In defense of James Bond

So I started reading On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and I felt vaguely embarassed for doing so. Bond and the novels have been reviled and disdained by the literati, and I am sorry to say that this worried me. Let's review some of the common complaints and see why they are overstated.

First the prose. Yes it is overblown and ridiculous. Let's say Bond is trying to load a damaged weapon before a baddie arrives. It might go like this "Bond gave the guard four minutes to make it across the sands. Four! It would have to be enough. He tried to clear the barrel, but broke the cleaner. Slowly, deliberately he eased in another. Got it! Now where were the bullets? Only two! Old Wickham from the firing range would be looking over Bond now, steady, steady, fire!"

This to me is the worst of the indictments. When an action element makes it way, it can seem a little silly, but it ends up being nicely descriptive. If anything will chase you off I think it will be this.

Then there is the fetishization of the elite objects. Bond must have the best of everything, car, weapon, clothes or anything else. That's fine, but we have to hear about it constantly. It's a bit much to believe that one person knows enough to judge every consumer product in existence. The exent of the silliness is best seen when the Bond refers to a certain hair care product as the "prince of shampoos."

Again, this might irritate but it will more likely bring a chuckle.

Female readers might want to go beserker when they see all the sexism. It's like the movies, but more so, since we see inside Bond's head. He is always looking to get a little play, even when the action is hot. While I may frown at some of his actions, this seems an accurate description of the male mind at work.

So I find the basic complaints against Bond to be weak. Since the story is key, it may be less worth reading the books if you have already seen the companion film. I've neglected the Lazenby Bond, so this story was new to me. And it was fun.