Fleming Reading Challenge: Reflections on Casino Royale
In my offline life I teach English so I took an absurd amount of pleasure in writing these questions to accompany a reading of Casino Royale. But don’t worry - they’re more like book club reflections than questions you’d get in an English lesson, although don’t blame me if you end up accidentally learning something. And there are definitely no right or wrong answers (such an English teacher thing to say!).
The #FlemingReadingChallenge inaugurated by David Zaritsky presented me with an excuse for me to re-read one of my favourite novels: Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale. Even though I have read it at least half a dozen times, there are still things that make me think. So this time, I actually wrote down the questions that go through my mind as I read.
Whether you’ve been around the block with Casino Royale (like me) or this if your first time (I promise to be gentle) I hope you enjoy them. Above all, I hope my questions help you to capture what Zaritsky calls the "essence” of James Bond.
Like Zaritsky, I really think you’re missing out if you haven’t read the Bond books. They’re fantastic! Yes, there are elements that are undeniably ‘problematic’ nearly seventy years since their first publication. But we can love something AND have an informed, critical opinion at the same time. And with Bond books, there’s certainly a lot to love.
The 30 questions are presented chronologically, so you can reflect at the end of each chapter, or you can wait until you’ve finished the whole book and look back at the parts that interested you most. There’s also a BIG DEBATE at the end comparing the Bond character on the page with his screen incarnations.
1. “The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.” (Chapter 1) What makes this such a powerful and evocative opening? [The original version Fleming wrote was “Scent and smoke and sweat hit the taste buds with an acid thwack at three o’clock in the morning.” Which one do we prefer? Why?]
2. “The safe, empty room sneered at him.”(Chapter 1) Bond inspecting his hotel room for any signs of intrusion has been depicted numerous times on screen. Which are our favourites?
3. Chapter 2 moves us back in time to “Two weeks before”. When a writer chooses to drop us into the middle of a story this is called ‘in media res’, literally ‘in the middle of things’. It’s a technique used widely in modern cinema, in part due to the influence of the James Bond films, which dropped audiences right into the action in the pre-titles sequences. Why do we think the technique has become so popular? Why is it so effective here?
4. Fleming rarely wastes words on lengthy description of characters (food and drink is another story…). Bill Tanner and Miss Moneypenny are briefly introduced for the first time in Chapter 3. What sense do we get of their characters? How do they compare with their film incarnations?
5. “Bond knew Jamaica well…” (Chapter 4) As did his creator, Ian Fleming! A page later we are told Bond “liked to make a good breakfast”. Breakfast was Fleming’s favourite meal of the day. Some people, including Young Bond author Charlie Higson, say that novelists can only write characters which are some part of themselves. If this is true, what impressions do we get of Ian Fleming by reading about the exploits of his most famous fictional creation, James Bond?
6. “Against the background of this luminous and sparkling stage Bond stood in the sunshine and felt his mission to be incongruous and remote and his dark profession an affront to his fellow actors.” (Chapter 5) Unlike in the films, we get to hear inside Bond’s head in the books. In what ways does Bond feel like an outsider?
7. “The men were drinking inexhaustible quarter-bottles of champagne, the women dry martinis.” (Chapter 5) To what extent do men and women have (stereotypically) different drinking habits compared with 1953, when Casino Royale was published?
8. “...all French people suffer from liver complaints” (Chapter 5) Some of Fleming’s comments might strike us as very stereotypical, or even racist, today. Which elements of this book are more ‘of their time’ than others?
9. “Her skin was lightly suntanned and bore no trace of make-up except on her mouth which was wide and sensual.” (Chapter 5) Unlike most of his characters, Fleming’s gives us a very detailed description of Vesper. What impression do we get of her? Why do you think Fleming lingers for so long on Vesper?
10. “‘I don’t think Bond has ever been melted. It will be a new experience for him.’” There are various points in the novel where we break from Bond’s point of view so another character can talk about him. One of these is at the end of Chapter 5 as Mathis and Vesper continue their conversation after Bond has left. How do these moments help to establish the James Bond character?
11. “Bond felt himself starting to vomit.” (Chapter 6) The bombing leaves Bond shaken. How vulnerable do we like Bond to be? Can we think of any equivalent moments in the Bond films where the character is so shaken? Arguably, this episode, with the bombers being killed by their own bomb, was omitted from the 2006 film of Casino Royale. Or was it?
12. “Three measures of Gordon’s…” (Chapter 7) What does Bond’s signature drink reveal about the character? How does his giant martini compare with Leiter’s order of whisky on ice?
13. “Grey-blue eyes… short lock of black hair which would never stay in place… thin vertical scar…” (Chapter 8) Fleming waits until nearly a third of the way through the novel to give a detailed physical description of Bond. Why? What do we make of this description?
14. “‘I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink… It’s very pernickety and old maidish really.’” (Chapter 8) When Casino Royale was published, British readers would still have been having food and drink rationed (it didn’t end until 1954). How do we think they would have consumed Fleming’s lavish descriptions of Bond and Vesper’s meal?
15. “‘It’s much the same as any gambling game.’” (Chapter 9) In the novel, Bond plays baccarat against Le Chiffre, which is changed to Texas Hold ‘Em Poker in the 2006 film. Bond explains baccarat to Vesper which, handily, also explains it to any readers who don’t know the game. What do we make of Bond’s (Fleming’s) explanation? Does it help us follow the game?
16. “Le Chiffre, with the silence and economy of movement of a big fish, came through the opening…” (Chapter 10) Although we’ve been briefly introduced to Le Chiffre already, this is his grand ‘villain’s entrance’. What do we make of him? How does he compare with the various screen versions (Mads Mikkelsen, Peter Lorre, Orson Welles)?
17. “Bond was beaten and cleaned out.” (Chapter 11) What are our views of the card game at the heart of Casino Royale? Although this part of the novel was successfully translated to the screen in 2006, how effective is it on the page?
18. “Thirty two million francs. With the compliments of the USA.” (Chapter 12) The US economy fared a lot better than the UK economy after the Second World War. Is this a topical commentary on this or just a convenient ‘deus ex machina’ plot device?
19. “Like an octopus under a rock, Le Chiffre watched him from the other side of the table.” (Chapter 13) Fleming again compares Le Chiffre to an underwater creature. As a keen diver, Fleming was well acquainted with things that lived under the sea. Why did he choose an octopus at this point in the novel, just before Bond beats him at cards?
20. “In the far corner, a trio… was playing ‘La Vie en Rose’ with muted sweetness.” (Chapter 14) This chapter is a masterclass in building a sense of creeping dread. What little hints does Fleming give us that something is not right and about to go very wrong?
21. “It was the crudest possible forgery.” (Chapter 15) Unlike in the 2006 film, Mathis’s loyalty is never in doubt in the novel. Why did the filmmakers make this change?
22. Another significant change in the 2006 film is having Bond crash his car while swerving to avoid Vesper. In the novel (Chapter 16), he swerves in an attempt to avoid steel spikes, having already decided that “The job was more important than her”. Which one works better?
23. “He had been told by colleagues who had survived torture… that towards the end there came a wonderful period of warmth and languour leading into a sort of sexual twilight where pain turned to pleasure…” “‘Say goodbye to it, Bond.’” (Chapter 17) The attack on Bond’s “manhood” is a very memorable part of the novel. And although Fleming went on to write lots of other torture scenes, many consider this to be his best. What makes it so disturbing and powerful?
24. “‘I have no orders to kill you.’” (Chapter 18) Do we find the SMERSH agent’s reasoning for keeping Bond alive convincing?
25. “Few men could have supported what you have been through.” (Chapter 19) How is Fleming positioning his fictional hero in this chapter where Bond is recovering from his injuries? How vulnerable/invulnerable is he?
26. Fleming waits until the final act of Casino Royale to relate how Bond gained his Double-0 status by killing two people in cold blood (Chapter 20). Why does he save this for this part of the book?
27. Bond explains to Mathis why he’s retiring: “This country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out of date.” (Chapter 20) To what extent is Bond patriotic? How might this have been seen in 1953 compared with the present day?
28. “...the certainty of impotence had been beaten into him and a scar had been left on his mind that could only be healed by experience.” (Chapter 21) Bond is concerned he is sexually impotent. How integral is Bond’s sexuality to his character?
29. “‘It’s all my fault,’ she dabbed at her eyes. ‘I know it’s all my fault.’” (Chapter 21) The final seven chapters of the novel are solely concerned with Bond’s growing feelings towards Vesper and the revelation of her betrayal. How does Fleming balance a sense of hope with dread that not all is as it seems?
30. “The bitch is dead now.” (Chapter 27) The famous final line acts as a full stop to the book as a whole. How did Fleming intend us to take this? What does it tell us about Bond’s character? What meaning does Daniel Craig imbue the line with in the 2006 film?
The big debate
How does the Bond character of the Casino Royale novel compare with the Bond of the films? Perhaps have a look back at some of these excerpts:
“He lit his seventieth cigarette of the day.” (Chapter 1)
[to M, regarding the mission] “I can’t promise to win.” (Chapter 3)
“Bond would have preferred to work alone.” (Chapter 3)
“‘What the hell do they want to send me a woman for?’” “Women were for recreation. On a job they got in the way and fogged things up with sex and hurt feelings… ‘Bitch,’ said Bond.” (Chapter 4)
“Bond was determined to be completely fit and relaxed for a gambling session which might last most of the night. He ordered a masseur for three o’clock… the masseur, a Swede, presented himself.” (Chapter 7
“This job was more important than her [Vesper]. It was just too bad.” (Chapter 15)
[Bond tells Mathis, explaining why he wants to retire] “‘The villains and heroes all get mixed up.’” (Chapter 21)
