Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (Epub)

Description

Fleming developed the James Bond character in Goldfinger, presenting him as a more complex individual than in the previous novels. In this Bond not only protects the British interests rather takes an international role of protecting the American interests as well . The main villain of the novel is Auric Goldfinger( who has a fascination for gold including having his women in Gold), who is also suspected by MI6 of being connected to SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence organisation. As well as establishing the background to the smuggling operation, Bond uncovers a much larger plot: Goldfinger plans to steal the gold reserves of the United States from Fort Knox.

The book has other interesting characters like Pussy Galore (the leader of a gang of lesbian burglars),Tilly and OddJobs.

The book was widely adapted in theatrical and other production including the Hollywood movie in the James Bond Franchisee with Sean Connery in the lead.

User’s Reviews

From Library Journal The allure of James Bond was best described by Raymond Chandler, who insisted that 007 is “what every man would like to be and what every woman would like to have between her sheets.” Who can argue with that? This month marks the 40th anniversary of the film release of Dr. No, which was the first Bond adventure to make the big screen, and two big coffee-table books are being published to honor the occasion (LJ 10/1/02, p. 96). Shockingly, Fleming’s original novels have gone out of print, but Penguin here reproduces a trio of the British secret agent’s early outings, released in 1952, 1958, and 1959, respectively, sporting stylish cover art. These stories were racy for the nifty Fifties but are quite tame by today’s standards. Still, they can be fun. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Review Goldfinger is the most preposterous specimen yet displayed in Mr. Fleming’s museum of superfiends…Maniacally readable…excellent pieces of descriptive writing.– “Observer (London)”Goldfinger marks a turning point in the series…James Bond’s character becomes more introspective as Fleming discloses his hero’s thoughts more often, thus enabling the reader to dig deeper into Bond’s feelings.– “Raymond Benson, author of High Time to Kill” –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ I’m reading some of my childhood favorites aloud with my teenaged son. We did Dr. No, which he loved. Goldfinger is holding his interest, but it’s not the same. Fleming knows a lot about a lot of things, and in this one, he can’t resist proving it to you. So, there’s a golf game. All eighteen holes. Seriously. Each one is described. Then there’s the long section where Bond tracks Goldfinger’s Rolls down the back roads of France. You hear about all the turns. He name- drops hotels and restaurants. It’s just a bit much. Still, it’s Bond, and worth checking out, if only to remind yourself how much more realistic the books were than the silliness of the movies (Goldfinger wasn’t that silly a movie, but it was early). The racism and sexism are hard to ignore for modern readers, and I have to say that I’m coming to the conclusion that Fleming was probably not a person I’d have liked much. The rudimentary spycraft stuff (hidden cameras!) is fun. Still, I don’t think I’d rate this as one of his best, in spite of its famous title.

⭐ Ian Fleming can write a heck of an adventure story. He has a knack for pulling a reader through outrageous situations and putting a heck of a spin on even mundane happenings. I honestly never expected to be enthralled with the written description of a golf game, but even with the anachronistic language I found the duel between Goldfinger and Bond a page turner. I will note that the sequence of events in the latter half of the novel feels unlikely and stretch believability far more than any prior Bond adventure. We go from a fairly strait forward escapade giving a rich twat his comeuppance to an unlikely plot to destroy the American economy in a few pages. The character of Goldfinger thus becomes the epitome of the Bond Villain who mysteriously keeps the agent along for a ride instead of ending things with a bullet.The problem with Bond is the problem of colonial worldview. As with his thoughts on Africans and the Chinese, Bond finds Koreans to be subhuman. Every depiction of a Korean in the novel is riddled with animal imagery, and the characters oblige with little compunction for human life. We further discover Bond’s view of “pansies” and Lesbians in “Goldfinger.” Evidently they are a sad result of the vote and equality for women. Gender roles becoming all mixed up. To a man like Bond, the lesbian Pussy Galore just needs a “real man” to return to the side of the angels, and the resulting notch on his bedpost marking her “conversion” would be the equivalent achievement of Goldfinger successfully robbing Fort Knox.This was not so much a genre potboiler as a literary sensation in its time. It created one of the most enduring media franchises. It is instructive to see how a jetsetting Brit of the 50s felt about the world his peers and admirers were building around him. A world that provides most of the foundations of our reality today.

⭐ Having only seen the films over the years, I had no idea what the books would be like. They are thoroughly entertaining! They definitely a product of their time and place, Granted, the occasional racism, misogyny, and thinly veiled contempt that the protagonist /author have for anyone who is not a straight, white male, can be off putting. Its still a fun read, if one can keep in mind, that it is truly fiction and fantasy of a primarily “hetro” nature, and not to be taken seriously….

⭐ The seventh novel in the Ian Fleming James Bond series is quite good, while the big-screen cinematic adaptation is only marginally superior. Unlike some 007 escapades, “Goldfinger” was rather audacious for its time. The Bank of England is losing gold, and the Bank has determined through its own investigation that Goldfinger is the wealthiest man in England. The problem is that Goldfinger is smuggling vast amounts out of the country to India where he can sell it for greater profits. The British Secret Service dispatches Bond to shadow Goldfinger. Interestingly enough, Bond has encountered Goldfinger before he is assigned to follow him. At the outset of the novel, Bond is sitting in the Miami Airport Terminal, reflecting on having killed a Mexican drug thug when Mr. DuPont approaches him out of the blue. DuPont remembers Bond from their meeting in France in the first Bond novel “Casino Royal” and asks him to help him with a private matter. DuPont is being taken to the cleaners by a man who never seems to lose, and he wants to know if Bond can figure out how his adversary is beating him so consistently at cards. This sounds a little like M’s request in “Moonraker” when he wants Bond to figure out how Sir Hugo Drax has won so much without losing. Bond discovers that Goldfinger is cheating DuPont because he has a beautiful girl in the hotel room above them looking at DuPont’s cards and relaying the information to Goldfinger by means of a rake hearing aid. Bond shatters Goldfinger’s spree. Anyway, Goldfinger plans the crime of the century, takes Bond hostage, and forces him to work with him or suffer the penalty of death. Goldfinger wants to knock over Fort Knox and invites the major crime bosses in America to join him. The heist is incredible, and it is different from the one in the Sean Connery movie. Goldfinger’s Korean bodyguard Oddjob is in the book and he has his deadly bowler hat. Fleming writes concisely, but the golf game between 007 and he is for golf enthusiasts only. Yes, the lesbian crime gal Pussy Galore appears, but she runs an army of chat burglars instead of a flying circus as in the movie. The novel “Goldfinger” with its ambitious caper ranks as one of the more imaginative Bond novels. I have read it three times now and still love it.

⭐ With ‘Goldfinger’ Ian Fleming raised the stakes for villains with absurd memorable names to match physical qualities that also set them apart from law-abiding people. Golden-hued Goldfinger, human sledgehammer Oddjob and Pussy Galore (more about her later) ensured that much of the general public that hadn’t read a James Bond book would at least be conversant with many of the Fleming trademarks much as those who have never read Charles Dickens can merely hear the names Ebenezer Scrooge or Martin Chuzzlewit or Fagan and acquire a general impression of the tone of his work.‘Goldfinger’ begins promisingly enough. Bond is stranded in Miami and meets a man he barely remembers who witnessed his ‘Casino Royale’ triumph over SMERSH embezzler Le Chiffre in the first Bond book. This man unwittingly introduces him to his next diabolical villain. It quickly becomes apparent that Goldfinger is not only the richest man in England already but possesses a pathological lust for gold and will lie, cheat and steal to acquire more of it.It is not surprising that Goldfinger is another SMERSH operative (actually more of a freelance criminal that merely sees them as another way station on his route to even more spectacular wealth). When Bond reports back to M in London he is informed that Goldfinger has been surreptitiously ferreting gold out of England, melting it down and recasting it in his Swiss factory. Until the point that Bond is captured and strapped down with a chainsaw heading between his legs the novel is on pretty secure footing.Suddenly the plot takes an unconvincing turn. Goldfinger is yet another ‘talking villain’ who makes the fatal mistake of sparing Bond’s life, thinking that he can bend Bond’s will to serve his nefarious purposes. Not only has Goldfinger passed up a handful of opportunities to simply execute Bond and go on about his plans but he stops to explain those plans, fueling Bond’s survivalist mind with his own plans for escape. Goldfinger’s master crime is a massive heist of all the gold in Ft. Knox. It sounds absurd and no amount of Fleming’s clever and eloquent exposition ever convinces me that such a plan could ever work, even in the outrageous universe of James Bond.The last quarter of the novel is chaotic. It is as though Fleming had taken his time unfolding a brilliant setup, realized he was closing in on his word limit and frantically wrapped up the story somewhat messily. His gift for describing environments and how they figure in with villain’s scheme and how Bond defeats villain and escapes relatively unscathed abandons him here. Juxtaposition is choppy and Fleming speeds from one unfinished action piece to the next. Goldfinger and his men are embarking on Ft. Knox. Is the population of Ft. Knox already dead? Goldfinger revealed to Bond that the substance he slipped into the water supply was deadly, not merely a strong sleeping potion. Suddenly the cavalry arrives in the form of U.S. troops and trusty C.I.A. ally Felix Leiter. Has the day been saved? Not quite so fast. Bond is heading home on B.O.A.C. airlines and suddenly realizes Goldfinger, Oddjob and Pussy have hijacked the plane. Huge Oddjob is sucked out the window that Bond has shattered (were airplane windows so easily broken even in 1959?) like a massive tube of toothpaste. Pussy decides to ally herself with Bond and Bond chokes the life out of Goldfinger. Altogether a fairly quick, messy resolution.This is actually the rare instance in which the film actually improved on the novel. The unfolding of the plot in the film was far more believable and logical (within the context of the Bond universe). Homosexuality (specifically lesbianism) is addressed in the novel through the common view that it was an aberration. Pussy’s conversion to heterosexuality by the irresistible James Bond is no more convincing in the novel than it is in the film. Pussy is a paper thin character, uttering ‘Hello Handsome’ and Brooklynese wise girl criminal clichés before suddenly deciding she will aid Bond. The memorable image of the gold-painted girl is not dramatized but recounted by the girl’s vengeful sister.‘Goldfinger’ is a seminal James Bond book primarily because it serves as a gateway to the world of Bond and possesses all of the characteristics that most people associate with the series. As a novel, it is flawed and messy, certainly in relation to its two brilliant predecessors, ‘From Russia With Love’ and ‘Dr. No.’ It provided filmmakers with the raw material to make a superior film that would translate the books into film while solidifying a formula that certainly possesses longevity.

⭐ GOLDFINGER has everything that made the James Bond films of the 1960s so popular: an out landish, but plausible high tech, high stakes plot involving a larger than life caper being perpetrated by a brilliant, larger than life villain, the high living , devil may care defender of truth, justice and the Western way, James Bond. If you like the Bond movies, as I do, I think you will enjoy this novel

⭐ I am working my way through all the James Bond books by Ian Fleming and having read 6 of them so far, this is my favorite.I was raised on James Bond films for most of my life (Live and Let Die was my first), but never read the books. It took me a little while to get used to the significant difference between cinema Bond and literary Bond. The best way I can describe the difference is the Bond in the books acts much more like a spy in the Cold War genre sense. By that I mean he is frequently using guile, subterfuge and infiltration in the books, far more than he does in the movies where he is more like the action hero “fly in the ointment.” Have no fear, there is still plenty of action in the books, but that usually comes after Bond has positioned himself to be working on the inside of the villain’s world, I am a big fan of John LeCarre and Len Deighton and their Cold War espionage masterpieces. I had not realized how close the James Bond books, the ones actually by Ian Fleming anyway, mirror that style of methodical espionage and counter espionage.This particular book is actually one of the closest to the movie that I’ve read so far. It contains all the same characters you’ve come to know and love including Oddjob, Pussy Galore (in a dramatically different role than the film) and, of course, Goldfinger himself. The plot is very similar as is the progression of the film. Most of the changes made for the film are oriented toward getting in more action and suspense, i.e. the crotch laser which is not in the book.It is a pretty quick read. One odd side effect I’ve had from reading these books is a longing for a return to the world that could sustain such black and white differences between good and evil.Great fun and highly recommended.

⭐ I’ve been reading and listening to the James Bond books in order. First I read and listen to the novel, then watch the movie. It’s been a very entertaining experience.The Goldfinger movie follows the book’s plot with some subtle and some not so subtle differences. However, the movie is an excellent adaptation of the novel.The character development is much better in the book. It got both the Kindle book and the Audible recording. It was a great listen after reading the book so many years ago. When there is a really good scene, I’ll break away from the recording and read it first. Then come back to the recording. It really gives you an interesting perspective on how your brain processes the written vs. spoken word for the same story. I’ll probably listen again in a year or so. It was that good.I feel it’s good to get a couple of the very early Bond books read or listened to, before reading Goldfinger. It helps you understand the Bond character much better. Fleming only brushes lightly on Bond’s background in each subsequent book, so it’s nice to have the perspective of the early titles to fill in the mental blanks.Bond, James Bond….. What an iconic line!

⭐ Goldfinger is one of the best remembered Bond films, and rightly so–Auric Goldfinger and Oddjob are nasty villains, the Fort Knox caper is so complex and deliriously impossible that its near success is exciting, and Sean Connery as 007 is in top form. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that Goldfinger the movie was based on one of Fleming’s better novels. The novel is much different from the movie, though, unlike some of its immediate predecessors, like Dr. No and From Russia With Love, the film adaptations of which followed the novels fairly closely.Bond is en route to London via Miami and New York when his flight is delayed. A chance encounter with a Mr. Du Pont, who had sat beside Bond at the Casino Royale so long ago, entangles him with Auric Goldfinger, a seedy millionaire with a penchant for cheating at cards. Bond smells a crook, and wouldn’t you know it, upon his return to London he winds up investigating him–and beating him at golf. From London Bond travels to Switzerland, teams up with a girl who has a score to settle with Goldfinger, and after being captured and nearly sawn in half, finds himself actually working for Goldfinger on his latest plot–breaking into Fort Knox.Goldfinger features a lot of globe-trotting, even for James Bond. In the other novels he usually travels to a particular place–Jamaica, Instanbul, New York, the Riviera–and stays put. In Goldfinger, he travels to Mexico, Miami, London, Sandwich, Geneva, New York, and Fort Knox. The rapid-fire change of direction and the suspenseful build-up of the plots–Bond vs. Goldfinger, Goldfinger vs. Fort Knox, etc.–makes this a rushing, breathtaking adventure.Recommended.

⭐ Auric Goldfinger is the richest man in England but that is not good enough for him. His ego drives him to get more money for himself and his precious organization, SMERSH. He intends to be the richest man in the world because he feels that it is his destiny and that he his smart enough to achieve that goal. James Bond’s mission is to figure out what Goldfinger is doing to acquire his money and ultimately stop his evil plans….This book is one of the Ian Fleming classics that just provides evidence of how good of a writer he really was. The story line just flows and it holds your interest from beginning to end. Fleming had a technique to his writing that he could get the intrigue and suspense across in the book without writing pages and pages of filler that today’s writers seem motivated to do.The story is a bit old fashion in that it was written so many years ago but it is still a beautifully written book. I enjoyed all of the villains and James Bond of course is just James Bond. The book is different from the movie and for that alone is it worth reading. If you are an avid reader and like James Bond stories then this is a book that you should read. I recommend it to you.

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