I wonder if Gardner (hopefully re-)read YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE shortly before writing this one. Both books have their floral element, both lay on the castle-dragon-slay symbolism pretty thick (YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE especially, NEVER SEND FLOWERS especially especially), one of the method of killing in FLOWERS, the Japanese poison fish, reads like something out of TWICE, and at one point in TWICE Irma Bunt refers to Blofeld’s castle and garden as a “disneyland of death”.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that NEVER SEND FLOWERS is “YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE as farce”, but my (less amusing than yours) interpretation of the Disneyland setting is as a critique of travelouge and of the conciet of the well off Western traveller and their tendancy to view their destinations more or less as amusement parks made especially to entertain them, with their “amazing sights” and “big attractions” and “fun things to see and do”. Have we made but disneylands out of other people’s homes and customs? If so, perhaps it’s in line at the real Disneyland where we would in fact “find ourselves”.
Anyway, much food for thought in this piece as always (celebrity obsession, mass entertainment, etc). This and particularly the DEATH IS FOREVER 007th actually made me want to revisit the books (so it’s your fault)!