Ian Fleming = the man

Written by Berkeley Joe
Published May 26, 2004

Ian Fleming is a better writer than you me and fukn Kierkegaard put together. Just trust me on it. Shit, you gotta read Casino Royale. I've tried my pen (er, keystroke) at describing detailed torture sessions, but I don't know, Fleming just blows away anything I could've thought of with such an elegant simplicity, as can be seen here as Bond's nemesis (of the moment) outlines the finer points of the forcible info retrieval game, specifically from anyone of the male persuasion. The short version: concentrate on the nuts, which Le Chiffre has been doing for some time before dropping said knowledge on our good buddy 007.

If I may be so bold, allow me to quote Mr. Fleming:

    Le Chiffre was talking again.

    'Torture is a terrible thing,' he was saying as he puffed at a fresh cigarette, 'but it is a simple matter for the torturer, particularly when the patient,' he smiled at the word, 'is a man. You see, my dear Bond, with a man it is quite unnecessary to indulge in refinements. With this simple instrument, or with almost any other object, one can cause a man as much pain as is possible or necessary. Do not believe what you read in novels or books about the war. There is nothing worse. It is not only the immediate agony, but also the thought that your manhood is being gradually destroyed and that at the end, if you will not yield, you will no longer be a man.

    'That, my dear Bond, is a sad and terrible thought - a long chain of agony for the body and also for the mind, and then the final screaming moment when you will beg me to kill you. All that is inevitable unless you tell me where you hid the money.'

Uh, uh, uh, uh, I know I've said it before, but shit! this is just the final word, I don't know, say it any way, fukn whisper it in Swahili to your secret lover down by the dock, but Ian Fleming is the fukn man and, well, take that to the barn and roll in it.

PS: you can click here, and then clickie the thingie that says audioblog and listen to me read another Ian Fleming James Bond excerpt, hmm, this one was from On Her Majesty's Secret Service. While you're over there, hang out and read some of m68's old shit, he's like a top notch blogger even though he's strictly a weekly affair nowadays. He's a funny guy, seriously, and when I say that, I'm not trying to imply that he's like a mushroom or something.

Keep reading for information and comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own!
Ian Fleming = the man
Published: May 26, 2004
Type:
Section: Books
Writer: Berkeley Joe
Berkeley Joe's BC Writer page
Berkeley Joe's personal site
Spread the Word
Like this article?
Email this
Submit to del.icio.us Save to del.icio.us
RSS Feeds
All RSS Feeds (240+)
Comments on this article
BC articles by Berkeley Joe
All Books Articles
All BC articles
All BC Comments

Comments

#1 — May 26, 2004 @ 08:52AM — Eric Olsen

Thanks BJ, I love Fleming and the Bond series as well. I do't think the movies have EVER captured the special tone of the books, which have always been more jokey and action-driven than the books.

#2 — May 26, 2004 @ 12:53PM — TDavid [URL]

I read that Quentin Tarrintino wants to remake Casino Royale and I think that's a great idea. He might be able to put some of that Fleming touch back into the series.

#3 — June 3, 2004 @ 10:36AM — R Esteves

I have and always shall love Ian Fleming's James Bond. When discussing the diference between the book and movie, I always tend to use the James Bond movies as a classic case of Movie revisionism.

With the Tarantino desire to do Bond. I saw a Charlie Rose interview where he was asked about an adaptation that might be on his wish list. His answer was Casino Royale. He als stated that it would be damn near impossible since the owners' to the Bond rights would probably never tolerate a Tarantino version of Bond.

Want comments emailed to you? No spam, promise! Address:

Add your comment, speak your mind

(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/15994)

Personal attacks are not allowed. Please read our comment policy.





Remember Name/URL?

Please preview your comment!

Fresh
Articles
Fresh
Comments