Shibumi by Trevanian

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:

1. Fuseki : The opening stage of a game when the entire board is taken into account.
2. Sabaki : An attempt to dispose of a troublesome situation in a quick and flexible way.
3. Seki A neutral situation in which neither side has the advantage. A "Mexican stand-off."
4. Uttegae A sacrifice play, a gambit.
5. Shicho A running attack.
6. 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.