Fleming's second novel, LIVE AND LET DIE, improves upon CASINO ROYALE in many ways. First, the Fleming Sweep is at full force; here is perhaps the best example of this stylistic element. Second, Fleming uses even greater detail in descriptions of environments. More care seems to have been taken in revising and polishing. Finally, LIVE AND LET DIE contains one of Fleming's best plots, full of very exciting sequences. The novel is a little dated today (especially in its treatment of blacks) and is weak in terms of characterization. But the story is hard-hitting and violent in a way that none of the others are.
The story concerns Mr. Big, a powerful black businessman believed to be a member of SMERSH. Recently, gold coins from a seventeenth-century pirate hoard have been turning up in pawn shops and banks in Harlem and Florida. The source is thought to be a treasure hidden in Jamaica by the English pirate Bloody Morgan. M suspects that the pirate treasure is being used to finance the Soviet espionage system in America, and that Mr. Big is the man behind the smuggling operation. James Bond's investigation takes him from New York to Florida, where he and CIA agent Felix Leiter discover Mr. Big's United States port of entry for the smuggling. After Leiter is severely mutilated by a shark, Bond travels to Jamaica alone. He makes an underwater swim to locate Mr. Big's hideout, but is discovered by Mr. Big's men. 007 and the heroine, Solitaire, are tied together and dragged through the water behind Mr. Big's boat; but before their bodies are torn to shreds by a coral reef, a limpet mine previously planted by Bond destroys Mr. Big's boat. The pirate hoard is recovered and M grants Bond a "passionate leave," which will naturally be spent with Solitaire.
STYLE AND THEMES
LIVE AND LET DIE is longer than CASINO ROYALE, but moves just as quickly. The chapters are again short and compressed, almost always ending with hooks to lead the reader to the next Fleming builds suspense with a masterly touch as Bond follows Mr. Big's frail to the Isle of Surprise. Since it is known very early that Mr. Big is the villain and is certainly behind the gold smuggling operation, the suspense comes in Bond's piecing the clues together; getting out of one scrape and into another; and moving forward toward the final confrontation with Mr. Big. The Fleming Sweep never achieves a more engaging rhythm and flow than here.
If CASINO ROYALE was abundant with detail, LIVE AND LET DIE takes the descriptive writing a step further by incorporating more exotic locales. Fleming's chronicle of the underwater world in Chapter 19 is vivid and awesome. Critics have always mentioned that the author's descriptive powers are most effective in describing gaming contests and life in the sea. Fleming's picture of America in the fifties is also very interesting and sometimes amusing:
It was no waste of time to start picking up the American idiom again: the advertisements, the new car models, and the prices of second-hand ones in the used-car lots; the exotic pungency of the road signs: SOFT SHOULDERS—SHARP CURVES—SQUEEZE AHEAD—SLIPPERY WHEN WET; the standard of driving; the number of women at the wheel, their menfolk docilely beside them; the men's clothes; the way the women were doing their hair; the Civil Defense warnings: IN CASE OF ENEMY ATTACK KEEP MOVING—GET OFF BRIDGE; the thick rash of television serials and the impact of 1'V on billboards and shop windows; the occasional helicopter; the public appeals for cancer and polio funds; THE MARCH OF DIMES—all the small fleeting impressions that were as important to his trade as are broken bark and bent twigs to the trapper in the jungle.
(LIVE AND LET DIE, Chapter 1)
Throughout the series of novels, Fleming can't resist the temptation to use his reporter's eye for detail and include a wealth of information about the particular locale in which his hero travels. CASINO ROYALE has a bit of this with its descriptions of the resort in Northeast France; LIVE AND LET DIE introduces the reader to one of Fleming's favorite locations, Jamaica, where all of the Bond novels were written. Because Fleming loved the West Indies and the tropical island world, many Bond adventures take place in similar locales. In visiting such exotic sites, Bond (and the reader) are introducted to local sites and customs via a "tour-guide." For example, through the voice of Quarrel, the Cayman Islander with whom Bond joins forces, we learn that two prevailing winds influence Jamaica's climate—the "Undertaker's Wind," which "blows all the bad air out of the island at night," and the "Doctor's Wind," which "blows all the sweet air in from the sea in the morning."
This "Undertaker's Wind" (also a working title for the novel) is used as a metaphor for Bond's mission on the island—Quarrel comments that the agent will be "blowing all the bad air from the island" when he finally eliminates Mr. Big. This metaphor leads directly to Fleming's major theme, which fulfills the prediction Mathis made toward the end of CASINO ROYALE: that Bond would surely seek out the bad men of the world and terminate their existence. When the FBI agent, Captain Dexter, tells Bond early in the novel that the official policy with Mr. Big so far (since they have no concrete evidence against him) was "live and let live," Bond replies, "In my job when I come up against a man like this one, I have another motto. It's 'live and let die.'"
The friendship theme is quite strong in this story, and the male allies are important: Felix Leiter has a strong supporting role, and Quarrel becomes a prominent figure. The friendship between Bond and Leiter comes to fruition here. From the first chapter, in which the American surprises the Englishman by greeting him in a hotel room, to the tragic incident in which Leiter almost loses his life to a shark, the men are inseparable. They barhop through Harlem together, sharing meals, conversation, and clue-gathering. Despite their differences in background, the men hit it off as if they have been friends since childhood. Bond seems to depend on this alliance with a male friend—it means more to him, sometimes, than his relationship with any woman in the novels. Bond even has trouble keeping the emotion from choking his voice when he learns that Leiter, after having lost half an arm and half a leg, will live after all.
Bond's heart was full. He looked out of the window. "Tell him to get well quickly," he said abruptly. "Tell him I miss him."
(LIVE AND LET DIE, Chapter 17)
This kind of emotion reveals itself infrequently; the loyalty Bond feels toward his friends is as strong as his commitment to his job.
CHARACTERS
James Bond becomes more human in LIVE AND LET DIE. The strict coldness that enveloped the character in CASINO ROYALE is gone. He is a much warmer, more likeable man from the opening chapter. Fleming takes further care with smaller details of Bond's life: we learn he likes to wear pajamas, even after being told that "Americans sleep in the raw." Bond's face is fully described for the first time (CASINO ROYALE had basically given an impression of his features), emphasizing that there is a hint of the "mixed blood of America" in his hair and cheekbones.
Bond's attitude toward women has lightened as well. In CASINO ROYALE, Bond curses Vesper for allowing herself to be abducted by Le Chiffre. In LIVE AND LET DIE, Bond trusts Solitaire immediately when she calls him at the hotel with a plea to help her escape from Mr. Big. But then, Solitaire is "one of the most beautiful women Bond has ever seen." From the beginning he is friendlier with Solitaire than he ever was with Vesper Lynd, as the following indicates:
For better or worse he had decided to accept Solitaire, or rather, in his cold way, to make the most of her . . . he reflected it was going to be fun teasing her and being teased back, and he was glad that they had already crossed the frontiers into comradeship and even intimacy.
(LIVE AND LET DIE, Chapter 10)
Felix Leiter becomes a more complete character in this story as well. His jovial, boyish qualities are an excellent complement to Bond's seriousness. It is like a breath of fresh air when the Texan appears in any of the novels. Leiter acts as Bond's guide to America, as Quarrel does for Jamaica. Much of Fleming's sense of humor is revealed in the Texan's speeches:
"You can get through any American conversation," advised Leiter, "with 'Yeah,' 'Nope,' and 'Sure.' The English word to be avoided at all costs," added Leiter, "was 'Ectually,'" Bond had said that this word was not part of his vocabulary.
(LIVE AND LET DIE, Chapter 4)
At one point in the story, Leiter escapes a beating from one of Mr. Big's hoods by "arguing the finer points of jazz" with him. After making a crack about the clarinet—"an ill woodwind that nobody blows good"—Leiter is suddenly friends with his captor. The hood, who had been ordered to "hurt Leiter considerably," worries about what he should do with the American agent. Finally, he simply knocks Leiter out with a blackjack.
Solitaire, whose real name is Simone Latrelle, is a mysterious, appealing heroine, and one of Fleming's better female characters. Her connection with the occult adds an enigmatic dimension to her personality that Vesper Lynd lacked. Solitaire had been raised in Haiti, is experienced in the world of voodoo rituals, and is telepathic. Mr. Big especially believes in her powers; he trusts the girl enough to let her make decisions for him. During Bond's first encounter with the villain, Mr. Big brings Solitaire to determine whether Bond is lying or telling the truth. Mr. Big asks Bond who he is and the agent replies with a cover story. Solitaire looks at Bond, and he suspects there is some kind of message for him behind her eyes. And, as he hoped, Solitaire informs Mr. Big that Bond "speaks the truth."
The heroine's immediate attraction to Bond is a little contrived, but it certainly serves the plot's purposes. She sees in Bond her only chance to escape from Mr. Big, who has kept her a prisoner for a year. Her desperate phone call to Bond is highly suspicious, too—yet Bond instinctively trusts her. Solitaire, who has long blue-black hair, and, like Bond, has a "sensual mouth which holds a hint of cruelty," is a woman with an "iron will." One of Bond's first impressions of her is that her face is "one born to command." She literally casts a spell on Bond, and it is strong enough to nab the world's most elusive secret agent
Mr. Big is only an adequate villain. He tells Bond that he is the "first of the great Negro criminals." In choosing a black man for his villain, Fleming wasn't necessarily making a statement about blacks, as some critics complained. Granted, Fleming's portrait of the black hoods is none too favorable. Their speech is overwritten, with exaggerated colloquialisms, and none of the minor villains seems very bright But Mr. Big himself is quite brilliant (SMERSH would never pick a man with no brains to run such an important operation for them, whether he was black or white.) Mr. Big is meticulous in manner, speaks slowly and distinctly, and knows exactly what he wants. He states that there have already been great black writers, doctors, athletes, etc., but never a "great Negro criminal." Mr. Big explains that he takes "subtle pains" to outwit his opponents, and that he is, by nature, a wolf. The obligatory lecture scene is terrific: the villain ties Bond up and proceeds to expound philosophy. Though it seems unrealistic for a villain to do this, it usually gives Bond a chance to free himself. But the sequence also allows the villain to have his big moment He has Bond in the palm of his hand, and like a cat, can't resist the temptation to play with the prey before devouring it.
Another Bond ally, Quarrel, is introduced in LIVE AND LET DIE. A native of the Cayman Islands, Quarrel immediately brings the novel some local color. Few characters in the series are more likeable than he. Quarrel's relationship with Bond is explored only briefly in this novel, but it flowers later in DOCTOR NO.
M is still a cardboard figure in this second novel. The Bond/M scene in LIVE AND LET DIE is not quite as brief as that in CASINO ROYALE, but nothing new is revealed about Bond's chief. The scene is "all business," and M doesn't mince words.
HIGHLIGHTS AND OTHER INGREDIENTS
LIVE AND LET DIE is a touch more violent than most of the novels, except for CASINO ROYALE and COLONEL SUN. The scene in which Tee-Hee breaks Bond's little finger generates a good deal of suspense. One can empathize with Bond here as he watches the finger being pulled back until it snaps.
Leiter's mishap with the shark is intensely violent, although the actual incident occurs "off screen." The image of Bond finding Leiter wrapped in a bloody bedsheet is nightmarish and seems to haunt the remainder of the novel. The sequence is easily recalled when Leiter reappears in subsequent books.
The fight in the fish warehouse is exciting. Bond has just discovered Mr. Big's method for smuggling the gold coins and is suddenly interrupted by The Robber, one of Mr. Big's henchmen. Many fish tanks are shattered by bullets as their guns blaze. After a few explosive moments, Bond feigns an injury, tempting The Robber to investigate. Bond hits him and The Robber falls through a trap door over a shark pool. Apparently, the trap had been meant for Bond.
Finally, the climactic sequences in the lagoon are dramatic and intense. Mr. Big's death, as witnessed by Bond, is revolting and horrific. After the Secatur explodes, the surviving crew members find themselves swimming in shark- and barracuda-infested waters. Mr. Big goes down in the jaws of one of these predators.
LIVE AND LET DIE, then, stands as one of the best of the early novels. The plot moves excitingly and urgently, and a good deal of suspense is generated. The book's only fault is that characterizations are still incomplete, especially that of James Bond. But this problem is corrected in the next novel.