Translated material
Bond returned
Another novel about James Bond was written by William Boyd on the order of the publishing house "Ian Fleming Pablikayshns", who has monopoly rights to publish Fleming's works and to create their literary continuations. All new books about agent 007 are written, as a rule, by his order. The name of James Bond has long been a popular brand, and a new novel about him called "Solo" is doomed to inevitable commercial success.
William Boyd intentionally transferred the main episodes of the book to West Africa. He was born in Ghana, his parents of the British, but he spent his childhood and youth in Nigeria and knows the African continent well; In many of his books, the action also takes place in Africa. The writer explains the choice of the name of the book with the graphic similarity of the word "solo" with the professional code number of James Bond, who is listed in intelligence as agent 007 with the right to kill. Two zeros in this issue, according to William Boyd, should be associated with two letters "O" in the name of the book. Recently, a new story about the adventures of an unsinkable British agent has been published every two to three years. Immediately before the Solo, the novels were published "The Devil does not like to wait" Sebastian Folks (2008) and "Cart Blanche" Jeffrey Divera (2011). The historian of Bondiana and the founder of the British fan club James Bond Aja Chaudhari got acquainted with the content of Solo before his official publication. In an interview with Radio Liberty, he talked about impressions of the book and the history of the creation of new works about James Bond:
- William Boyd is an extraordinary writer who wrote a number of talented books. Readers of his last novel “Solo” will find in it all the qualities of his inherent literary style: elegance, dynamic narrative, figurative and ironic language. It is easy to notice that this can be said about the traditional image of James Bond. The actions of many Boyd’s books, in particular, such as Brazzavil beach and a good man in Africa, like the main action in Solo, occurs in West Africa. Boyd knows the African continent well, where he spent many years. This fully reflected in his book about Bond. In the "Solo" in an indirect form, a civil war in Nigeria is narrated after the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Biafra, which Boyd was a witness in his youth. Boyd suffered the action of Solo in 1969 - the time when the career of agent 007 and the glory of its creator reached the climax. The last novel by Ian Fleming “A Man with a Golden Pistol” was published in 1965 - a year after the death of the author, and in 1966 a collection of his stories, which entered the Osminozhka, Life Power and Property of the Lady, was published. In the 60s, there was also the beginning of the release of books about Bond, written by various authors. The first of them, Colonel San, was published in 1968. It was written under the pseudonym by Robert Markham British writer Kingsley Emis. By the way, in Fleming, released by the centenary of Fleming in 2008, Sebastian Folks’s novel “The Devil does not like to wait” the action was postponed in 1967. So the 60s became the favorite time of the actions of new books about Bond. The Cold War was a natural "habitat" of agent 007. The world of James Bond needed a Cold War.
The intention to extend the life of any literary hero, especially as popular as James Bond, always lie mainly commercial reasons
- Is the image of Bond created by William Boyd from his original version in Fleming's novels?
- I do not think that William Boyd literally copied the writer's style of Fleming. It does not seem to me that it is necessary or even possible. However, the spirit and style of the writer's manner of Fleming is present in Solo. If you take, for example, the latest films about James Bond, in which Daniel Craig plays - “casino royal”, “quantum of mercy” and “007: the coordinates of Skyfall are not difficult to find that the image of agent 007 in them dates back to those features of his character, which Fleming’s literary copy of Gero’s“ doctors Know "or" from Russia with love ", but it is undoubted that this is a person, whose creators were inspired by these books of the ancestor of Bondiana. This can also be said about the main character" Solo ". What is happening in the movie Bondian is also characteristic of the literature about Bond. This parallel is absolutely legitimate: the authors of the films are repelled from Fleming's novels, but they do not repeat them completely.
- What is behind the idea of continuing the literary epic about the adventures of James Bond? Is there only commercial reasons?
- For the intention to extend the life of any literary hero, especially as popular as James Bond, are always mostly commercial reasons. However, such "literary series" give great pleasure to readers - fans of these characters. Almost half a century after the death of Fleming, the new life of agent 007 lasts, becoming an eloquent example of a very successful literary project. After Kingsley, the Bonds continued by the emiss of the continuation of the Bond were followed by a dozen writers Bond. From 1981 to 1996 alone, 14 books were published about Bond written by John Gardner. They all received a high appreciation of readers and criticism at one time. Then, from 1997 to 2002, six novels about James Bond was written by American writer Reimond Benson. A few books about young Bond were written by Charlie Higson. This was followed by the works of Samantha Weinberg from the series "Diaries of Manipenny". The continuation of the book bondiana has a long literary story. Sometimes these books are well written, sometimes it is a mediocre reading, sometimes an exciting reading. Such recreatments of the life of a popular literary character occur not only in relation to agent 007. For example, Shakespeare's heroes receive a new life in the plays of Tom Stoppard, created by Bram Stoker, the image of Dracula is replicated by subsequent writers, and the adventures of Sherlock Holmes after Conan Doyle are described by other writers. All this is a long tradition.
-Doesn't it seem to you that some novels-continuations about the adventures of agent 007 in an artistic way surpass Ian Fleming's books?
-Some continuing novels have high entertaining potential. It is quite difficult to compare the literary style of Fleming and his followers, who nevertheless focused in their works on him and his books. In my opinion, so far the "Colonel San" of the emis and the "authorized biography of agent 007" John Parson are as close as possible to the Fleming style, which many considered populist at one time. However, 60 years have passed since the publication of his first novel “Casino Royal”, and he is still widely read. Bonds about Bond continue to be published, and only the future will show that from what is written about him will remain in real literary life. Perhaps Jeffrey Divera or Solo’s “Cart Blanche” William Boyd will survive our time.
- Nevertheless, could you call the three best, from your point of view, a novel about Bond written by Fleming's followers?
- In my opinion, the “Colonel San” Kingsley Emis is the most perfect in artistic terms Roman about Bond, written after Fleming. It was published in 1968. In the three best works of literary Bondian, I would include John Pieron's book James Bond: Authorized Biography of Agent 007, published in 1973. This is a very smart and talented book. And my third selection is the “Pentateuch” for children about the young Bond Charlie Higson, opening with the story “Silver fin”. I think that this is the best of what was written after Fleming about James Bond.
- How do you explain the popularity of books and films about James Bond all over the world for 60 years?
- The personality of James Bond was very attractive in a number of reasons. Firstly, it is very vital and is largely connected with the real history. The world in which he acts is recognizable. This is not a character of fantasy novels. In addition, readers and spectators admire the abilities and talents of Bond. Men like to identify themselves with agent 007. This contributes to the popularity of his image. Secondly, the audience is attracted by a glamorous element in the personality and character of Bond. He is elegant, charming, a connoisseur of a high kitchen, meets interesting people, beautiful women love him, he drives in chic cars, you can’t refuse a sense of humor. Bond lives in a dynamic world full of adventure and love pleasures. Women, like men, usually attracts this image. And thirdly, books and films about Bond are excellent entertainment; These are escape works of art. They should not be treated too seriously, ”says Bondianian historian Ajay Chaudhari.