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Live and Let Die Paperback – Import, January 1, 2006
Beautiful, fortune-telling Solitaire is the prisoner (and tool) of Mr Big – master of fear, artist in crime and Voodoo Baron of Death. James Bond has no time for superstition – he knows that Big is also a top SMERSH operative and a real threat. More than that, after tracking him through the the jazz joints of Harlem, to the everglades and on to the Caribbean, 007 has realized that he is one of the most dangerous men that he has ever faced. And no one, not even the enigmatic Solitaire, can be sure how theor battle of wills is going to end …
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin Books
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 2006
- Dimensions4.37 x 0.71 x 7.13 inches
- ISBN-100141028327
- ISBN-13978-0141028323
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Product details
- Publisher : Penguin Books; New Ed edition (January 1, 2006)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0141028327
- ISBN-13 : 978-0141028323
- Item Weight : 5.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 4.37 x 0.71 x 7.13 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #6,567,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #55,597 in Thriller & Suspense Action Fiction
- #111,608 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Ian Fleming was a British author and journalist. His first novel, Casino Royale (1953), introduced spy hero, James Bond, agent 007, to the world. It was the first of fourteen James Bond books which have gone on to sell over 60 million copies worldwide and be translated into 20 languages. Beginning with the movie adaptation of Dr No in 1961, the series also sparked the longest-running film franchise in history. Both Fleming and his fictional counterpart have become synonymous with style, glamour and thrilling adventures, as well as universally recognised phrases such as “My name’s Bond, James Bond” and “shaken and not stirred”.
Fleming was born in London in 1908. In the 1930s he worked at Reuters news agency before joining Naval Intelligence as an officer during the Second World War. His talent for writing fast and engaging prose, along with his knowledge of espionage and his fertile imagination led to the creation of James Bond, arguably one of the most-famous fictional characters of all time. He also wrote children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Fleming was married to Ann Rothermere with whom he had a son, Caspar. He died in 1964.
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Top reviews from the United States
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The book was written by a British author in 1954. Coincidentally, 1954 is the same year of the historic United States Supreme Court Decision "Brown versus Board of Education". So what? The modern Civil Rights movement was just gaining traction in America. This novel is more consistent with the pre modern Civil Rights viewpoint. James Bond, as a white person, does battle with American black organized criminals. There is a LOT of dated ethnic nomenclature and stereotyping that could offend some readers. I do not believe in censorship or rewriting of novels such as this. I actually find a novel such as this provides much fuel for inner contemplation. Just be advised there is a lot of ethnic references in this novel.
Personally, the above observation aside, I think this is a somewhat better written novel than the first James Bond novel, "Casino Royale". There is a lot of descriptive narrative that I felt was more sophisticated than the prior novel. This novel can be read without having read the first novel. There is one character, an American, Felix Leiter, who makes an appearance in this novel, who had also been in the first novel. Obviously, "M" and Miss Moneypenny are ongoing characters.
When I was a youth growing up in America in the 1950s and 1960s, I was not allowed to read James Bond novels. I had friends of my age who did read them. All they talked about was the sexual aspects of these novels. By today's standards, I do not find these novels are not to be particularly salacious. But as a parent and grandparent, I would be very careful about allowing a child or grandchild to read these novels.
In summary, I am glad I read this novel, I liked it, but did not love it, I would not read it again without good cause. Thank You...
First published in 1954, Fleming's second Bond novel unfortunately does not stand the test of time nearly as well as its predecessor. Because here Bond's nemesis is Mr. Big and his vast criminal network, the African-American community is featured prominently throughout the novel -- and as such Fleming heavily showcases racial attitudes and language that, while it may have been more acceptable during the 1950s, is at the very least jarring to modern readers. Mr. Big fares best here -- as an arch-villain, extremely capable and over-the-top in the best Bond tradition, but his compatriots have aged less favorably, tending towards a hodge-podge of cheap stereotypes. If Fleming had managed to curb his propensity for over-the-top dialect and negative African-American stereotyping, this novel's suspense plotline, no matter how wildly outlandish, would be given freer range to shine unencumbered.
If one can manage to keep the novel within the context of the time in which it was published, roughly a third of the way through the book Fleming (mostly) trades in his unfortunate stereotyping for some really well-done action sequences and nail-biting tension in keeping with the spirit of Bond's debut. I was particularly impressed with Bond's tense introduction to Mr. Big and subsequent escape, and the novel's climatic moment which finds Bond and Solitaire dragged through coral-rich waters as live shark bait. As in Casino Royale, I was once again struck by Fleming's economy of language, his sharp-edged prose that colors his narrative with tension and keeps the reader engaged.
As an American I also found Fleming's rather...acerbic view of the country interesting, to say the least, but this was tempered by the presence of Felix Leiter, my favorite recurring supporting character in the series thus far. I was quite honestly horrified by Felix's fate midway through the novel, but this was somewhat tempered by the resulting exhibition of Bond's loyalty and drive to see one of his few friends avenged. Bond is by no means a consistently well-rounded or progressive character -- first and foremost he is the "blunt instrument" of MI6 -- but thus far in the series I've been favorably impressed by the subtle shades of fallibility that colors his character on the page. There's a brilliant, self-reflective passage about halfway through the book where Bond ruminates on the fragility of life -- and it's brief flashes of humanity, of vulnerability, that bring to mind Craig, my favorite screen Bond.
While the racial overtones of Mr. Big and his henchmen date this installment in the Bond series rather poorly, if one can read this strictly as a product of its creator and the time (for good or ill) in which he lived, Fleming delivers some rollicking action sequences and unexpected moments of self-reflection that make fascinating additions to one's knowledge of the Bond canon.
Top reviews from other countries
Firstly, I'm happy that the cancel culture hasn't got to these books, like the attempt with Roald Dhal. Written in the 1950s and 1960s, these novels use language and attitudes which were the norm at the time. Those people with "modern sensitivities" would not enjoy these stories.
Fleming includes great detail in his descriptions of characters and scenes, with far more realism than the films depict. Bond can get hurt and needs time to recover. The books are really good adventure yarns from that period.
For people who have seen the films first, try to put them aside. The book, Live and Let Die includes scenes and references that you will know from the films Dr No, Live and Let Die, and License to Kill.
There are 14 of the original Bond stories that Ian Fleming wrote before his death, and I plan to read all of them.
Reviewed in Singapore on November 14, 2020