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Book Review: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

1/7/2018

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Start Date: October 12, 2017
Finish Date: January 7, 2018

When I first decided to read Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, I came to it with a preconceived notion. That notion was the man I had seen portrayed as James Bond on the silver screen of Hollywood. However, I would soon learn that this was not the James Bond of Fleming’s books. 

Naturally I started with the first book, Casino Royale, because I’m kind of O.C.D. about things like that. I always try to start with the first book an author wrote, especially in a series — which I know may be the most obvious thing to people. I can hear you now, why wouldn’t you start with the first book in a series? Trust me, there are some maniacs who don’t. 

So I called my local Half Price Books, and they had a copy; I went that night to pick it up. It should be noted that I have a bad habit of starting multiple books at once. When I picked up Casino Royale I was currently reading Hank Greenberg: Hero of Heroes and John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. Both of which took a bit of a backseat to James Bond — naturally. 

Fleming writes in a way that is easily captivating. The chapters are short — something you notice right away. This allows one to read a chapter at a time before bed, rather quickly — which is how I attacked it, until the last day. The fact that Fleming is an Englishmen also took a bit of getting used to, as some of the grammatical structures we’re used to in America do not hold for British grammar. However, this is merely an observation. 

Almost immediately the reader is introduced to the spy we all have come to know, especially if you had the N64 GoldenEye game. From the outset the spy we are introduced to showers in cold water, places a hair over dresser drawers to ensure no one has spied on him, and dresses to the nines — just like in the movies. Yet, it is here that most of the similarities ended. 

Not once did Mr. Bond introduce himself, “Bond. James Bond.” Nor, did he ever order his patented Martini, “shaken, not stirred.” Nor, did Bond exuded the kind of confidence that the actors from Sean Connery, to Pierce Brosnan, to Daniel Craig possessed. But, once the reader comes to this conclusion, the book is thoroughly enjoyable. 

The tension is palpable throughout the entire book. The reader picks up with James Bond at a casino, preparing to face of with Le Chiffre, the villain of the book. The action builds to their showdown, where the reader is introduced to the first difference between Fleming’s Bond and that of Hollywood. 

During a game of Baccarat, Bond loses. He is demoralized, not exuding the usual Bond confidence, and is reeling, believing to have lost his job. He then is handed a second chance, beats Le Chiffre, and then places the winnings in his hotel room. It is after this victory that Bond decides to take a run at his partner, the beautiful Vesper. She denies his advance — another difference — and is kidnapped by Le Chiffre. All of this action happens by the middle of the book. 
The rest of the book is Bond’s pursuit of Vesper and Le Chiffre, where one would expect a typical Bond move — freeing the girl and winning her affection. The former happens, while Bond is captured himself, and the latter eventually comes to be. 

While in pursuit of Vesper and Le Chiffre, Bond is eventually overtaken by Le Chiffre’s goons, and taken captive. He does try to free himself, but is bested by the bigger of the two goons — yet again not what I knew Bond to be. Eventually Bond wins his freedom, through the vehicle of someone else, and he and Vesper ride off into the sunset for a couple day stay at a beach-side inn. 

It is here that the last of the conflicts take place as Vesper and Bond are locked into a rather high schoolish on-again-off-again sexual relationship. It is during this time that the climax of the book happens, and Bond is left once again by himself calling into headquarters. 

This book contains Constant action and a very easily read story. It is hard to put down once the reader becomes invested. 

Fleming’s Bond is different than the Hollywood version, but that doesn't make it a worse version. Fleming’s version of Bond is portrayed as an actual human being. He has flaws, falls in love, and isn’t immortal. In short, Fleming’s Bond is accessible to the reader. And that makes the entire book worth it. 

As someone who has enjoyed the Bond movies, there is always a little piece inside of me that wanted, or rather wished, that he was James Bond. The ultra-suave talker, the man who wears his tux, and orders his martinis “shaken, not stirred.” It’s pure fantasy, and maybe that’s why it was always so attractive. We tend to always be moved and inspired by those things which are fantastical. 

But Fleming’s Bond is an everyday spy, that does have special training, but is someone that you could model yourself after. The realism in his character is evident from the start of the novel, and that always makes for the best type of literary character. One that we, as the reader, can relate to; the type of guy we could actually see ourselves being — with a particular type of training, of course. 

So to Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, I would definitely raise a glass. It’s a wonderful read that grabs the reader and never lets them go. I am excited for the second book, Live and Let Die, as I sip on my martini while reading — shaken not stirred, of course. 

Memorable Quotes: 
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“…patriotism comes along and makes it seem fairly all right, but this country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-date. Today we are fighting communism. Okay. If I’d been alive fifty years ago, the brand of conservatism we have today would have been damn near called communism and we should have been told to go and fight that. History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts.” — James Bond

“Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles.” — Mathis 

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone

3/27/2017

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To be honest up front, I never thought I would ever read Harry Potter. Then a couple of people changed that. First my wife, Jessica. She is my best friend, my first reader, and an inspiration -- she, also, loves the Harry Potter series. Being a fan she wants to watch the movies, but I have to read the books first. So I accepted.

Secondly, Stephen King. Over the last year, Mr. King has been a constant companion for me -- in print. I have read 4 of his books, almost finished with a fifth, and plan to read more. He is, in short, my favorite writer. Well, as it turns out, he's constantly talking of how Ms. Rowling is one of his favorites. So how do I better myself as a fan of literature and writing? I read the author that is my favorite author's favorite author.

That's how I came to Harry Potter. 
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After having read Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone, I can see why both of the above individuals are enamored with Rowling. First, there is the storytelling, which is wonderful. The pace of the book is captivating, to the point you can put away pages easily, without even knowing you're reading as much as you are. It's quite amazing. The story grabs you, keeps you, and doesn't let you go. Another thing about Rowling is simply the idea for this book that she had. A mind that can create the world in which she did, is the mind of a genius, plain and simple. There are no other words to describe exactly what she did with this world, that is straight from her imagination. I'm a bit jealous to tell you the truth. 

I was not a fantasy fan before I read this book, which is probably why it took me so long to pick it up. I never really, truly enjoyed it, nor was I very interested in such types of literature. My mind simply does not work in that way. I am a very black and white kind of guy. I like my drinks to be stiff, not mixed. I enjoyed literature in much the same way, real life stories -- though maybe fictional -- where I could imagine the setting, the time period, all without too much creativity. Rowling changed that, she challenged be to think "other-worldly" and for the first time in my life, I enjoyed it.

I will soon be cracking the second book to this series, but first, I have to watch The Socerer's Stone with my wife! 
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The Problem with Tin Gods

2/2/2016

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The greatness of literature can be found in the characters. When you read a story you become enamored with the actions of the antagonist and the protagonist, and even the secondary characters that carry the story along. The goal of any good writer is to create characters that the reader can identify with and if given the chance in real life could spend an afternoon kicking around town.

     Fitzgerald did this with Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. The reader identifies with Nick because we have all had that one person in our life whose lifestyle we have longed for. While at the same time, the reader wants to be best friends with Jay Gatsby. My favorite character in The Great Gatsby is Jay Gatsby himself. His self-made, American Dream, rise to riches is something in my own life I have had moments of longing for.

     The same is true when I read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Her only published book, until 2014, was a wonderfully crafted piece of art. I love, to this day, To Kill A Mockingbird, and I will forever love it. The reason I love this book is because of one character: Atticus Finch.

     In To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus Finch stood as the typical embodiment of manhood. He had lost his wife previously in his marriage; exactly when, we are not specifically told. All we know is that he is raising his two children, Jem and Jean Louise or Scout. Throughout the story, as told through the eyes of Scout, Atticus is positioned as a hero to his young daughter.  She is constantly relaying to the reader her fondness of her father, as he sits in their family room reading, often reading to her, or the way that he relates to others around town.  It is from a decision that Atticus makes in choosing to defend a Negro who is accused of rape, that the reader is endeared to Atticus. His attitude and belief that all men were created equal, and should be treated as such under the law is a tremendous take away from To Kill A Mockingbird.

     After having read To Kill A Mockingbird, I fell in love with and carried a deep respect for the man that Atticus Finch was. He was portrayed as a very even-keeled, well educated, rarely emotional and strongly valued man. It was these values he is continuously teaching to young Scout as she makes her way through life in Maycomb County. In To Kill A Mockingbird you leave the pages of that book believing that Atticus Finch was a man that is a great example to all men.

     When the estate of Ms. Lee decided to release the "parent novel of To Kill A Mockingbird", it was met with a tremendous amount of controversy. People recalled Ms. Lee's desire to have nothing else published, or pointed to the fact that Go Set A Watchman would smear the legacy of the beloved To Kill A Mockingbird. The controversy pushed me to the fringes on the book; I was ecstatic to have another possible masterpiece from Harper Lee, but after reading the news that surrounded it, my vigor turned more to apathy.
Being in a Target around Thanksgiving, waiting for my family to finish some shopping, I saw the book, a Starbucks at the front, and decided that there was no better way to pass the time. Needless to say, I bought the book, read three pages, they finished shopping and I did not pick it up again until January of this year. After starting again, it took me thirteen days to finish it.

     The big question that I think needs to be answered as we approach what I believe to be possibly the best message in any book I have read, is does Go Set A Watchman smear the legacy of To Kill A Mockingbird? Bringing in no other controversy, such as "did Harper Lee even write it?” I can say in my opinion this book not only kept the legacy of To Kill A Mockingbird intact but, almost unbelievably, enhanced it.

     Watchman is set in Maycomb County nearly two decades after Mockingbird concluded. Readers are introduced once again Jean Louise "Scout" Finch as she travels back from New York to Maycomb, Alabama. The reader is also introduced again to Aunt Alexandra, the beloved Atticus Finch and finds out within the first chapter of the book that her brother Jem died, seemingly of a heart attack. Jean Louise is a grown up version of Scout, who continuously is reminded of her days of yore in Maycomb.

     As the story progresses, Jean Louise becomes aware of the fact that Maycomb has become gripped in the middle of a divisive, civil rights initiated, government ordinance. Exasperated by the frequent ambulance chasing of the NAACP, the citizens of Maycomb, unknown to Jean Louise upon her arrival, have splintered.  Even her beloved Calpurnia is affected by the actions of her fellow Maycombians and treats Jean Louise upon a visit to her with a cold, dismissive attitude.

      This dismissal comes after Jean Louise has followed her father and pseudo-boyfriend to a City Council meeting, which is basically a cloak and dagger Klan meeting. The meeting, in fact, is the springboard off which the action of the book jumps. Thrown into confusion, Jean Louise goes on a mission to discover what the hell happened to her hometown. And it all culminates in a meeting with her father.

     After having had lunch with her uncle, Dr. Finch, a new character introduced in Watchman, who becomes the wise old sage that sets Jean Louise straight, she quickly sets off to her father's office and the stage is set for the showdown between father and daughter.

     In the dialogue between Jean Louise and her father, the reader is torn between the Atticus Finch they were endeared to in To Kill A Mockingbird and the one that persists on the pages of Watchman. Throughout a reading of Watchman one will be consistently aware that due to the Civil Rights Movement and actions taken by the Federal Government, race relations in Maycomb have been strained.

     The showdown in Atticus' office comes to a head when Jean Louise accuses her father of being a racist and having never truly loved her. The basis for these accusations is the fact that she has witnessed him at the meeting where a known Klan member addressed them. Also, she is confused on how he could have let her grow up thinking the things she did towards those of another color, knowing full well the way he felt towards the race. She jumps to conclusions and really attacks her aging father on this issue. How dare he feel the way he felt and let her ignorantly grow up treating everyone equally? The rug has been quickly removed from under her feet, and the childhood to which she so desperately clung is beginning to crumble. Not only has her childhood been ruined, but also the one person she so adamantly admired, and nearly worshiped, her father, is not the man she thought he was. While reading this portion of the book, I became Scout. I completely sympathized with her and thought, there is no way the Atticus Finch that I idolized could think this way. The man who had stood at the forefront of a racial controversy in To Kill A Mockingbird, and had been the symbol of one of the greater literary lesson ever written is a fraud. Jean Louise leaves the office in a hurry, heads back to the house to pack her things and leave. And I wanted to leave with her.

     Before heading to the lesson that I think was so wonderfully taught to Jean Louise and the reader towards the end of the book, a further discussion needs to be had on the title, Go Set a Watchman.  Early on in the book, the reader is in church with Jean Louise and she hears the preacher read a passage from the book of Isaiah, chapter 21, verse 6, that states, "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth." (p.95). In the biblical context, the Israelites were being told to set a watchman on their city walls to recount all of the good or bad that is taking place in the cities surrounding them. In the passage, the watchman sees the destruction of Babylon. Thus, the premise laid out in chapter five of Go Set a Watchman subtly explains that worldviews and heroes will mostly likely come crumbling down, just like Babylon did.

     Picking back up in the saga of Jean Louise and her father, the reader finds Jean Louise quickly packing her things and leaving the house.  As she is about to enter the car from which she will depart, her uncle, Dr. Finch, stops her.  Unwilling to listen to him and calm down, Dr. Finch gives her the old right hook and knocks her out.  Once he has her inside, and she comes to, he begins to explain this new world she has so quickly found herself in.
Dr. Finch gathers Jean Louise into the family room of the house, gives her a glass of whiskey to wake her up and then begins to explain, "every man is an island Jean Louise, every man's watchman, is his conscious. There is no such thing as a collective conscious." (p. 265) He continues to explain that somewhere when she was younger, presumably the time that she witnessed Atticus defend Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, she fastened her conscious to her father’s, "like a barnacle" (p. 265). Scout has been, to this point in her life, living with her father's conscious, and viewed the world through the lens that he had held in front of her eyes. Now with this new revelation in front of her, she did not know how to function in the world. Her worldview and her hero had all been a creation of her living and thinking like her father.

     Dr. Finch went on to explain that he and Atticus both knew there would come a day that would set Jean Louise free of her bondage to her father's conscious, and he states that essentially her old conscious would have to die, or Atticus would have to kill it himself. Thus, when she came across that City Council meeting, Atticus did not try to stop her, nor did he quiet her when she was berating him in his office.  That was her moment of death to her old conscious, and her new conscious being birthed.

     Jean Louise was not wrong about her father, the book is very clear that Atticus was not happy with the Civil Rights Movement, and to a sense did consider those of color to be of a lesser standing than he. However, Dr. Finch, in explaining to Jean Louise tells her, your father went to Klan meetings in order to know exactly who it was under the hoods, and he does not condone their actions of beatings and hangings.  Dr. Finch states,

"...the Klan can parade around all it wants, but when it starts bombing and beating people, don't you [Jean Louise] know who'd be the first to try and stop it...The law is what he lives by. He'll do his best to prevent someone from beating up somebody else, then he'll try to stop no less the Federal Government...but remember this, he'll always do it by the letter and by the spirit of the law." (p. 269).
 
     To end their conversation, Dr. Finch compares Jean Louise's actions her that of her father’s, and tells her that just like her daddy tackles injustice, so too did she "[turn] and tackled no less than her own tin god." (p.269). And in this statement shows Jean Louise and the reader the simplest, yet most profound of all literary lessons: tin gods will fail you.
Tin is one of the weakest metals known to exist. It has the lowest melting point of any other metal.  The use of tin as an example of the heroes we place on a pedestal is a great analogy. Even though in life there are people we should look up to and aspire to be, even if they are literary characters, we must remember they are still human. No man or woman is entirely perfect and if we attach our conscious to theirs and create our own tin gods we will soon be disappointed. When we look at the character of Atticus Finch, does he stand for good? Clearly that answer is yes. But is he perfect? Obviously no. He is a tin god that, when faced with the fire of societal equality, melted. It is important that we have heroes, and it is necessary that we only allow these heroes to influence us, yet not let them control our entire thinking. Every man and woman is an island, we establish our own convictions and our own worldviews and this is the beautiful thing about being alive. We function each and every day in the world because of the diversity that we share; it is something that we should be celebrating and enjoying, not fighting and berating each other over.
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     I sincerely hope that you will read Go Set A Watchman because in it the reader learns that each one of us has a life to live and that life is the responsibility of no one else but ourselves. We all have tin gods, and most of them well deserving, but we must be careful that when faced with the fire of controversy and they begin to melt, that we are prepared for it and seek to exude grace towards them. In this, you can love uninhibited and fully appreciated each man, woman, or child that has been placed in your path. And really, that is what life is all about.
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