THE COMPLETE LITERARY 007 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

This is the book with which Fleming set the James Bond formula in stone - previous to the publication of this one the series was selling reasonably well, but when President Kennedy listed it amongst his favourite titles for holiday reading sales went into the stratosphere. But before looking at the book I would like to point out that the film version of this was the last of the Bond's movies Fleming would see prior to his untimely death.

Back to the book - faced with a four hour round trip I opted to listen to this one on audio-book, rather than re-reading the book. It is one of my favourites of the Fleming works and I've read it several times and sometimes it's nice to sit back, avoid the numerous speed cameras up and down the British roads and let the story wash over you.

Read by Robert Whitfield - it's an excellent reading that catches the nuances of what is a deeply detailed novel.

"The naked man who lay by the pool might have been dead. He might have been drowned and fished out of the pool and laid out on the grass to dry while the police or the next of kin were notified. Even the little pile of objects in the grass besides his head might have been his personal effects, meticulously assembled in full view so that no one should think that something had been stolen by his rescuers.'

That first sentence introduces us to Red Grant, the chief executioner of SMERSH, the murder apparent of the KGB, an organisation which Fleming informs us in his foreword is very real and not just a figment of his vivid imagination. The inner workings of the organisation are detailed in meticulous fashion as we are introduced to other characters, chiefly the harridan Rosa Klebb as the latest scheme against the west is outlined. Fleming takes great care over this first quarter of the book with Bond not coming into the story until chapter eleven. When we first meet Bond we discover he is suffering from the effects of being underemployed for far too long.


"The blubbery arms of the soft life had Bond round the neck and they were slowly strangling him. He was a man of war and when, for a long period, there was no war, his spirits went into decline."

Thankfully for the agent war is brewing and he is soon sucked into a clever plot, designed to both eliminate the agent and embarrass the organisation for which he works. Of course both Bond and M realise that the plot which offers the British a sought after Spektor Coding Machine is an obvious trap. But both Bond and his superior feel it is worth the risk.

We also learn much more about Bond's personal life this time out - we discover that he performs twenty push ups immediately after waking each morning and his housekeeper, May is introduced. The scene between M and Bond is the best yet to appear in a Bond novel with the old man of the service as it irascible best. The book is also notable for introducing gadgets into the mix when the armourer gives Bond an attache case with some hidden extras. The introduction of the case is perfectly natural and it is a shame that the gadgets would be overused, particularly in the films and in some of the non-Fleming continuation novels.

For anyone new to the Fleming novels, From Russia with Love is a good place to start - out of all the early novels the character of Bond is more recognisable here as the character of the movies, particularly those made before the mid-70's. And it's also a thrilling espionage story in its own right.

There is also a cliffhanger ending, the first time Fleming had used such a device in the Bond novels. SPOILER ALERT - in fact Bond is left seemingly dead at the end of the novel. Had Fleming, I wonder grown tired of his creation? Did he like Conan Doyle before him plan to kill of the golden goose only to be forced to bring him back?

"Bond felt his knees begin to buckle. He said, or thought he said, 'I've already got the loveliest...' Bond pivoted slowly on his heel and crashed head-long to the wine red floor."

I suspect that Fleming did intend for this to be the end - interviews he gave at the time certainly suggest that he was eager to explore new avenues but thankfully 007's demise, if that's what it was, was left open ended and the author was able to resurrect the character for the even better, Dr No.