Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car by Ian Fleming, 2/5

A strange little story, with a spindly plot and uneven tone that is sometimes fanciful and sometimes much too serious for the children that are presumably its audience.  I did like the playful illustrations by John Burningham, which are quintessentially 1960s.  Surprisingly, there is very little resemblance to the 1968 film, which I love (though it turns out that what I love about it is probably Roald Dahl’s influence, not Fleming’s inspiration).

Why I read it: my sister thought I might enjoy it.