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William Boyd discusses new Bond novel
CraigMooreOHMSS
Dublin, Ireland
[url] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/9323091/Hay-Festival-2012-James-Bond-to-be-middle-aged.html# [/url]
Intriguing stuff!
Intriguing stuff!
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Comments
“I’m a realistic novelist and what interests me about Bond is the human being. There will be no mountains filled with atom bombs or global plagues, no gadgets, no superpowers or preposterous enemies - there will be an entirely believable psychopath, not a preposterous psychopath.
So, basically nothing Bond at all, and no Fleming influences? Yeah, mate. You are a fool. If Boyd is so hard pressed to write a realistic spy novel with a middle aged spy, he should write it himself, and keep his paws off the literary Bond where the things he has planned don't belong. He took out the aspects of the literary and film Bond, and stomped on them.
“And similarly with love affairs - in my novel they will be entirely believable.”
Now, what does he mean by this? There have been plenty or believable love affairs with Bond and a Bond girl in the films AND novels. The relationship with Vesper is palpable, and heartbreaking in the novel just as much as it is on screen. Fleming had a great Bond/girl relationship in
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Wow. I know what novel I will never find myself purchasing or reading.
Try to keep the faith, folks.
"I'm a realistic author, so Bond will now be a green hawk who fights off evil tattoo artists. Oh, and there will be some kissing that you can believe."
He just might impress us.
I do know some folks have their doubts, I also think Boyd shut up and deliver we will judge your book.
But I still have some residual excitement left everytime there is a new 007 book in the shop. I have this urge to buy and read it. It is perhaps the masochist in me. O:-)
I am sceptical as to how good the new book will be due to the last two lacklustre ones but I don't think this interview is off putting. So, he wants to write a realistic Bond yarn. Nothing wrong with that every now and then. I rather like the idea. It may be more reminiscent of Fleming's wonderful short stories. In terms of the love affairs, I really don't care if we get one or two books where Bond doesn't sleep with anyone either, not that I'm suggesting that this is what he's saying. If he does in Boyd's book, maybe the dame will be closer to Bond's age instead of 20 years his junior. What I really want is a good, gripping narrative with a protagonist who is entirely three dimensional and pretty close to Fleming's original conception. In CB, we couldn't have been further away from this.
Just one thing, I don't want him to mention that Bond is 45. If he says that he's in his 40's then this is fine. Going by the sound of Boyd's more realistic take on the character, he might very well mention his exact age though.
There was none of this in Fleming's novels either. Even OHMSS only had a targeted outbreak of biological warfare, not the global plague alluded to in the film. Boyd is a good writer - Restless was probably the best espionage novel I've read since Le Carre's heyday. Faulks tried to channel Fleming and got bored after 50 pages. Deaver offered a modern Bond lacking any link with or feel for the original character. If what Boyd offers is a realistic assessment of the original Bond character in his own style (which is what I'm inferring) then I'm optimistic.
I wonder if he's referring to the films aswell.
"...what interests me about Bond is the human being."
I like comments like this.
"I hope there will be a big focus on his demons as well."
I too hope for this.
“The wonderful thing about the offer [to write a James Bond novel] is that they give you almost total freedom..."
If he put in his book a 100% faithful interpretation of Fleming's creation complete with the xenophobia and chauvenism, I wonder if the Fleming Estate would allow it.
Being set in 1969, the end of the '60's, this may work out quite well. Bond is becoming old and not of his time as the world is changing, is that the focus of the 'demons' in the novel?
I just want there to be some demons. It sounds like a great character dissection if nothing else. I just hope that the book still has that Fleming style to it, and Bond hasn't reformed to some world weary crusader.
You both bring up excellent points...there are opportunities for some excellent character development, especially when one remembers how Fleming's Bond became more ruminative about his job and his life as the novels went on. Rather than being against the established character this would be a welcome return to it.
I hesitate to ever bring up Mad Men in a Bond discussion, largely because some people look at *any* guy playing the lead in a 60s-set TV series or film and say "He'd be perfect as Bond!", especially if he wears a grey suit...however, Mad Men has recently reached 1967 in its narrative. It's interesting to see how these people, especially Don Draper, are starting to become unmoored as the culture around them changes and becomes less traditional and more youth oriented. While this affects the characters in Mad Men to a greater degree than those in Bond's world (they have to stay on top of what's current to make effective advertising and marketing) it will be interesting to see how this changes Bond and his world. Can he figure out character's motivations and guess their intentions if they feel a rebellion towards authority or society that he can't understand? Does he notice that younger women don't look at him the same way as they used to, and how does that make him feel? His chivalrous nature means that younger women, who need more "looking after" or "saving" are ones that his heart goes out to. How does his body react to a fight, a sudden burst of activity, or a grueling 48 hour, non-stop adventure without sleep? The 35 year old (ish) Bond of Fleming's novels would often have to draw upon his last reserves of strength - what happens ten years later?
All of this could be very interesting to read - and of course, would greatly put off some people who only know the Bond of the films, where a portly DAF era Connery or near-geriatric AVTAK era Moore can beat up the baddies and seduce young girls at the drop of a hat. But I'd love to see how "Fleming's Bond" would continue to evolve and deal with the changing world and his changing age.
If the intention is character development on Fleming's original take It is to be welcomed.
On the other hand, if Boyd wants to morph Bond into some Callanesque figure, I would be more than a little worried.
For me, the evolution of today's Bond books wether set in the past or present, should be closer to Daniel Silva's wonderful Gabriel Allon series than to Le Carre or his modern contemparies.
Back in the '60s when the Bond literary franchise was at it's peak, some of the new writers in the genre (Peter O'Donnell, John Gardner and the like) maintained the glamour of Fleming's format with the exotic locations and restless changing of scenes but managed to bring more character development and pace into their work. Not to mention even healthier doses of sex and violence.
Others, notably Le Carre, Deighton and James Mitchell went the more realistic route and brought us the Whitehall warrior
For me, Boyd's challenge is to take the literary Bond closer to the pace and depth of the Allon books or indeed to the phenomenal Barry Eisler's John Rain series rather than to take him into a moribund middle age.
He, Boyd, is a great writer but after the "Carte Blanche" debacle we certainly need him to hit the bullseye!
Regards,
Bentley
Character movement would be most welcome but if he makes him out to be an old man who is largely losing his sex appeal and stamina then it'll make me feel a little down.
Deaver almost entirely changed Bond's personality. If Boyd isn't faithful to Fleming's creation then I'll have lost the faith.
The thing that a lot of people, myself included, like about Fleming's Bond is that he's a human being, not a superhero. It's a nice contrast to the "SuperBond" of some of the films; the man who can do everything, knows everything, and that every woman wants to sleep with on sight.
Fleming's Bond most definitely would age as any other man would. He'd be more attractive to women and have a bit more stamina than the average man (he is after all Fleming's Marty Stu) but he would indeed get older. How Fleming would have handled that as he aged himself and his health failed - presuming that he had lived another 20 years and had continued to write new books - would have been interesting. Would it be sad to see Fleming's Bond get older? Of course. But that's what happens to people. We already have the MovieBond who will be eternally young and vigorous and we can live vicariously through him if we need to (though I'm a huge fan of living vicariously through yourself). Fleming's Bond at 45 would be vastly different than Craig's Bond at that same age (which he will be next year!).
I would imagine two paths would have occurred with Fleming's Bond. The first is that as he gets older he isn't physically able to do what he needs to in the field and gets more "detective" type assignments which he finds depressing - he loved the thrill of a mission. He also is less appealing to women which makes him feel less of a man, and then his 45-year old mandatory retirement from active duty pushes him over the edge. He tries to escape his boredom through heavier drinking, gambling, and smoking and dies - like Fleming - at a relatively young age, a broken and depressed man.
However, there is another option. Fleming's Bond could be very philosophical and he showed the capability of falling in love (the doubts he feels about tying himself to one woman occur to every younger, attractive man at some point). As he gets older he may realize that he's getting tired of the physical punishment that he puts himself through and grows to - grudgingly, at first - enjoy the added "management" duties that he's given. Not the day-to-day desk work, but looking after the other 00s and crafting better policy and ways of doing things (this is a man who was working on a self-defense manual at one point). Then he meets the woman that he falls for, and retires to a warm destination where he has enough sporting options available to him to keep him busy, and the companionship of a woman who enjoys the same things that he does (fast cars, athletic pursuits).
I think that Fleming could have written either option. I think that he would write the latter because, after all, Bond was his way of living out his fantasies.
Bentley is referring to the British TV series 'Callan' which starred Edward Woodward as the eponymous British Government assassin in a series of very gritty espionage adventures. It was also made into a more than decent film. The credits of the TV series rolled across the background of an unshaded lightbulb swinging slowly from a bare ceiling - leaving the viewer to draw uncomfortable inferences about what was going on underneath. It was about as gritty as TV gets.
"The thing that a lot of people, myself included, like about Fleming's Bond is that he's a human being, not a superhero. It's a nice contrast to the "SuperBond" of some of the films; the man who can do everything, knows everything, and that every woman wants to sleep with on sight."
I love this about Fleming's Bond too. I much prefer the literary figure to the cinematic man. I just don't want Boyd to take the ageing Bond scenario too far to the point where he becomes an immensely vulnerable figure but maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. Fit 45 year old men still look pretty decent for their age and are still physically capable but obviously not in the same league as 30 somethings. So, Boyd discussing the fact that Bond is not what he used to be but is still physically capable to a decent point, and that some women still look at him but less so than a few years back, then this would be fine with me.
I like the way Bond's future is painted in the third Moneypenny Diary. He's single, happy and living by himself instead with a wife, the former of which I always expected would happen when reading the Fleming books.