You Only Live Twice (novel) concerned with the actual business of a thriller", and his enjoyment was further diminished by what he considered "the grossness of Bond's manners and his schoolboy obscenities". Peter Duval Smith, in the "Financial Times", was in two minds about the book, believing on the one hand that "the background is excellent ... Mr. Fleming has caught the exact 'feel' of Japan", and on the other that "You Only Live Twice" "is not really a success and it's Bond's fault mainly. He just doesn't add up to a human being". Maggie Ross, in "The Listener" was also a little dissatisfied, writing
You Only Live Twice (novel) out. The central character in the novel is James Bond himself and the book's penultimate chapter contains his obituary, purportedly written for "The Times" by M. The obituary provides a number of biographical details of Bond's early life, including his parents' names and nationalities. Bond begins "You Only Live Twice" in a disturbed state, described by M as "going to pieces", following the death of his wife Tracy eight months previously. Academic Jeremy Black points out that it was a very different Bond to the character who lost Vesper Lynd at the end of "Casino Royale". Given a final chance