Casino Royale - The Book That Started An Industry

The facts of author Ian Fleming’s life are awash with nearly the drama of his fictional works. As domestic commander of the WWII British intelligence unit labeled "30AU" (as in assault unit), his main mission was to find and claim the German propulsion genius Wernher Von Braun before the Russians had their crack at obtaining him. With the ultimate choice between western diplomacy vs. Russian authority, Von Braun eventually sought-out the Allies for “capture”. Accounts of Fleming’s effectiveness in his position vary greatly. Some historians and resentful contemporaries found him to be a slacker and party-boy as he lived the high-life (and night life) in London, while the real heroes involved risked it all on the European continent.

The closing days of the Second World War in Europe were as lawless and corrupt as any in history. By 1952, Fleming’s calm Caribbean reflection of these wartime experiences combined with his natural storytelling talents to produce and introduce James Bond - the most popular cold-war intelligence operative in the history of fiction. Casino Royale is an above-average novel even by today’s standard; though mild stuff indeed compared to the vulgarity and violence of the genre published in the decades since.

The Set-Up . . .

Bond’s mission in Casino Royale is to bankrupt Le Chiffre, an agent of SMERSH (Russian intelligence) and all-around bad-boy by beating him at high-stakes Baccarat and ultimately forcing him into retirement at the posh French casino. SMERSH is a hybrid Russian term meaning “Death to Spies” (we assume they mean the western variety). Baccarat is a tedious numerical card game of chance requiring no skill whatsoever.

At the outset, Fleming risks losing countless readers with firstnovelitis - a condition where the layering of detailed foundational information (in this case the rules and intricacies of Baccarat and lengthy dossiers on everyone) grinds all forward movement to a halt. If determined readers slough-through the first thirty pages, the pace picks-up and this casual read recovers.

The Bond Girl

Fleming’s primary physical description of Bond (aside from the road-map of scars he details as Bond lies naked on his hotel bed) is in his twice stated similarity to musician/composer Hoagy Carmichael. Unlike the author’s brilliant and detailed setting-of-scene, the majority of Fleming’s characters consist of a basic outline, with details left to the reader’s desire or discretion (as it should be). This is a world where appropriate action in the face of danger defines character more effectively than one's hair or eye color.

As the very first Bond Girl, agent Vesper is a complex personality with noticeable physical nods to Audrey Hepburn; the biggest female star of the period when the book was written. Bond the misogynist is present mostly in random thought rather than sexist dialogue. None of the one-dimensional cheesecake found in the feature films exists in Casino Royale. Despite Vesper’s beauty and apparent sexuality, she’s presented as a competent and viable equal to Bond. Bond is no superman here - both agents make their share of stupid (and costly) mistakes.

The Plot

Fleming’s casual style works well to intensify the scene when all hell breaks loose. Light bistro conversations of flirtatious sexual exploration can be interrupted by a kaboom! and a wall of falling glass as a new phase of intrigue begins. Fleming uses an effective scientific reconstruction for these scenes by way of Bond’s analytical mind that always adds the proper degree of advancement to the story. As occurs in most spy thrillers, organizations of power rather than individuals control the action. Although this is a confrontation between Bond and Le Chiffre, we are always aware of the revolving door of characters who drop-by as real threats or simply red-herrings on either side.

My description is necessarily vague due to the standard nature of the plot, whose off-guard humor and extravagance in itself is preparation for the rather shocking (and satisfying) twist of a finale. Bond and Vesper’s mistakes become their opponent’s opportunities; as is the reverse. Aside from a dinner-date note delivered to Vesper (allegedly) by fellow-agent Mathis that rings completely out-of-character to the reader (a significant misstep on the author's part), it is no spoiler to note that the forces of good shall prevail for the next dozen entries in the series.

The Humor

While later works such as “Thunderball” have more developed and sophisticated humor, Bond’s contact Mathis extracts the maximum amount of fun from his dangerous yet mundane job. He’s not around enough for my liking, but his early bit as a bumbling radio salesman at Bond’s hotel has Peter Sellers written all over it. Fleming’s character descriptions often find humor in the unflattering details - subtle personality flaws that develop and reemerge as interesting additions later on.

Finis

As a series, Fleming’s Bond books are independent stories that can be read out of chronological order of publication. I most enjoyed the early 1960s entry “Thunderball”, which is based upon the screenplay (a three-writer collaboration which was the subject of a protracted legal battle as to copyright attribution) of the 1965 film starring Sean Connery.

Casino Royale is a remarkable first novel, though hardly Fleming’s best work. Novels that represent series’ introduction usually suffer from laborious principal character establishment; similar to the situation found with your average television pilot. The first thirty pages are tough sledding, but the rewards are there for those who stay with it; for Fleming’s original (and realistic) characters are much more interesting than the cardboard cartoon figures presented in the Albert Broccoli-produced films that began a full decade after the literary Bond was born.

The 2002 Penguin reprint of author Ian Fleming’s entire James Bond series offers period 1950s cover art in an over-sized and over-priced (in my opinion) trade-paperback format. Your local library system is sure to have several original hardcover examples available on its shelves.

Reviewer’s note: The Robert Whitfield who shares credit with Ian Fleming in the title of this posting locale is apparently a well-known narrator of audio books (who knew?). Despite the reference to same found in the “Details” link above, the cover image is identical to that of the Penguin paperback reprint in my possession. A consultation with Books Category Lead Ariane indicates this as the proper location for all former and current reviews that pertain to the physical publication of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.

More James Bond in print:

Octopussy and The Living Daylights by Ian Fleming

Casino Royale (1953)
Author: Ian Fleming
The Penguin Group
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
ISBN: 014200202
Cover Price: $13.00 (US), $19.50 (Canada)
Price Paid: A wee bit less at Amazon.com