Casino Royale Novel Discussion

Casino Royale (1952)
Le Chiffre has lost 50 million Francs of his nation's money on a private venture, and unless he can recoup his losses, a SMERSH assassin lies in wait. James Bond 007 is sent to beat Le Chiffre - a dangerous agent from the USSR - at the casino and ensure his death comes at the hands of his own people.
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In summary, I think it's probably Ian Fleming's strongest novels (that I've read out of the first four, and even if DAF is my favourite). it's rich in substance, the characters are great and the events are, well eventful. I love the dramatic decline in Vesper toward the end. A terrific read!

Just read the book? Post your thoughts here.

Probably my second favourite novel (my favourite story is actually Living Daylights - although it's short, it's still my number one Bond story).

Ravenstone wrote:

my favourite story is actually Living Daylights - although it's short, it's still my number one Bond story

Fleming may have been coming to the end of the road when he wrote TLD, but he still tried to do something new with the story. I haven'\t read it for years, but IIRC it's really just Bond, the sniper, and a lot of internal monologue.

My favorite of Fleming's works. It's a rich novel, holding a lot of valuable and quotable material.

Some great examples from Rouge Et Noir:

"Above all, he liked it that everything was one's own fault. There was only oneself to praise or blame..."

"Bond saw luck as a woman, to be softly wooed or brutally ravaged, never pandered to or pursued. But he was honest enough to admit that he had never yet been made to suffer by cards or by women. One day, and he accepted the fact, he would be brought to his knees by love or luck."

ambler wrote:

Fleming may have been coming to the end of the road when he wrote TLD, but he still tried to do something new with the story. I haven'\t read it for years, but IIRC it's really just Bond, the sniper, and a lot of internal monologue.

Yep. That's pretty much it. Sort of stripped down essentials, I suppose. I just love the way it reads.

Oh yes, there's some lovely passages in Casino Royale.

Ravenstone wrote:

[Oh yes, there's some lovely passages in Casino Royale.

That's no way to talk about Vesper. Unless you were referring to 'the sweet tang of rape'.

ambler wrote:

That's no way to talk about Vesper. Unless you were referring to 'the sweet tang of rape'.

I try never to talk about Vesper. I find her an annoying character. And possibly even more annoying in the film. It's the look on her face like someone's just shoved used cat litter under her nose. She does the same in Kingdom of Heaven.

Ah, Eva ... She worked for me for a while, but I had to let her go.

Last I saw she was in a container heading for Odessa.

This is a brilliant novel, and I was really captivated by it. I really think it would be a good time to re-read it.

I give it a solid 8. It's a great debut for the Bond character and his world.

Another Fleming masterstroke. I'm not sure he ever again laid a foundation of menace like what undergirds CR.

I've read more violent sequences than the torture sequence, but I've never read one that more powerfully depicts human suffering. This sequence is difficult to read.

And the tragedy that catches up with Bond and Vesper after Bond's recuperation may be the highlight of the book. There's a sense of foreboding here that is powerful, epic in its profundity. Make no mistake about it, this is high literature. Tolstoy never did anything better, and I am not joking.

I enjoy reading it, although it has the weakest structure of Fleming's works. The climax in the middle and so forth is kind of odd. Everything slows down after that. There are parts that I love though. Wish they would have used the men in straw hats for the film.

Also, I've read this over 50 times and still can't firgure out how EON decided this was Bond's first mission. Can someone point me to where this is revealed in the novel. As I remember it, isn't it stated that M has sent Bond on several tough missions previously? What am I missing, please :scratch:

Is it just that it was the first novel, so they assume it's his first mission? It annoys the hell out of me, like MGW keeps saying (on films commentary) Bond becomes a double O seven. He becomes a double O.

Looks like you can read all the novels here: http://www.epubbud.com/book.php?g=HLZZFK4P

No, it was not his first mission. He and Mathis collaborated on another mission involving high stakes gambling and, I believe, some Romanian villains.

Yeah, that is documented in the Pearson bio-novel, but I think it is pre-war, way before MI6. Pearson has him with another adventure in Jamaica before CR, which I think established the Dasilva mentioned in CR.

I think the only 'first' in the CR novel is Mathis' notion that Bond has not been 'melted' by a woman before. There is nothing remotely like an indication that he is anything other than a seasoned pro in that book. I think he is referered to as one of the DoubleOs by CoS or head of station R ... if he was new, THAT would have been the point to mention 'the NEW guy in the section.'

There's good stuff in CR to be sure, but the structure is a mess. I like MR and OHMSS and FRWL and TB a ton more than CR, and prefer DAF and DN and GF and YOLT over it as well. I revisit L&LD the least of the books, not counting SPY, which I've never gotten through, so maybe I don't think Fleming got his Bond legs till MR.