The James Bond Bedside Companion (46 page)

(
YOU
ONLY LIVE TWICE, Chapter 8)

Tanaka tells Bond that twenty-five thousand Japanese people commit suicide every year. Only the bureaucrats regard suicide as a shameful practice. And the more fantastic and spectacular the suicide, the more warmly it is approved by the community.

With this background stimulating his imagination, Fleming came up with the perfect vehicle for its exploitation. The Garden of Evil is the most haunting image Fleming created in the entire Bond series. It is a world in which James Bond's emotions run the gamut—he is at once horrified and fascinated by what he sees in the garden. It is the place where he will become a new man.

CHARACTERS

J
ames Bond's condition at the beginning of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE is neatly summed up in Chapter 2:

The state of your health, the state of the weather, the wonders of nature—these are things that rarely occupy the average man's mind until he reaches the middle thirties. It is only on the threshold of middle-age that you don't take them all for granted, just part of an unremarkable background to more urgent, more interesting things.

The truth of the matter is that Bond, in M's words, is "going to pieces." The death of Tracy, after eight months, still has Bond in shock. M complains to Sir James Molony, the famous neurologist assigned to the Service, that Bond is constantly late for work, making mistakes, drinking too much, and losing a lot of money at a casino. M may have to fire 007 because the agent is
becoming a security risk. But thanks to Molony, M gives Bond one more chance to redeem himself. As
signing Bond to what M calls "an impossible mission" seems to be just what the doctor ordered. Bond perks up, takes a new interest in his work, and genuinely attempts to do the job well.

It is now that Bond's sense of humor surfaces more than ever before. Perhaps Fleming was influenced by the James Bond character of the films in production at this time—the literary character now has a more easy-going, nonchalant attitude toward life. Whatever the reason, Bond is wonderful in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. His sense of humor is not necessarily witty, but is full of pleasant sarcasm. Throughout his adventures with Tiger Tanaka, Bond is constantly throwing out wisecracks about the food they are eating, the customs he is learning, etc. For example, when Tanaka explains there are no swear words in Japan, not even dirty sex words, Bond says,

"Well I'm . . . I mean, well, I'm astonished! A violent people without a violent language! I must write a learned paper on this. No wonder you have nothing left but to commit suicide when you fail an exam, or cut your girl friend's head off when she annoys you."

(YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, Chapter 9)

Then there is the comment Bond makes to Blofeld, finally revealing his identity to his archenemy. Blofeld has just forced Bond to sit on a throne with a hole in the seat which is positioned over an active geyser; Bond has stood and avoided the geyser's spray in the nick of time:

Bond turned and faced the couple under the clock. He said cheerfully, "Well, Blofeld, you mad bastard. I'll admit that your effects man down below knows his stuff. Now bring on the twelve she-devils, and if they're all as beautiful as Fraulein Bunt, we'll get Noel Coward to put it to music and have it on Broadway by Christmas. How about it?"

(YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, Chapter 19)

But the most revealing facts about Bond in this novel are in the form of an obituary that M writes for
The Times
when Bond is presumed dead. The obituary, for the first time, sketches out Bond's early life, his schooling, and even gives the only hint to his birthdate.

At the end of the novel, Bond is a new man. He has lost his memory, and Kissy Suzuki talks him into believing he is Taro Todoroki and that he lives with her on Kuro Island. Bond stays with Kissy for many months until he finds a Russian newspaper which jars his memory. Bond takes off for Russia at the novel's end in search of his true identity. But he is unaware that he leaves an heir, which, sadly, is never mentioned again in the series.

Tiger Tanaka is an extremely colorful character and ally. He is immediately likable, and most of the novel's humor is derived from his conversations with Bond. Fleming has created mannerisms and patterns of speech that make Tanaka vivid and believable. He is a "big, square figure," with glittering eyes and long dark lashes that are almost feminine. Tanaka, head of the Japanese Secret Service, hides his headquarters behind a front called the Bureau of All-Asian Folkways, a kind of historical documentation society for the East. Behind closed doors, however, is a Secret Service which seems much more advanced than the British Service. At least the Japanese are in control of Magic 44, the secret deciphering formula which the British need. Tanaka is resourceful, pleasant, but, true to his
samurai
heritage, he can be a very tough character if he chooses.

Kissy Suzuki is a most appealing heroine. Kissy, an Ama girl, has "almond eyes and a rosy-tinted skin on a golden background." She is healthy and strong. Kissy was once chosen to make a film in Hollywood because of her great beauty. There, she learned English and a few Western customs, but she disliked Hollywood and returned home to Kuro Island after the film was completed. She says that the only man she liked in Hollywood was David Niven (who happened to be a friend of Ian Fleming), after whom she named her pet cormorant. Kissy is a little selfish—she wants to keep Bond for herself when she realizes he has lost his memory at the story's end. She plots with the local priest to allow Bond to stay on the island until he wishes to leave on his own accord. And she doesn't reveal to Bond what she knows about his past. Kissy, who apparently loves Bond very much, does finally give in when he wishes to leave at the end. She is intelligent, warm, and a far more interesting woman than many of Fleming's other female characters.

Richard "Dikko" Henderson, who is based on Fleming's true-life Australian friend Richard Hughes, is another amusing character who appears briefly in the book. Henderson, another ally, is always drinking and cursing. When he arrives at Bond's hotel one morning to accompany Bond to Tanaka's headquarters, the first thing Henderson does is order a drink at the bar. Henderson is like a middle-aged prize fighter who has retired and taken to the bottle. He has a craggy, sympathetic face, blue eyes, and a badly broken nose. He is a man who is "always sweating," and who barges his way through a crowd. The conversations the man has with Bond are amusing and informative.

The M/Bond scene in the novel is a classic. M does his best to control his temper, as well as to hide the fact that he's practically given up on Bond. M's bluffing about the assignment covers what he really feels—that the mission actually is impossible, and that Bond had better get his act together. When Bond offers his resignation, M explodes:

M did something Bond had never seen him do before. He lifted his right fist and brought it crashing down on the desk. "Who the devil do you think you're talking to? Who the devil d'you think's running this show? God in Heaven! I send for you to give you promotion and the most important job of your career and you talk to me about resignation! Pigheaded young fool!"

Bond was dumbfounded. A great surge of excitement ran through him. What in hell was all this about? He said, "I'm terribly sorry, sir. I thought I'd been letting the side down lately."

"I'll soon tell you when you're letting the side down." M. thumped the desk for a second time, but less hard.

(
YOU
ONLY LIVE TWICE, Chapter 3)

Throughout the scene, one can sense the tension underneath M's bravado, and the Admiral's concern for Bond. M doesn't want to lose his best agent, or be forced to fire him.

Last but not least are the villains, Ernst Blofeld, aka Dr. Shatterhand, and his "wife," Irma Bunt Blofeld takes on the role of "the root of all evil" here. The man even admits to Bond that he is mad:

"So was Frederick the Great, so was Nietzsche, so was Van Gogh. We are in good, in illustrious company, Mister Bond. On the other hand, what are you? You are a common thug, a blunt instrument wielded by dolts in high places. Having done what you are told to do, out of some mistaken idea of duty or patriotism, you satisfy your brutish instincts with alcohol, nicotine, and sex while waiting to be dispatched on the next misbegotten foray. Twice before, your chief has sent you to do battle with me, Mister Bond, and by a combination of luck and brute force, you were successful in destroying two projects of my genius. You and your government would categorize these projects as crimes against humanity, and various authorities still seek to bring me to book for them. But try and summon such wits as you possess, Mister Bond, and see them in a realistic light and in the higher realm of my own thinking."

(YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, Chapter 20)

Blofeld goes on to say that he is providing public ser
vices
with
his projects. For example,
his suicide program is only a convenient way for the Japanese to commit suicide in pleasant surroundings. Indeed, the man is mad, and egocentric. Like the other major villains before him, his attitude toward Bond is one of father to son, and he is correcting the son for disagreeing with his omnipotent authority.

HIGHLIGHTS AND OTHER INGREDIENTS

B
esides the M/Bond scene, other highlights include almost everything that happens after Bond arrives on Kuro Island. But one thrilling moment previous to this occurs when Bond discovers the true identity of Dr. Shatterhand. Bond experiences an emotional explosion when he sees Blofeld's photograph:

The superintendent went to the bottom of his file, extracted what looked like a blown-up copy of Doctor Guntram Shatterhand's passport photograph, and handed it over.

Bond took it nonchalantly. Then his whole body stiffened. He said to himself,
God Almighty! God Almighty!
Yes. There was no doubt, no doubt at all! He had grown a drooping black moustache. He had had the syphilitic nose repaired. There was a gold-capped tooth among the upper frontals, but there could be no doubt Bond looked up. He said, "Have you got one of the woman?"

Startled by the look of controlled venom on Bond's face, and by the pallor that showed through the walnut dye, the superintendent bowed energetically and scrabbled through his file.

Yes, there she was, the bitch—the flat ugly wardress face, the dull eyes, the scraped-back bun of hair.

Bond held the pictures, not looking at them, thinking. Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Irma Bunt So this was where they had come to hide! And the long strong gut of fate had lassoed him to them! They of all people! He of all people! A taxi-ride down the coast in this remote corner of Japan. Could they smell him coming? Had the dead spy got hold of his name and told them? Unlikely. The power and prestige of Tiger would have protected him. Privacy, discretion, are the heartbeat of Japanese inns. But would they know that an enemy was on his way? That fate had arranged this appointment in Samarra? Bond looked up from the pictures. He was in cold control of himself. This was now a private matter. It had nothing to do with Tiger or Japan. It had nothing to do with MAGIC 44. It was an ancient feud.

(YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, Chapter 12)

Additionally, all of the sequences in the Garden of Death are eerie, full of frightening imagery. The last third of the book takes on a nightmarish quality that is unusual for Fleming. The final battle with Blofeld is excruciatingly intense. When Bond has Blofeld's throat
in his hands and is screaming, "Die, Blofeld, die!" the effect is exhilarating.

And finally, a major highlight is Bond's obituary, which M writes for
The Times
. There is even a brief moment of self-parody within the obit:

The inevitable publicity, particularly in the foreign press, accorded some of these adventures, made him, much against his will, something of a public figure, with the inevitable result that a series of popular books came to be written around him by a personal friend and former colleague of James Bond. If the quality of these books, or their degree of veracity, had been any higher, the author would certainly have been prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. It is a measure of the disdain in which these fictions are held at the ministry that action has not yet—I emphasize the qualification—been taken against the author and publisher of these high-flown and romanticized caricatures of episodes in the career of an outstanding public servant.

(YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, Chapter 21)

This paragraph only shows that Fleming's tongue has always been in his cheek Fleming considered the Bond novels particularly funny himself; although for the most part, they are serious on the surface. The obit also contains the proposed epitaph for James Bond, put forth by Mary Goodnight, which can be applied to Fleming himself: "I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."