Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainger99
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“The latest publications of the books, written by Ian Fleming, will also reportedly contain a trigger warning notifying readers that they may find some of the storylines hurt their feelings. The warning will read “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace.””
Astonishing and disgusting. I read all or most of the James Bond books several times when I was in eighth and ninth grade. I had to sneak them into the house—which was easy because they were all thin paperbacks. Once I started reading one, I was so engrossed that I had to finish it that night, even if it was 2 am. I found the double-entendres hilarious—when I was fifteen. Racism? Because of the Chinese and Russian bad guys? My best friend loved Fu Manchu movies back then. That’s just they way things were. Is it right to try to rewrite history?
I taught a couple Bond novels in a college class called “The Thriller” that I taught for years, but I realized the writing wasn’t very good, and I found that sexism and racism and unlikely violence distasteful. It was also clear that the author had a penchant for sadism, or is it masochism? I think maybe Ian Fleming was a masochist. Bond always has to withstand a lot of pain. I don’t like pain. My students loved the novels, but they loved the Jack Reacher books even more. From a literary level, those aren’t as good as the Bond novels, in some ways, but they are also exciting. I was pleased that my students actually were reading fifty page assignments three times a week and loving them.
Why try to sanitize Bond? What stupidity. Apart from my students twenty years ago, who is forced to read the books? A large percentage of the novels on the best seller lists today offend me. I read the reviews. Then I just don’t read the books. Problem solved.