The Spy Who Loved Me
Ian Fleming

Vivienne Michel speeds down the winding highways of the Adirondacks on her brand new Vespa, trying to leave her old life behind. A quick stop at the Dreamy Pines Motor Court leads to a two week detour until Viv's alone in the vacant tourist trap, waiting for the owner to arrive and close up for the winter season. But when the owner doesn't show, two hardened mobsters do. And just when Viv thinks the scenic destination will be her burial plot, a charismatic Englishman arrives at the door with a flat tire, asking to stay the night.
After his brush with SPECTRE, James Bond takes to the road to clear his head. Lost in his thoughts and following the same peaceful route as Viv, he arrives at the Dreamy Pines, where he soon discovers there's no time to think, there's only time for action.

This is the most disappointing novel of the entire James Bond series and if you skip it, you really won't be missing anything out of the series. In fact, it's barely a James Bond book at all.

The first three quarters of this novel revolve around Viv Michel. While she's traveling trying to leave the past of two failed relationships (the first guy dumped her right after she was willing to have sex with him, the second after she got pregnant even though she had an abortion for him) behind her. First of all, the past relationships she had and ways she behaved in them (especially when written by a male author) seem to come across as written from the point of view of someone who is not only misogynistic, but also really doesn't understand women or their point of view when around men. The line that all women have some sort of rape fantasy is also not only completely untrue, but reeks of sexist and the odd fantasies of a depraved male.

More of the novel continues on as Viv takes on a job at a motel and when it closes down is told to stay there until the owner comes to shut things down. She does so and the night before the owner is to arrive, two mobsters come and say that they are "insurance assessors" when they are actually there to kill her, burn down the place so that the owner can collect the insurance money, and make it look like she accidentally set the place on fire.

Eventually, James Bond shows up, but the novel continues on from the point of view from the girl. Of course, she needs saving and he is there to save her and when all is said and done she sleeps with him and he leaves the next morning before even waking her up. She's left starry eyed and thinking of him as her hero and some romantic man who no woman will ever capture.

The book barely has Bond in it, is all in Viv's point of view, is even more misogynistic than the rest of the series (which normally can be chalked up to the time in which these were written, but as this is from the woman's point of view it just goes too far), and really isn't needed at all for anything enriching in the series.

I would not recommend this book. In fact, if you're reading the series, I'd say skip it unless you know it won't bug you.

My rating: Two out of five snails.