:23:50.655+00:002016-02-22T13:23:50.655+00:00Are you planning on reading all the Bond's or ...Are you planning on reading all the Bond's or just Fleming's contribution?col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-64394942173545429942016-02-22T12:46:41.712+00:002016-02-22T12:46:41.712+00:00I try to allow him a little leeway, because most p...I try to allow him a little leeway, because most people in that era wouldn't have thought twice about his attitudes and descriptions - we have to try to concentrate on the enjoyable aspects.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-9667418863683372042016-02-22T12:43:54.807+00:002016-02-22T12:43:54.807+00:00I haven't seen any of the films for years, but...I haven't seen any of the films for years, but that's what I would guess from clips and trailers.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-12139455965631665002016-02-22T12:20:22.560+00:002016-02-22T12:20:22.560+00:00I have to say, Moira, that was always one of my is...I have to say, Moira, that was always one of my issues with these novels: the portrayal and treatment of women. But I do agree with you about the settings and scenery. Fleming presents a solid sense of place in his novels. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-29138103416394956352016-02-22T11:12:47.862+00:002016-02-22T11:12:47.862+00:00Moira, I haven't read a lot of Ian Fleming'...Moira, I haven't read a lot of Ian Fleming's novels but from all the films I have seen, Bond's role and conduct have been stereotyped. He is not very different from one film to another.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.com