From Russia with Love 

Directed by Terence Young

Starring Sean Connery

Premiered in London Oct. 10, 1963

Released in US theaters May 27, 1964

Currently available on many streaming services

The Mules opted to read two books in November: Ian Fleming’s From Russia with Love and The World Is Not Enough.

The latter is a biography of Fleming by Oliver Buckton, who happens to be a professor at a local university and a friend of SL, one of the founders of The Mules. It was fascinating. But I’m not going to review it here and now. Today, I want to review From Russia with Love, the book and the movie.

From Russia with Love was Fleming’s fourth or fifth book, but it was my first James Bond. Most of the other Mules had read the Bond novels when they were young. I read less than a half-dozen books before I went off to college. Fleming’s were not among them.

I have seen almost all the Bond movies, though. And because my exposure to 007 was through those movies, I was surprised to be introduced to a very different character in this novel. He was much less amazing and more human. That made him more complex and, therefore, more interesting. But I must admit, I was a little disappointed by how much less manly he was. You may have a different feeling.

What most surprised me was the way the story was written. The Bond movie plots are exciting and suspenseful and reasonably packed with action. That’s what I expected when I read From Russia with Love. But that’s not what I got. Most of the action is interior – occurring in the mind of the protagonist in the form of perceptions, memories, worries, etc.

Likewise, in the movies, James Bond is the quintessential action hero. He faces all the challenges and resolves all the problems. In the book, he is more of a modern anti-hero. Bad things happen to him. And he has all he can do to survive them.

Don’t let these complaints keep you from reading Ian Fleming. He is a superb writer. And here’s why I say that. With my ADD, I’ve never been a fan of long literary descriptions. I tend to lose interest after just a few sentences. In From Russia with Love, a significant portion of the text is given to description. Long paragraphs describing places and faces. But I was never bored with them. On the contrary, I was smitten. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the literary side of storytelling.