Shibumi by Trevanian
Shibui (渋い) (adjective), shibumi (渋み) (noun), or shibusa (渋さ)
(noun) are Japanese words which refer to a particular aesthetic of simple,
subtle, and unobtrusive beauty. Like other Japanese aesthetic terms, such as
iki and wabi-sabi, shibui can apply to a wide variety of subjects, not just art
or fashion.
The book outlays the story of a man of passion, a passion
for being human, where the phrase would mean that Pandora’s box didn’t include
this man or the apple that Adam ate did not have any effect on this particular
descendant of his or any other myth that can be thought of as an anti climax of
being human in that myth.
Nicholai Hel is a man who despises worldly pursuits and is
most rational of all human beings. The beauty of Trevanian’s story is that he tells a story rather than write a story. The reader is taken
through a whirlwind of emotions, barely concealed in an attempt at high literature and yet the book is
wonderfully acceptable. All through the book, your rational mind might tell you
that the author is a absolute dandy
writer and doesn’t know how to take care of the essence of the story.
Shibumi is a novel by Trevanian, a pseudonym of Rodney
William Whitaker, an American academic who remained mysterious throughout most
of his life. Shibumi is set in the 1970s and details the struggle between the
"Mother Company", a conspiracy of energy companies that secretly
controls much of the western world, and a highly-skilled assassin, Nicholaï
Hel.
The book contains 6 chapters of unequal length, each of them
bearing the name of a go game figure:
- Fuseki : The opening stage of a game when the entire board is taken into account.
- Sabaki : An attempt to dispose of a troublesome situation in a quick and flexible way.
- Seki A neutral situation in which neither side has the advantage. A "Mexican stand-off."
- Uttegae A sacrifice play, a gambit.
- Shicho A running attack.
- Tsuru no Sugomori "The confinement of the cranes to their nest," a graceful maneuver in which the enemy stones are captured.
One of the true tests of finding out the lifespan of a book,
not the day when the leafs are tattered and letters barely readable, not the
carbon dated age of the book, rather the age mentioned is the time span before
it may go into oblivion without a single reprint for a significant period of
time (Why I am saying significant period of time is because books like phoenix
might be resurrected from ashes, but that will be counted as a separate life),
now this lifespan can be found out by trying to recollect from memory the entire
book on a one fine morning. This is exactly what I am doing now. It is a fine
morning in Bangalore, and I do not remember anything about Shibumi right now.
Rather the hero of Eiger sanction is coming to my mind. Slowly the picture of
Hel as a young boy comes up. Sketchy pictures of Hel in occupied Japan, his
trainings in Go, his work at the American intelligence and none more. There was
a girl involved. Why was he so embittered? Definitely there has to be a girl
involved. That plays a crucial part in the entire plot. Somewhere he pays back
to the guy who made him like this.
Now since it has come back, let me get back to the main
course of this post. The book is more about a way of thinking of the author
that is based on a very healthy respect for Japanese life and a measure of skepticism
for American life, one wonders! Hel is born a Russian. His ways are Japanese.
His mother was a survivor. She never took care of him, but a Japanese General
who was his mother’s consort took care of him. Hel loved a girl. He is
experienced, a master of sex. His games of sex are detailed in a very masochist
manner. Again one gets to wonder about the author or his targeted audience.
What is he writing or who is he writing for? These should not be answered in
black and white, hence just the questions.
One
major event in the book, which would be hard for a person of lesser
stomach to understand would be killing of his father-like figure, the
Japanese General. I found this to be the most important aspect of
character of Nicholai Hel which is brought out in full fury in the
entire book only in this instance. Every other character receives only a
part of his full nature.
Another character in the book is a friend of Hel. A very
impossible friendship, because the two friends are in extremes of the male
spectrum held by a thin strand of respect based on mutual admiration of others
skill, and the need for that skill for each person’s survival. Can these be
termed as cold or selfish? Throughout the life of two characters, they might
have thought very minimal about the other and never considered this to be a
cozy friendship. By the end of the book, Trevanian actually makes the
characters to behave contrary to their nature. The friendship is found through
sacrifice and revenge. Questions are answered on humanness of every single
person in the book.
Shibumi is a very good book, for a light reading, to make
sure that there is exotic imagery still alive in your brain’s deepest corners.
The imagery of Go, martial arts and the whole plots of revenge makes it a racy
read without giving you a moment to think back and ask yourself whether this is
really connected to the real world. Ultimately, this book stood in my shelf for
a few days after which I gave away to a needier person.
More insightful book reviews may be found here.
