November 2021 Recommended Reading and Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

First off, I apologize for putting this off for so long. I just let other things get in the way.

So we're just about done with the year now, and another winter is just around the corner. For this November, I thought I might recommend some intriguing thrillers of espionage, mistaken identity, and high adventure; they might not exactly be Thanksgiving material, of course, but I at least hope they'll take your mind off of any negligible worries.

Reading: Casino Royale (1953) by Ian Fleming

This slim volume introduced the world to the legendary secret agent James Bond in a tale more grounded in realism than is normally expected by those familiar only with the film series. In it, MI6 chief codenamed "M" assigns Bond to attend a fabulous casino in the French resort town of Royale-les-Eaux under the guise of a rich Jamaican playboy, with the goal of engaging the mysterious individual known only as "Le Chiffre" - really a noted agent of the Soviet counter-intelligence organization SMERSH - in a game of baccarat, with the express purpose of bankrupting him and thus forcing his superiors to dispose of him; he will be assisted in these measures by fellow MI6 operative Vesper Lynd as well as agents from both American and French intelligence. But, of course, nothing is as simple as it seems in the end. Following in the tradition of British adventure novels with dashes of hardboiled detective fiction mixed in, the novel remains a quite engaging read, a watershed in the spy novel at large.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Casino-Royale-Novel-James-Bond/dp/006329852X/
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Casino-Royale-Novel-James-Bond-ebook/dp/B0B395Y5RQ/



Viewing: North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

Written to be the biggest Hitchcock film ever made, this is considered one of the esteemed director's best films, following several trademark formulas with panache and craftsmanship. An inopportune moment causes foreign spy Philip Vandamm (James Mason) to mistake advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) for an FBI agent named George Kaplan, and Thornhill's subsequent attempts to rectify the matter only inadvertently end up incriminating him further, leading him to become a fugitive from both the law and Vandamm's henchmen. Finding a sympathetic ear in Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), he eventually finds that, due to the circumstances, he may just be instrumental in bringing the enemy operation to justice. Featuring several iconic scenes (including a chase through a field involving a crop duster and an intense finale on Mount Rushmore), a rousing score from Bernard Herrmann, a wonderful supporting cast, and a stylistic opening credit sequence courtesy of graphic designer Saul Bass, it remains a favorite of many moviegoers that should be essential viewing for all film buffs.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/North-Northwest-Ernest-Lehman/dp/B0045HCJ9E/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1636677849&sr=8-2
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/North-Northwest-Blu-ray-Alfred-Hitchcock/dp/B014IAWFU0/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1636677849&sr=8-2
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/North-Northwest-Cary-Grant/dp/B0093Q8W0C/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=north+by+northwest&qid=1636677849&sr=8-1


Again, I apologize for my lateness. I hope you all have enough time to take my recommendations in. See you next month!