You Only Live Twice

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Title You Only Live Twice

First edition cover - published by Jonathan Cape.
Author	Ian Fleming
Cover artist	Richard Chopping (Jonathan Cape ed.)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	James Bond
Genre(s)	Spy novel
Publisher	Jonathan Cape
Released	March 16, 1964
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Followed by	The Man with the Golden Gun

You Only Live Twice is the twelfth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. First published by Jonathan Cape on March 16, 1964, it holds the distinction of being the last novel written by Fleming to be published in his lifetime. The novel The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) and the short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights were later published posthumously.

You Only Live Twice is the concluding chapter in what is known as the "Blofeld Trilogy." The trilogy began with Thunderball, and after the interlude novel The Spy Who Loved Me, resumed with On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It marks the final appearance of Ernst Stavro Blofeld and references to his criminal organisation, SPECTRE in Fleming's novels.

In 1966, it was adapted by writer Roald Dahl as the fifth entry in the official EON Productions James Bond film series and first released theatrically on June 12, 1967. It starred Sean Connery in his fifth appearance as Commander James Bond 007. Shortly after release, Connery stepped down from the role leading to the hiring of George Lazenby for 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Connery later returned officially one last time in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). You Only Live Twice is the first Bond movie to greatly deviate from the source material. Other than the Japanese setting and several characters, the two stories are very different.

The title is often mistaken as being the work of a Japanese poet named Matsuo Bashō; however, the unique title comes from a haiku that James Bond wrote for his friend Tiger Tanaka. It is also mentioned in the novel that it isn't a haiku at all, that in actuality it is a failed attempt by Bond after being taught the basics for creating a haiku.

In the epigraph and later explained in the novel, the haiku is listed as being "after Basho", meaning written in the poet's style.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters in You Only Live Twice 3 Trivia 4 Publication history 5 Comic strip adaptation 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot summary

James Bond, his career fading after the wedding-day murder of his wife Tracy Bond, is promoted by M to a special branch of MI6. M was actually going to offer him dismissal from the secret service, but later changed his mind as a "last chance" opportunity for Bond to shape up. Bond is subsequently re-numbered as 7777 ("four sevens"), and assigned an impossible mission: Convincing the head of Japan's secret intelligence service, Tiger Tanaka, to provide information about an informant within the Soviet Union, information referred to as Magic 44. In exchange, Tanaka asks Bond to kill Dr. Guntram Shatterhand, who operates a politically embarrassing "Garden of Death" where people go to commit suicide, whether they want to or not. Bond accidentally discovers that Shatterhand is his nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and gladly takes the mission, keeping his knowledge of Blofeld a secret so that he can exact his revenge. Aided by former Japanese movie star Kissy Suzuki, and, with make up and training, James Bond learns to live and think as a Japanese in order to penetrate Shatterhand's castle. Bond is renamed by Tiger while on this mission as Taro Todoroki.

Bond ultimately exacts revenge on Blofeld in a sword fighting duel, but, on escaping, suffers a head injury leaving him an amnesiac living as a Japanese fisherman with Kissy, while the rest of the world believes him dead. While Bond's health improves Kissy conceals his true identity so as to keep him forever to herself. Kissy eventually became pregnant and hoped that Bond would propose marriage after she found the right time to tell him (as far as the book says, she didn't tell him). At the novel's end, however, Bond finds a paper slip with the name Vladivostok written on it, making him wonder if the far-off Russian city is the key to his missing memory.

At book's end, is an obituary written by M for Commander James Bond, C.M.G., R.N.V.R., featuring the majority of his biography, per Fleming. It includes his parents' names, their fate, and Bond's Royal Navy service. Most notably, the obituary refers to a series of sensational novels about his exploits — a post-modern/metafictional reference to Fleming's work; this gave rise to rumours that James Bond might have been based upon a real person. The book, James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 is based upon this premise. Additionally, the same chapter includes an epitaph by Mary Goodnight (M.G.).

[edit] Characters in You Only Live Twice

• James Bond -

• M -

• Ernst Stavro Blofeld -

• Tiger Tanaka -

• Kissy Suzuki -

• Irma Bunt -

• Dikko Henderson -

[edit] Trivia

• This is the only Fleming novel in which Bond is given a designation other than 007. He was never again referred to as 7777, and by the next novel had returned to double-oh status.

• David Niven is specifically mentioned by Kissy Suzuki as the only respectable man in Hollywood. Niven later played "Sir James Bond" in the 1967 spoof, Casino Royale. Niven had also been considered for the role officially for Dr. No in 1962.

• Bond quips to Blofeld that his plot should be made into a Broadway theatre musical, set by Noel Coward. Coward was a long-time friend of Ian Fleming's, and they both spent the latter part of their lives living in Jamaica. Coward had also been invited to play Dr. Julius No in the first Bond film, but had declined.

• The first volume of The Moneypenny Diaries by Samantha Weinberg (published under a pseudonym) covers some of the events occurring between On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice.

• It has been suggested that Fleming had chosen to retire the Bond series with this novel, but later changed his mind and wrote The Man with the Golden Gun.

• Fleming did not resolve the issue of Kissy's pregnancy in the remaining Bond stories he wrote before his death. In 1997, Raymond Benson wrote a short story sequel to You Only Live Twice, titled "Blast from the Past," although the story falls into neither Gardner's or Benson's Bond continuum. It features the first and only appearance of Bond's son. It has been rumored that one of the conditions behind the Fleming estate's granting the James Bond license to John Gardner was that any resulting offspring would not be mentioned.

• SPECTRE returned in John Gardner's Bond series, first appearing in For Special Services (1982), and later Role of Honour (1984) and Nobody Lives For Ever (1986).

• In the early 1990s the novel was adapted into a 90 minute radio play for BBC Radio 4 with Michael Jayston playing James Bond.

[edit] Publication history

[edit] Comic strip adaptation

Main article: James Bond comic strips

Ian Fleming's novel was adapted as a daily comic strip published in the British Daily Express newspaper, and syndicated worldwide. The adaptation ran from May 18, 1965 to January 8, 1966, was written by Henry Gammidge and illustrated by John McLusky. It was the final James Bond strip for Gammidge, while McClusky returned to illustrating the strip in the 1980s; the strip was reprinted by Titan Books in 2004.

In the segment featuring Bond's obituary there is a reference to "sensationalistic novels" written about Bond's adventures (as in the novel's plot summary, above), wherein artist McLusky uses actual covers of Fleming's books.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ian Fleming bibliography of first editions - illustrated