Octopussy and The Living Daylights & Other Stories

This slim volume collects four James Bond short stories, and first came out in 1966.* In his introduction to the 2006 Penguin edition, Robert Ryan suggests Fleming was a short fiction man at heart, and based on reading the Bond books, I agree; many of the novels feel padded even when they're slim. Thus Octopussy & The Living Daylights contains some of Fleming's strongest Bond work in my opinion. Bond isn't much of a factor in "Octopussy," but I enjoyed it anyway, a very thorough story of a man who plans a horrible crime and very nearly gets away with it. I was surprised to realize that the idea that Bond's ski instructor cared for him paternally after Bond's parents died wasn't an invention of the film Spectre but actually originated show more here. I'll be curious to see if any other elements of "Octopussy" make it into the film, or if it will be one of those Bond adaptations best characterized as "loose."

The other standout here was "The Living Daylights," where Bond has to work as a sniper in order to help an agent make it over the Berlin Wall. It's one of those stories that really gets you into Bond's psychology: he is good at killing but finds little joy in it. Or, to be honest, much else. The twist is pretty obvious, but I still enjoyed it because it's a fun one.

Of the other two, one is all right and one is for completists only. "The Property of a Lady" has some interesting ideas and backstories, but the actual story isn't really up to much. "007 in New York" isn't even a story; it's just Bond thinking about New York City while he visits it on a mission. "007 in New York" was published in the American edition of Fleming's travel book Thrilling Cities as an apology for how much Fleming hated New York City; Fleming said that Bond's take on New York was "more cheerful" than his own. But in this story's mere seven pages, Bond complains about Customs and Immigration, about how all the good hotels have closed, about how the eggs look wrong, about the shops having nothing you can't get in Europe, about how many used car lots there are, about how the restaurants have got too expensive, about the blandness of the food, about how Americans are too obsessed with hygiene, and about how there is no Reptile House at the Central Park Zoo. If that's a cheerful take on New York City, one wonders how awful Fleming must have been about it!

There's also a scrambled egg recipe in a footnote. I will try it someday.

* Kind of; the 1966 edition collected just two short stories, and over the years more were added until all four were together in 2002. show less

A quick and easy read to get through. I enjoyed this immensely and although I am not a Tom Hiddleston fan, I thought he did an excellent job with the audiobook here. There is a good variety amongst the short stories that are collected here and they include bonds, making his way into the world of fine arts, and Jewelry and they also involve the less glamorous and more dirty part of his job with a tense and gripping stand-off in Berlin at the height of the Cold War. This isn’t Fleming at his best and the bear of melancholy that provides much of Flemings later works is still present here. However it’s not just 007 completist’s that will get a thrill out of this. It’s a worthy investment.

Standard Fleming reservations about Fleming being who he was (sexism, racism, and colonialism are here in full force) are worsened because there are native characters, and an unattractive woman features in one of the stories.

Still, it is fascinating how wide-ranging Fleming's interests and experiences were. It brings out my inner process-nerd to hear discussions of how auctions work or descriptions of the behaviors of fish.

Also, standard notes about the Bond being unlike the one in the movies: he plays detective in one of these stories, and hopes his 00 status gets taken away in another. It's more interesting and complicated than one might expect.

Fleming's prose is lovely, though not quite as sparkling as in the best of his novels. It show more is still well worth a listen, and would be even if Tom Hiddleston weren't reading it. That Hiddleston does read it, though, elevates the material even further. show less

"Look my friend, I've got to commit a murder tonight. Not you. Me. So be a good chap and stuff it, would you?"

1966 saw the release of the final publication from Ian Fleming, the short story collection Octopussy & The Living Daylights. Originally published with the two title stories, a third short story was added upon the release of the paperback edition, The Property of a Lady. When the tome was reprinted by Penguin in the early 2000's, a fourth tale was added to the mix, 007 in New York. All four stories are wildly different in tone, each showcasing a different aspect of Fleming's style and flair that seemed to effortlessly flow out from his golden typewriter. Although the collection is perhaps not on the same level as one of Fleming's show more full-length novels, it is still an enjoyable afternoon read, and after the rather unfortunate mess in The Man With The Golden Gun (the unfinished novel Fleming was working on at the time of his death), is a fitting return to form to close out the original series of James Bond stories.

The book opens with Octopussy, a story that has become almost as 'love it or hate it' as The Spy Who Loved Me, mostly because James Bond is not the main character. Bond only shows up roughly three-quarters of the way through, and never becomes directly involved in any action. Instead we have more of a character piece following the exploits of jaded military hero, Major Dexter Smythe, living out his retirement in style and luxury at his Jamaican estate thanks to a supply of Nazi gold he managed to steal during the war. Smythe got his grubby hands on the gold by murdering a man named Oberhauser, a man who also happened to be a mentor and father figure to one Commander James Bond. Showing up at Smythe's home unexpectedly, Bond gives the Major the chance to decide his own fate out of respect for Smythe's military accomplishments. Much of the story is told in flashback sequences, with Smythe divulging all of his dirty secrets to Bond in a final confession, knowing full well he's been caught. Bond leaves Smythe for the evening, giving Smythe some time to get things in order and make a choice before returning the next day. With Smythe seemingly waffling back and forth between facing the courts and suicide, the decision is ultimately taken out of his hands in a grotesque twist ending; a typical Fleming stunner.

Personally, I think Octopussy is among the better short stories Fleming wrote. Some dislike it for the lack of Bond and the lack of true action, but I see it as a gloriously dark account of one man finally getting his comeuppance. One can also see reflections of the author himself in both of the main characters: if Bond is the sexy, adventurous side of Fleming as most fans of his work seem to recognize, Smythe is an echo of the same man towards the end of his life - dodgy liver, heart condition, informed by physicians to give up the drink and smoke but refusing to do so, bored with life to a certain degree, safe in the knowledge he won't be living to a ripe old age - that's Smythe, and it was also Ian Fleming as his days were winding down.

Still, if Octopussy doesn't do it for you, most all Fleming fans are in agreement that The Living Daylights is a quality piece of work that will more than make up for any faults you may see in the prior story. Perhaps the most intimate Fleming ever got with the famous character he created, the story delves deep into the psyche of James Bond as he is sent on an assassination mission in East Berlin. We learn all sorts of things about Bond as he and an unfortunately clueless colleague wait for the time to strike in what is essentially a long stake-out: from the trivialities such as the type of novels he enjoys reading to his more serious concerns, such as the growing distaste he has for his profession and his hesitancy to kill. All of this comes to a boil when Bond discovers his target is the pretty blonde girl he's been watching from out of a window for the past few days. It's a moody little tale that was captured perfectly in the first fifteen minutes of the film version starring Timothy Dalton.

The third story, The Property of a Lady, had some of its elements lifted for the film version of Octopussy, namely the Fabergé egg auction at Sotheby's. While it's definitely overshadowed by the previous story, The Property of a Lady displays Fleming's knack for creating suspense and tension in seemingly innocuous settings, as Bond desperately scans the auction room for the mysterious KGB agent underbidding on the item in question in order to pay off their double agent working in London. Despite a lack of depth, the story is still a compelling page-turner.

Finally we have 007 in New York, a very brief story that originally featured in the New York Herald Tribune in 1963. This tale, while incredibly frivolous and adding virtually nothing of interest to the Bond canon, shows off Fleming's sense of humor with a very open brand of comedy rarely seen in the James Bond novels save for some passages of very dry and muted jocularity here and there. The plot, which involves 007 warning a young agent in New York that her new boyfriend is a mole for the KGB, was recently evoked to a certain degree in the conclusion to the latest Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

Individual Ratings:
Octopussy - 5 / 5
The Living Daylights - 5 / 5
The Property of a Lady - 4 / 5
007 in New York - 3 / 5 show less

Octopussy is a good story, but really isn't about bond at all. It's a bit like Fleming had a good idea for a story about some stolen Nazi gold and tossed in a Bond Cameo because that was what sold books. Nazi gold and stolen art are interesting objects for speculation. I wonder how many Soldiers walked away from WWII with some sort of treasure that floated them for years afterward? Surely a few got out with some gold or a painting, but it couldn't have been many.

The other stories were less interesting. Bond's mission to Berlin to protect an agent from a top Russian sniper was a little silly and contrived. It seemed unlikely that either the British or the Russians would have got themselves into this situation where they are shooting it show more out in Berlin. And, while I know the Russians are supposed to be a bit crude, spraying bullets from an AK-47 hardly requires the country's top sniper. show less

Yesterday I didn't need to go anywhere, but I did have loads of household stuff to get done, so it was the perfect time for donning the wireless headphones and listening to an audiobook (or two) while I went about my domestic goddess tasks. Since the AlphaKIT letters for March are F and I, an Ian Fleming novel makes for a perfect fit. In my James Bond reading, I was ready for book 14 in the series, and as luck would have it, this one is narrated by Tom Hiddleston. Did I mention Tom Hiddleston!!! LOVE him. He was a perfect fit. This one is a collection of short stories containing "Octopussy", "The Property of a Lady", "The Living Daylights" and "007 in New York". Although the stories were written previously, they were not compiled into show more this collection until after Fleming's death. The audiobook has Hiddleston reading the first three stories, followed by a short interview with him talking about loving these books when he discovered them as a teenager - so great! The final story is read by Lucy Fleming (Ian Fleming's niece), and she does a good job of introducing it and narrating it. I like the contrast we see of the Bond in the books as compared to the Bond of the films - he is less suave, less perfect, and he doesn't always get the girl. This collection is a nice entry in the series where we get to see Bond in an almost offhand manner - just going about his business as an employee of the Secret Service. show less

I had no idea that this was a collection of four short stories but I sat down to read with some anticipation as I have enjoyed the other Ian Fleming Bond books. This is number 14 in the series according to Goodreads and this meant that I would be jumping from 7. I didn't think this would be an issue as all the Bond books can be read in any order and I was correct in this assumption.

There are four stories in this book, Octopussy, The Living Daylights, The Property of a Lady and 007 in New York. In truth, 007 in New York is only about 5 pages long and was published in a magazine so I wouldn't call it a short story really. 007 in New York is more of an aside and lets the book down a little bit as there is no tension built up. It's more show more like a bit of rant about why Fleming doesn't like New York.

The other three stories are great pieces of writing with The Property of a Lady being a particular favourite of mine. I think Fleming is at his best when writing about the Cold War and he slowly ratchets the tension up in this story. We also get to see the slightly softer side of Bond which is often overlooked, especially in the movies. I really enjoyed this collection of stories and it was ideal for a Sunday afternoon. show less