the_spy_who_loved_me_ian_flemming

The Spy Who Loved me is the tenth book in Ian Flemming's James Bond series. I read one of the old Signet copies as you can see above (pic from some ebay listing). I'm going through these books in a random order; this is the 4th in my journey, and it kinda was bizarre.

Ian was not exactly aiming to pass any Bechdel tests (to say the least) and this feels like a strange attempt to refute his critics. If anything, this story grants those claims more credibility. He tells this from the perspective of Viv (the Bond girl of this Bond adventure, so to speak), but her role is the same. Actually, since we are let into her mind, we get even more sex-first storytelling than we would if we followed James around. More than half of this book is about the different sexual partners she had. She eventually becomes a pawn in a insurance fraud scheme (burning down a motel and pinning it on her, the rogue guest) and is serendipitously bailed out by 007 on his way to Washington.

Mr. Flemming says some really batshit stuff - the most notable moment is when, in the voice of Viv, says:

All women love semi-rape. They love to be taken.

Come on, man.

In the end, she falls in love with 007 after like six hours together and he leaves to continue his main mission. She is warned by another officer at the end of it all to not fall in love with men like Bond because 'they are hawks' whereas the rest of us are doves: different animals. She teases this idea herself before the officer hammers it home, but it never really sinks in for her.

His storytelling is less thoughtful and his style and prose are weaker than his other works. There is no big bad supervillain here, either. It is a big deviation from the 007 formula, but it wasn't a very calculated risk. Once you get through the three or so romantic backstories, it is at least interesting to witness a (literal) pit-stop Bond escapade from the perspective of an otherwise random hookup. Viv doesn't really have much of an arc here besides finally having a satisfying lay. Not sure why he felt this one was fit for print.