You Only Live Twice

In this story, a bereaved Bond is coming close to the end. By screwing up missions (probably not aided by the references to drinking a pint of bourbon at a time) and mooning over his dead wife, the agent has become something of a liability to his section.

So, M sends him off on a mission that's considered to be suicidal. Good choice!

This novel is classic Bond. There's exotic locales (and ladies), plenty of booze and quick-and-easy, ruthless death at every turn. The prose is serviceable, though obviously it's not high-class literature. This is pulp, unashamedly so, albeit pulp with knowledge of where to find the finest suits and cigars.

One thing that surprised me, however, was how racist the book is. I suppose it's to be expected, given the age of the work, but some of the phrases raise eyebrows. Admittedly, I haven't read this book since I was in my early teens, so my idea of what's acceptable has probably changed, but suffice to say, this is a work full of opinions that would now be unacceptable.

That said, it's easy enough to read this with political correctness suspended. You have to, I find, in order to make Fleming's prose work for you - otherwise you'll beat yourself up a little too much.

This is fun. Bond's foray into Dr Shatterhand's Garden of Death is entertaining, and markedly different from the film version. It's worth a look, at the least.

4.5 Stars

I enjoyed this one mostly due to it's Japanese setting. Fleming did a great job with his research, as I'm sure some things he wrote about which are common knowledge now would surely have been more obscure facts back in the 1960s. I loved the idea of Blofeld's "Island of Death": an island where all the plants and trees are poisonous and all the creatures are either venomous or dangerous as well. The piranha filled lake was a nice touch but I'd like to have seen more of the snakes, spiders and scorpions. I also liked how much of the novel came across as an almost tranquil tale of life in a Japanese fishing village, quite a change from the usual bustle of Europe Bond finds himself lost in.

Overall one of the better Bond novels, although given it's unusual nature I can see how it may be polarizing to some of the more action oriented fans.

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** Easily the worst of Fleming's "Blofeld Trilogy." After the death of his wife Tracy, James Bond is distracted at the office, bungling missions, and leaving work to sit in silent reflection. To break him out of his funk, M sends him to Japan on a diplomatic mission to persuade Japanese Intelligence to give the British access to a cypher called MAGIC 44, with which they've been decoding Russian correspondence. Tiger Tanaka, the head of Japanese Intelligence, agrees to let Bond have it in return for a favor: Bond must infiltrate a nearby island, gain access to the castle within and kill Dr. Shatterhead, a madman who is coaxing Japanese citizens to come to his island and commit suicide.

As a follow-up to the events in the excellent On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice is very disappointing. After Blofeld's murder of Tracy, Bond loses his drive. He doesn't seem to want or care about revenge. He's just resigned to the fact that his life is what it is, and it isn't that great. That's a bit anticlimactic, and inconsistent with his character. In Live And Let Die, Bond is aching for revenge against SMERSH for scarring his hand, as well as for Vesper's betrayal. In Goldfinger, he hungers to avenge the death of Jill Masterton, a girl he knew less than twenty-four hours. When Tracy, his wife and his greatest love, is murdered, he should be at his most bloodthirsty. Instead, he's just got a case of the blahs. How disappointing. When he discovers that Dr. Shatterhead and his wife are actually Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Irma Bunt, his vengeful side finally comes out, but it seems lazy, like he never would've bothered if Blofeld wasn't gift-wrapped for him. Contrast this with the film series, which followed up Tracy's death in On Her Majesty's Secret Service with the imperfect-but-unfairly-maligned Diamonds Are Forever. When the latter film begins, Bond is hunting Blofeld all over the world and won't rest until his vengeance is sated. It seems like he actually gives a damn. In the book, it's as though he's just had a run of bad luck.

Another problem is the incredible coincidence of Dr. Shatterhead turning out to be Blofeld. Really? Boy, didn't that work out perfectly! The exact person that Tanaka needed Bond to kill! And, worse, Blofeld is completely inconsistent from his earlier appearances. His evil scheme this time is... to make a bunch of people commit suicide. Because... it's never been done before and he wants to be famous. Huh? This is the greatest evil genius of all time. A man who has held superpowers hostage. And this is to be his legacy? The fantasy equivalent of a Marilyn Manson song? Later, when he and Bond spar verbally, he says that everything he has done has been in the service of bettering society, trying to steer the world towards things like nuclear disarmament and protecting citizens from poisonous foods and plants. That makes no sense at all. Blofeld's actions have always been about personal gain. He's evil, not some misguided humanitarian. Why would he name his organization the Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion if those were not his goals? It's like Fleming suddenly wanted us to sympathize with Blofeld, which is strange as he's never been afraid to make his villains completely, irredeemably evil before. It's possible Blofeld was just blowing smoke, but that was never indicated. Even just having Bond roll his eyes would've done.

They could've fixed all this by having this book be about Bond's hunt for Blofeld (essentially the pre-title sequence of Diamonds Are Forever). Have him wrestle with his demons while going after his mortal enemy and finally putting them to rest when he finished Blofeld once and for all. Or maybe have M recognize that this is the only way to save Bond and, although against regulation, send him after Blofeld. It would eliminate the massive coincidence at the heart of the story and allow for Bond to seem more consistent and more human.

As always with Fleming, there were good things about the novel. He paints a vivid picture of Japanese culture. My favorite parts were the comparisons between the Japanese and Western (English in particular, of course) mindsets. Bond and Tanaka arguing over the honor, or lack thereof, in suicide is a terrific examination of how different world cultures view life and death. Bond's defense of British values in the face of Tiger's criticism (feigned though it may have been) was refreshing to read and makes me wish Fleming were still writing in today's P.C. times. The supporting characters were enjoyable as well. Tiger Tanaka is quite different here than he is in the movie. He's kind of a prick, and relishes giving orders to Bond. It makes him less likeable than he was in the film, but it helps stress the culture shock through which Bond is going. Dikko Henderson is fun for his small portion of the novel, a surly Australian asset whose gone Japanese, but not so much that he's given up cursing and drinking up a storm. Kissy Suzuki has an interesting back story and serves as a refuge for Bond from the rest of the formal, uptight people with whom he must deal.

You Only Live Twice is worth reading once. While it has its good points, it's definitely a lesser Fleming.

If only for sentimental reasons, I will always be a fan of Ian Fleming's Bond novels, even the much-maligned The Spy Who Loved Me. The simple premise of You Only Live Twice is that M sends Bond, bitter over the death of his wife, on a mission to Japan that is entirely about Bond saving face. While Tracy Bond's death is mentioned a few times in YOLT, I had to keep reminding myself of this. Bond is a bit of a whiner through much of the book. I certainly hope his loss is the explanation for this behavior. Otherwise, he comes across as quite a cultural chauvinist, even for the always loyal Bond.

The real heroes in this book are the strict Tiger Tanaka and the strong, physically and emotionally, Kissy Suzuki. I'm not entirely sure Fleming intended that, but they mentor and repair Bond throughout the book.

The end (I won't spoil it here) is more disturbing than I remembered. Was Fleming deliberately setting up the next book? Or was he offering some kind of cultural or political caution? Either way, the sun had set on the British Empire, but James Bond still had a duty to perform. Maybe traveling East to find himself was the wisest thing he could do.

Going to use this same review for all the James Bond books I read several years ago. Why did I keep reading them if I hated them so much? Because I kept hoping for ONE good book with ONE woman valued for more than just her body. And anyone out there can tell me it was a reflection of the times, but I throw that argument out. I've heard it used a lot for slavery, for example, but that fails too because there were always abolitionists, just like there have always been feminists, even if that word didn't necessarily exist back then.

Amazon was practically giving away these Ian Fleming books, so I'd bought them all. And ultimately, I hated myself for it. They are such sexist filth. Sure, I like the "good guys" winning as much as the next, but in every one of them, it felt like it was at the expense of some woman (the "Bond girl's") identity where she's reduced to nothing but an objectified and glorified sexual being whose sole purpose is to make James Bond look good. Ew. I would've known better (I hope) had the cover been one of the more semi-pornographic ones that seem to be more common, but the Kindle series I'd bought had very unrevealing cover art. UGH. And remarkably, I hadn't watched any of the older Bond movies - only started with Daniel Craig versions which I thought was just dumb sexist typical Hollywood. In retrospect, I should've known better!

I am one of the first to admit that I would rather be reading than watching most television, movies, and other media other than a few of my favorite franchise series. One of those series is James Bond, and I have seen most films at least once. I have a favorite Bond actor and a favorite film for each Bond, which I am partial to and end up repeating more so than the other flicks. When classic bingo called for an action or adventure square, I used it as an excuse to read another of Ian Fleming's original Bond books. You Only Live Twice, which also checks off the Y for my A to Z book title challenge, was the last book that Fleming wrote in his lifetime, hence passing the franchise on to other less devoted writers. While not my favorite Bond by far, it still presented me a chance to spend time with 007 on an otherwise gloomy winter day.

James Bond is reeling, off of his game so to speak. It is the 1950s, the height of the cold war, and he has been a 00 agent since the end of World War II. He has botched his last two assignments as he is still grieving from the death of his wife Tracey at the hands of the sinister Ernst Stavo Blofield and his equally vile wife Irma Bent. Bond believes that he should tender his resignation, yet M, the head of British Secret Service MI,6 can not afford to lose his most capable spy. At a time when the threat of nuclear warfare has the entire world on edge, M entrusts Bond with top assignments more than ever. Yet, Bond would be happy to retire to Jamaica and live out his days in the sun and surf of the island. After buttering up and prodding by M, Bond agrees to a 'promotion' to the foreign service and heads to Japan on a classified diplomatic mission.

The one caveat of this assignment is that there are no guns or any other secret gadgets available to Bond from MI6. While in a Japan still in the American sphere of influence, Bond must learn to behave like a true member of Japanese society. Entrusted in the hands of top Japanese agent Tiger Tanaka, Bond spends the majority of the book immersed in Japanese culture. Although he pines for English gin, cigarettes, food, and women, Bond plays the game and becomes passable for one of the taller Japanese miners. Versed enough to write a rudimentary haiku and to laugh at the right places, Tanaka believes that Bond is ready for his assignment-- to infiltrate the Garden of Death located on the remote island of Kyushu off of the Asian Sea. While there, he will be under the care of Bond girl Kissy Suzuki, a pearl diver from the nearby island of Kuro who believes 007 to be Taro, a Japanese miner.

Behind the garden of death are none other than Blofield and Bent themselves. Creating this garden of deadly plants, fish, and volcanic geysers, the couple encourages Japanese suicide seekers to meet their death at their paradise. The couple appears just as sinister and vile in this book, as they do in current Bond films, most notably Spectre. Yet, Blofield is the only thing similar to the movies from this books. Rather than disabling a nuclear weapon that is a threat to western civilization leaving viewers on edge, here Bond desires revenge on Blofield and Bent and is forced to fight them without the aid of a gun. This scene makes for a true fight of strength and man power, and was actually more enjoyable to me than some of the sequences where Bond has multiple killing agents at his disposable. And, of course, because Blofield grows more evil by the page, I was silently cheering as 007 dueled his rival in true Japanese ninja style.

You Only Live Twice is one of the few instances where I may have enjoyed the movie version slightly more than the book. While I enjoyed seeing Bond in a different role as a foreign service officer and learning about a culture different than his own, I pined for the action of the big screen. I have previously read From Russia With Love and Casino Royale, and both books contained more action than this one. Perhaps Fleming suspected that his involvement with Bond was coming to a close, although he left numerous journals that would form the basis of his other stories. You Only Live Twice is not my top Bond story, but it was fun and even witty at parts. Besides, as longtime Bond viewers know from the screen, James Bond will be back, and hopefully my next Bond read will be better.

3.5 stars

The villain in this Bond novel is named Dr. Shatterhand.
Shatter.
Hand.
Obviously, this is the best book ever written.


But really, this is the last Bond book published before author Ian Fleming's passing, and it's a fitting dive back into the very original of James Bond's character as seen in 'Casino Royale.' In this novel, Bond is once more deeply human, as the book begins some several months after the tragedy of the prior novel, with Bond now drinking deeply, repeatedly botching missions, and even neglecting the call of duty. Where the novel takes him from there distinctly follows the vulnerable and core personality of Bond, and undoubtedly is this adventure of Commander James Bond the most personal of kinds.

This book being set in Japan, there's some interesting diversity in imagery and comfort that other Bond novels don't have. Bond is very much a Western person, and this is something that Fleming maintains; Bond isn't at home in the East, isn't necessarily all that comfortable, interested, or persuaded by the customs, and this creates a very friendly, intimate portrayal of James Bond. He isn't some super hero; he's an Englishman, and by positioning Bond in Japan, where every custom between an English and Japanese disagrees with the other, this creates a rather funny, charming series of events that show an easier, more proofed side of Bond.

The book is mostly an exploration of Bond in contrast to a foreign culture, but the final third of the novel sets Bond into a mission of stealth. There's a lot of action-focused writing at the end, and the encounter between Bond and Shatterhand is something that every reader will be well impatient for; fortunately, the battle pays off, and is an extremely thrilling battle that well rewards completion of the novel.

Just a very fun, very personal James Bond book that compliments excellently the roots of the series.

Bond in Japan
16 Apr 2022 - Wodonga

tIf you are expecting a novel about some super villain stealing space ships then you are going to be sorely disappointed. This is one of those James Bond novels that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie, or I should probably say that the movie has nothing to do with the novel. No, rather most of the novel seems to deal with Japanese culture, and it is only in the last quarter of the novel that Bond confronts his nemesis Ernst Stavrov Blofeld.

tThe story basically begins after On Her Majesty’s Secret Service where Blofeld murders Bond’s wife hours after they get married. Bond then descends into a spiral of depression and his superiors, namely M, are deciding whether to simply dismiss him or to put him in a diplomatic post. They decide on the latter, and he ends up in Japan, looking for some mysterious concoction known as MAGIC 44, however, while he is there, he discovers that his arch-nemesis is there also and that the Japanese want Bond to kill him in return for the formula. Not surprisingly Bond accepts.

tMind you, there are a couple of things that annoyed me in this book. Fleming makes a comment about how the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour was foolish. Well, honestly, it was, because it basically awakened the American beast, and even if they won at Midway, it is highly unlikely that the Japanese would have won the war. The Americans would still have developed the bomb, and they still would have nuked the home islands.

tHowever, to put it into context, one of the main reasons that Pearl Harbour was attacked was because the Japanese wanted to neutralise the American navy so that they could take the Philippines. The thing that many people seem to forget was that at the time, the Philippines was still an American protectorate and any attack on the Philippines would have been an attack on the United States. However, I suspect that if the Japanese had attacked the Philippines, and left Pearl Harbour alone, Rosevelt would have had a lot more difficult time convincing the American people (and congress) to go to war.

tThe second thing was that the dismantling of the British Empire. One thing that seems to be ignored is that one of the conditions of the American involvement in the war was that the allies’ empires be dismantled. Okay, France didn’t end up doing that and had to be forcefully removed from Algeria, in the same way, that Britain was forcefully removed from India, but it seems that the thing with the war was that it was the end of the era of the empires.

tAnyway, I can’t say that this was a particularly enthralling book. Pretty much most of it involved discussions between Tanaka and Bond about British and Japanese culture. One of the things that comes up is this idea that suicide in Japan is considered a good thing. Well, I won’t say a good thing, but more of an honourable thing, and there is an interesting discussion between Bond and Tanaka about this whole idea. In a sense, it has a lot to do with family, and if one fails, then it brings shame upon the family, and to undo that, one needs to do something that basically removes that shame – namely kill oneself.

tI remember people speaking of a shame and a guilt-based culture, and I sort of wonder what the actual difference is, but it seems that it is the difference between an individual-based culture, and a communal culture. In the Western World, if you stuff up, it is entirely upon you, and nobody else, however in other cultures, if you stuff up, then it isn’t just upon you, but upon your entire family, This is why you end up with parents killing children because they switch religion – it all comes down to honour, and the honour is attached to the family, not the individual.

tYeah, reading this was somewhat interesting, and Fleming does explore some interesting things here, however, in the end, I can’t say that this is one of the greatest of books.