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James Bond travels to Istanbul in From Russia With Love, where he has been sent to meet a Russian cipher clerk. She claims to have fallen in love with 007?s photograph and has promised to hand the Russian?s top secret code machine if they send 007 to meet her.
The beginning of the book gets rather stuck in a rut, while Ian Fleming describes how the Russians came to setting up the plot. However, once Bond is in Istanbul things really get going and the descriptions really transport you there.
When he arrives he is ably assisted by the local Secret Service representative, Kerim. While he is something of a rouge, he also treats Bond well and they become friends. Showing him around the city, Kerim also visits an old gypsy friend with 007.
Unfortunately the night is not good: two girls must fight to the death over a man they both love, but they are welcomed to the gypsy gamp all the same where James Bond drinks raki and eats ragout. However, even that doesn?t go to plan as the fight is interrupted by an attack from the Bulgars!
The writing while Bond is in Turkey gives a real flavour of what would have been a quite exotic location when the book was written in the 1950s. However, that changes when Bond and the girl board the Orient Express, where they spend most of the rest of the book heading towards Paris.
The Orient Express has been used as a device for many years, including Agatha Christie?s Murder on the Orient Express. Here about what was in reality quite a cramped way to travel we experience the supposed luxury - remember that this was before people could hop across continents about jet planes.
These scenes aboard the train become quite claustrophobic as Bond faces his nemesis. Trapped in his cabin with the chief executioner of SMERSH, James Bond is counting down the moments until he hears the retort of the gun that is hidden in the spine of a book; War And Peace.
The James Bond books are not like the films in this respect; he doesn?t have the kind of gadgets that get him out of trouble and in fact, it is often the villains who have gadgets that get him into trouble!
From Russia With Love was on the list of JFK?s top 10 favourite books - or at least was listed in his top ten books by a publicist. It was the publicity that Ian Fleming received from this that tipped the balance and allowed the James Bond books to follow the success of the UK and take the American market by storm.
Source: http://www.public-speaking-topics.com/wordpress/from-russia-with-love-recommended-by-jfk.html
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