The Premise
This year marks the one-hundredth anniversary of Ian Fleming, the British writer who created the character of James Bond. What better way to celebrate than to contract a respected British writer of historical, WWII-era novels to concoct a new Bond tale, set in 1967, immediately after Fleming's last, posthumously published Bond book, The Man with the Golden Gun?
In Review
You will note that I did not give any plot description in the above premise. There are two reasons for this: the first is that, on the whole, I try to avoid plot spoilers, and, this being a Bond novel, these are too easy to commit when describing the latest installment of a series that relies on formula; the second is that the plot that Mr. Faulks has created for Bond's return does not, unfortunately, warrant any positive mention. There is Bond (tired after a string of trying exploits), a girl (beautiful, mysterious), a villain (deformed, insane, intelligent), and a plot to undermine Western society (megalomaniacal, ludicrous, shallow). These are mixed in recognizable proportions, shaken (not, of course, stirred) and displayed upon the page.
To Mr. Faulk's credit, his handle on 1960s dress, music, food, and locations feels authentic - at least it does to this reader, who was born a decade later. A few characters comment on current events - Vietnam, drugs, changing sexual mores, the Stones - and these asides are a nice atmospheric touch, though little used. Mr. Faulks sends Bond to numerous countries and establishes the continental feel that Fleming cultivated in his own works and filmmakers realized on the silver screen. Overall, Devil May Care has the look and texture of a Bond tale, complete with long descriptions of sitting at table and walking busy urban streets.
It is what Mr. Faulks misses that made this a disappointing read. The most glaring oversight is his take on Bond's psyche. Readers of Fleming will know that, throughout each tale, Bond suffers a growing amount of trauma, until he has reached his limit and lost touch with his own personality. This was Fleming's greatest accomplishment in the series, and I had high hopes that Faulks would continue this development and take it further. At first, he seems to be setting Bond up for this: mention of past missions is made, and Bond constantly reflects upon his fatigued state of mind. But once the new mission queues up and M calls Bond in for the usual talk, all mention of these frailties is dropped, and Bond falls into the role of tough, arrogant, resourceful spy without comment or reflection.
Were this outing in itself interesting, then this take on the series could be admissible as a new adventure for devoted followers; as mentioned previously, the plot of this tale is poor, and unworthy of our beloved character. Moreover, Faulks incorporates elements that do not work well in the attempt: the true story of our mystery woman is one that Bond should have figured out on his own; the use of a Middle Eastern locale feels more like an unnecessary attempt to reference the present; and the book's sole homosexual is made out to be an underhanded, traitorous crook. This latter choice inspired the only emotion (anger) I felt in the entire reading, and in reaction I have but one comment, in the key of Bond: bad form, Mr. Faulks.
7/10/08
