THE COMPLETE LITERARY 007 - DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

With Diamonds are Forever, Fleming has finally perfected the formula that would become so familiar, and for the first time we have what could be called, “a teaser scene.” – a vividly drawn section which places the reader as voyeur as we witness a deadly scorpion emerge from its lair to kill and feast on a beetle. Shortly afterwards the scorpion is in turn killed by a dentist cum diamond smuggler with a large rock. There is a message there that is not lost on the reader as we follow the man as he hands his latest batch of smuggled diamonds to the pick-up man. He dares to complain that things are getting harder and that next time he wants an increase in his cut. The pick up man says he will pass on his message but warns him there could be consequences. There is the sense that whatever unseen organisation is behind this they are big, ruthless and all-powerful.

Mortality is a theme that runs through the entire narrative. For every predator there is an even bigger predator and James Bond may be the biggest predator of all.

‘This day-dream of male prepotence is written in a most suave and civilized prose, carries not an ounce of conviction and is extremely readable.’ THE NEW STATESMAN

With the previous novel Fleming began to develop the relationship between 007 and M and he further builds the relationship here – the scene with Bond and M discussing the illicit diamond trade is very effective and would provide a template used over and over throughout the series, both in the book and the movies.

Bond’s task this time out is to impersonate a diamond smuggler carrying a selection is smuggled stones from London to New York, once there Bond must follow the diamond pipeline to the people at the very top. Fleming again uses the American setting to their full advantage and even though a high level of suspense is maintained throughout the book, the scenes where Bond infiltrates the gangster network are great fun. Bond looks on these people as comical though dangerous goons and the elaborate way in which Bond is paid for his services are clever and give the story a reason for hopping from location to location.

“You will be paid in full, Mr Bond,” the high voice was precise and businesslike. “And you may get more than $5000. But the method of payment will be devised as much for your protection as ours. There will be no direct payment.”

Fleming was highly skilled when describing cultures alien to his own – think of the early scenes in From Russia with Love or the entirety of Live and Let Die. It’s as if the author’s outsider’s eye picks out details that would otherwise go missed. None less than Raymond Chandler praised Fleming’s bringing to life of America and said that the book rings true, better than most written by Americans. Maybe we never really see what is around us and it is only the interloper who can pick out interest in the commonplace. It also helps the Fleming was deeply knowledgeable about Diamond Smuggling (read his non fiction, The Diamond Smugglers) and this results in the plot reading true, even the more outlandish elements come across with a certain authority.

The gangsters are wonderfully drawn and although critics have pointed out that they are too lightweight for true Bond villains, which is true in the sense of these men work their evil solely for financial gain rather than megalomania, but at the same time Fleming was innovating and changing the formula in order to keep things interesting. Which to my mind is an odd thing to criticise any writer for. The book may not be as good as Moonraker, its immediate predecessor, but it is in no way a weak entry in the series. The villains may not be as strongly realised as some of the others but Ms. Tiffany Case was the best Bond girl up to that point. She is a tough resourceful character and most definitely no shrinking violet.

Felix leiter is back and we discover that due to injuries sustained in Live and Let Die he has been invalided out of the CIA and is now working for the Pinkerton Agency. The addition of Felix serves to give us a link with earlier adventures and although Bond and the American have only previously shared two adventures, Fleming makes it sound as if the two men have known each other forever – maybe they shared some times together between novels.

“Just one thing, James, ‘ he (Leiter) said, his voice serious. ‘ You may not think much of these American gangsters. Compared with SMERSH for instance, and some of these other folk you’ve been up against. But I can tell you the Spangled boys are the tops. They’ve got a good machine even if they do care to have funny names. They’ve got protection. That’s how it is in America these days.”

Diamonds are Forever then is a great thriller and a welcome part of the canon – it’s a different kind of adventure for 007 and that’s something to be applauded. Ian Fleming can be accused of many things but not of writing the same book over and over.

TRIVIA: We learn that the song, La Vie En Rose holds back memories for Bond.