Octopussy & The Living Daylights (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
When English author Ian Fleming passed away on August 12, 1964, at the age of 56, he had not yet put the finishing touches on his final James Bond novel, "The Man With the Golden Gun." Oh, sure, he'd gotten a first draft down on paper--working at his Oracabessa, Jamaica winter home called Goldeneye, as usual--but the plethora of convincing detail that had been the hallmark of the previous dozen Bond books was sadly missing from the final product. And so, when the novel was ultimately released some eight months later, the world must have understandably believed that this unfleshed-out caper would be the author's final word regarding 007. Thus, what a surprise it must have been when, in June '66, the posthumous collection "Octopussy" was released. The collection consisted of two short stories--the title piece and "The Living Daylights"; a third story, "The Property of a Lady," was added for the book's paperback incarnation. The three stories serve as mere codas to a famous series; vignette glimpses of some of Bond's lesser cases. Still, all three are of interest, and display what has been called by Kingsley Amis "the Fleming effect" (the overwhelming, realistic detail previously referred to) in great abundance.In the title story, "Octopussy," which initially appeared serially in the "Daily Express" paper in October '65, Bond himself is largely absent. We see him through the eyes of ex-Secret Service agent Major Dexter Smythe, a 54-year-old widower living in Jamaica, who is killing himself slowly via too much smoke and too much drink. His idyllic lazy life of boozing, playing bridge and snorkeling is interrupted one day by the advent of 007, who has come to give Smythe notice that a 17-year-old double crime that the major had committed at the tail end of WW2 (I don't want to reveal too much; let's just say that the crimes involve murder and Nazi gold) has finally caught up with him. The story has an interesting double flashback structure, and the section in which Smythe reflects on those crimes is a fascinating one. The reader doesn't learn much about Bond in this tale, although Fleming does humanize the agent a bit by having Bond reveal his personal reason for bringing Smythe to justice. And the major's ultimate fate, I might add, is a memorably, doubly grisly one. Much comment has been made over Smythe's resemblance to the author, who of course also lived on the north shore of Jamaica (the island was the setting for not only "Octopussy," but also "Live and Let Die," "Doctor No," "For Your Eyes Only" and "The Man With the Golden Gun"), smoked and drank too much, was fond of snorkeling and bird-watching, and was roughly the same age as the major. Still, the author takes pains to show that Smythe is a pitiful, unsympathetic character, and decidedly quite the bastard. He is hardly a stand-in for the author. "Octopussy," obviously, has zero relation to the 1983 film starring Roger Moore, which instead dealt with a crazy Russian general's attempt to detonate an atomic bomb at a NATO air base. Except for the presence of an actual octopus in both the story and the film, they are wholly dissimilar.Up next in the collection is "The Living Daylights," which first ran in the "Sunday Times" in February '62. Here, Bond is given a particularly nasty assignment by his superior, M: to kill the sniper who will be attempting to shoot a British agent; an agent who will soon be making a dash across the no-man's-land between East and West Berlin; the zone soon to be known as "Checkpoint Charlie." Thus, Bond, ensconced in a dumpy apartment, waits for three nights for Agent 272 to make his run, a .308 Winchester rifle trained on the darkened windows of the government building across the way. But Fleming pulls the rug out from beneath the reader and Bond himself, when the identity of Bond's sniper target is revealed. This is a fast-moving, suspenseful story, replete with wonderful detail regarding both weapons and Berlin, as well as a neat twist of an ending. We learn a good deal about 007 in this short story; for example, his taste in food (eggs, herring, schnapps, Lowenbrau) and the fact that he greatly dislikes killing (he even expresses a hope that his action at the story's end will get him booted out of the 00 section). Surprisingly, Bond briefly considers going to a whorehouse to kill some time in Berlin (one would have thought that unnecessary for him!), and has a good deal of difficulty falling asleep the night before his mission (in previous books, he'd fallen asleep with a mere shrug, seemingly impervious to worry). A more human Bond is the result, and it is nice to see. In all, a very winning tale, only bits of which survived in the 1987 film "The Living Daylights," mainly in the character of Kara Milovy, the unnamed cellist in Fleming's story.The "Octopussy" collection concludes with "The Property of a Lady," which first appeared in "The Ivory Hammer" (a publication of Sotheby's auction house), of all places; it was later reprinted in "Playboy" magazine. Here, a known double agent in the British Secret Service, Maria Freudenstein, is about to be paid off by her Russian superiors. An enormously rare Faberge egg has been sent to her, which she is now having auctioned off at Sotheby's. Bond feels that the top Russian agent in London, identity unknown, will be present at the auction, attempting to artificially raise the bidding, and so 007 goes there to try to pick him/her out. Raymond Benson, writing in the invaluable reference book "The James Bond Bedside Companion," tells us that the story has "absolutely no suspense" and that there is "no climax in the narrative," but whether this is true or not, this reader managed to enjoy it. Fleming gives us a wealth of detail regarding the auction process and the egg itself (it's not just a green emerald egg, but "girdled by afixed gold belt enameled opalescent oyster along a reserved path in champleve technique over a moire guillochage with painted Roman numerals in pale sepia enamel...."), and remarkably, incorporates a real-life person into his story. The Faberge expert in the story who helps Bond, a Mr. Kenneth Snowman, was a friend of Fleming's, as it turns out, was the actual chairman of Wartski's (the Faberge dealer that Bond visits), and did indeed write a book entitled "The Art of Carl Faberge"! Is there another Bond novel or story that utilizes a real-life personage in such a manner? Certainly none that I can think of offhand. Those eggs, of course, would also figure in the "Octopussy" film, as did an auction sequence, but in wholly different contexts, of course. In all, the story is a pleasant enough glimpse into a few comparatively humdrum days in the life of James Bond. Bringing down the curtain on the world's most famous secret agent, Fleming's final collection, slim as it is, yet manages to entertain and impress. And thanks to authors such as Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Benson himself, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd, the literary exploits of Bond continue to this day. It would seem that "Octopussy" was hardly the final word on secret agent 007 after all....
A great improvement over Ian Fleming's last collection of James Bond short stories "For Your Eyes Only." This final publication of Fleming's James Bond series contains three engaging short 007 tales, and one odd entry that felt very unfinished."Octopussy" is an interesting story...that happens to feature James Bond as a marginal supporting character. That said, "Octopussy" is a fun piece of writing...portraying a selfish, and morally unsound man who past discrepancies have come back to haunt him. Has the feel of experimentation in the writing which is great...yet its not much of a 007 story, which is not so great."The Property of a Lady" is very much in the Bond tradition, and well-crafted tale of James Bond verses his most consistent enemy...the Russians. The writing, and the mechanization of Bond's specific assignment was a pleasure to read...and reminded me why loved the 007 stories in the first place."The Living Daylights" is another good one...a classic Bond story involving assassination, and outsmarting the Russians once again. What's great about this one is that Fleming goes deep inside the Bond character and explores what it really means for him to kill a man."007 in New York" is an odd and very short story. Unlike the first three tales, not much happens in "007 in New York." It's just Bond sitting in the back of a car..dreaming of the fun things he's going to do in New York...the food, the women, etc...In terms of actual story, Fleming mysteriously ends the tale before it even begins. It was an awkward way to end the very last-ever James Bond publication from Ian Fleming. I wonder if Fleming were alive at the time of publication...would he have approved?Some critics have put down Fleming's last published novel, "The Man With The Golden Gun," as rough and unfinished, and lacking in the finesse of Fleming's earlier work. I don't agree. Ian Fleming was on the cusp of even greater work at the time of his untimely death in 1964. His writing improved as he went along...especially if you look at the sheer quality of his last few James Bond books...the dark and cunning "The Man With The Golden Gun," the superb and satisfying "You Only Live Twice," and the fascinating and thrilling "On Her Majesties Secret Service"...Fleming was on a hot streak. Aside from the lackluster "007 in New York," "Octopussy and "The Living Daylights" only proves that Ian Fleming had much more to offer in the Bond series...and his writing was as strong as ever up until the very end.
What do You think about Octopussy & The Living Daylights (2004)?
This was going to be dirty work and Bond, because he belonged to the Double-0 Section, had been chosen for it. Perversely, Bond wanted to force M to put it in black and white. This was going to be bad news, dirty news, and he didn't want to hear it from one of the Section officers, or even from the Chief of Staff. This was to be murder. All right. Let M bloody well say so.Four Bond short stories. None are very interesting.1.) OCTOPUSSYThis is a short story about a man, living in Jamaica, who stole some Nazi gold during the war. Now, decades later, Bond has come to collect. What the man has done is even worse, because in stealing the Nazi gold he murdered a man who "was like a father" to Bond. It is called "Octopussy" because the man has a rather tame octopus named Octopussy (or just Pussy). Told from the Major's point of view, it is interesting to get another view on Bond and see another aspect of his life and job. I thought that this was the strongest story, although there is very little Bond in it.2.) THE PROPERTY OF A LADYA woman who is working for MI6 (but is really an agent from the KGB) receives her payment in a Faberge worth over 100,000 pounds. Nothing really happens in this story. Again, we are confronted by Fleming's belief that ugly people are prone to turn to evil because they feel slighted and inadequate.3.) THE LIVING DAYLIGHTSBond travels to Berlin in order to murder a sniper who is planning to kill a British agent. This is very rough for Bond because Bond is not an assassin. Actually, he has a huge problem with killing people in cold blood. Bond also shows mercy on a woman in this story.4.) 007 IN NEW YORKBond travels to New York in order to warn a British woman that her boyfriend is KGB. This story is pointless and, by the way, Bond hates NYC. The only thing worth mentioning is that it includes a recipe for Bond's scrambled eggs.SCRAMBLED EGGS 'JAMES BOND'For four individualists:12 fresh eggsSalt and pepper5-6 ounces of fresh butterBreak the eggs into a bowl. Beat thoroughly with a fork and season well. In a small copper (or heavy-bottomed saucepan) melt four ounces of the butter. When melted, pour in the eggs and cook over a very low heat, whisking continuously with a small egg whisk.While the eggs are slightly more moist than you would wish for eating, remove pan from heat, add rest of butter and continue whisking for half a minute, adding the while finely chopped chives or fine herbs. Serve on hot buttered toast in individual copper dishes (for appearance only) with pink champagne (Taittainger) and low music.
—Carmen
Another short story collection by Fleming and also another Bond book to be published after the author's death. It contains both the worst of and the best of the Bond short stories.Octopussy: Told from the point of view of Dexter Smythe; Bond comes along to arrest him for treason but actually gives Smythe some time to commit suicide so as not to be shamed. Smythe even privately thanks Bond for this respect. Classic Fleming chill. The story has almost nothing to do with the 1983 movie of the same name. The Living Daylights: By far the best Fleming short story. A very disillusioned Bond is sent to assassinate a sniper gunning for a defecting Russian delegate. Bond refuses to kill the sniper on the basis that she is a beautiful woman he noticed earlier, and he only shoots the butt of her rifle. The story ends with Bond wishing M would fire him for botching the mission. It is debated as to where in the series this story takes place; while not proven, it is generally accepted that this story takes place after On Her Majesty's Secret Service and before You Only Live Twice; that's how I see it as well. The Property of a Lady: By far the worst Bond short story. It's as boring as the auction scene in Octopussy (film). I generally never even acknowledge this story as a Bond tale. 007 in New York: A bland story but an interesting apology from Fleming who himself does not like New York City but conceded that James Bond does like its nightlife, its restaurants, and of course, its women.
—Jeff
I've finally worked through my re-read of the Bond novels, some 30 years after first reading them. What a different experience this time around. Right, so here we are with four short stories. In Octopussy, 007 warns a former British Army officer that his wartime secret has been discovered and it's time for him to face the music. In Property of a Lady, Bond has to spot a KGB paymaster at an expensive auction. In The Living Daylights, he has to kill an assassin, and In 007 in New York, he has to warn a former Secret Service agent about her KGB boyfriend.Well, for me, The Living Daylights is at least spy-like. The others are very pedestrian, or even annoying, as in 007 in New York, where Fleming does nothing but run the city down (perhaps if it was still an Empire outpost it would be more attractive?)Still, readable at least, and not nearly as grating or mysoginistically offensive as some (many) of his full length novels are. And also, thankfully, very little of the awful dialogue. I'm sorry IF, but it's true.
—Rick Brindle
