realexplodingcat | (no subject)

I don't know if this will become a regular feature of my journal. For my own purposes, I would like it to be. My inner-literary critic is under-indulged and since I rarely read books twice, making this a habit would give me something to look back on to recall what I read. This could be especially useful if I manage to stick to my crazy new goal of reading a long list of the world's most important books. In order to keep my sanity, I will regularly read more "fun" books. Obviously, this one falls into the "fun" category. If anyone else cares to read my ramblings, have at it...

Why did I read this book? I recently read two James Bond novels by Fleming's successor, John Gardner. I was in the mood for something light and fluffy. I was mildly entertained and mostly unimpressed, which reminded me why I lost interest in the James Bond series. On the heels of this, I decided to give Ian Fleming, Bond's creator, a try. You Only Live Twice is one of two Bond novels by Fleming that I could not find in any bookstore during my pre-teen obsession with the literary Bond. This was before the internet. My father-in-law dug it out of his vast collection of paperbacks and gave it to me as a reward for putting up with his daughter.

In contrast to the Gardner books I was quite surprised by the research, depth of character, and overall literary quality and style of this spy novel. I'm tempted to go back and read all the other Fleming novels, because I know I wasn't old enough to appreciate the finer points of his work (especially if all the other books are like this one).

You Only Live Twice is the second to last of Fleming's Bond novels. It picks up several months after On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the end of which is famous for the murder of Bond's wife at the hands of Blofeld shortly after their wedding. Depressed and performing uncharacteristically poor on his assignments, Bond is convinced he's on the verge of being sacked when M calls him into a private meeting. M does not want to fire him. Instead, he wants to send Bond on a sensitive diplomatic mission to reinvigorate him.

What follows is a slow and detailed examination of the Japanese culture through the eyes of a worldly British man. The book is less of an adventure and more of a story of culture shock in which Fleming tries to illuminate the many differences between Japan and the western world. Much of Bond's diplomatic repartee with Tiger Tanaka, the head of japanese secret service, is an excuse to study how the japanese people communicate and relate to each other. Also, as in the movie, Bond must go undercover and pretend to be a Japanese man. The idea is still as silly as it is in the movie, but gives Fleming more opportunities to explore the Japanese way of life as Bond must adopt their clothing, mannerisms, and even some physical features, as well as learn how to behave in common situations. Bond also studies the martial art of ninjitsu, which (if I'm not mistaken) might be one the earliest appearances of the ninja in western popular culture. A great deal of time is also devoted to explaining the Japanese honor code, especially as it pertains to their culture's unusual acceptance of suicide. This aspect of their culture plays a major role in the book, as it is eventually revealed that a certain megalomaniac (Dr. Shatterhand) has taken up residence in southern Japan and has surrounded himself with a garden of death--a garden full of poisonous plants and animals--that is attracting scores of dishonored Japanese seeking a heroic and honorable death. The Japanese government is embarrassed by this garden on their soil, but since the madman is not technically doing anything wrong they don't have an honorably clean way of getting rid of him. After a serious and engaging exploration of Japan and its people, the last quarter of the book finally turns into a classic Bond adventure. The Japanese government doesn't want to dirty their hands cleaning up this garden, so they hire Bond to assassinate the nut-job that built it in exchange for Japanese intelligence that Britain desires.

Mustn't forget the the Bond girl. Kissy Suzuki plays a subdued role in the last third of the book and helps bring this story to an unusual conclusion.

The adventure in this novel is certainly secondary to Fleming's exploration of Japan. I don't know much about the west's relationship to Japan in 60's, so I'm left wondering if, in its time, this might have been a significant introduction of Japanese culture to the average western Joe. It's by no means a scholarly study, and may be little more than a caricature at times, but I still think that even today it may be a useful (and fun) introduction to a foreign culture.