Kitap mistik kavramların etkisiyle beni kendime çekti. Bilinçli farkındalık yolundayken kitap beni buldu @birlikte_okurlar sayesinde uzak doğu bu konuların babası (bizim kültür için de mesnevi ).
Genel olarak GO oyunu mantığına göre şekillenen kitap, kurgusu, kahramanları ile felsefeye, politaya, siyasi ve sosyal olaylara dokunması ayrı etkileyici unsur.
Son olarak kitaptan bir alıntı yapmadan duramayacağım " şibumi; sıradan, olağan görünümlerin altında yatan gizli üstünlükler..."

I don't even know where to start with this book. There is so much in its covers. VERY highly recommended.

Tam bir polisiye,iyi bir polisiye. Beni çok etkiledi hayatıma kısa kısa Notlar aldım diyemeyeceğim. Ama bir film izledim gibi. hikayenin sırrı KAYBETMEK. Hel kayıpların acısıyla bize etkiyi , göndermeyi yapıyor. Değer biliniz efendim !!!

Sayfa. 280-281

İnsanı en mutlu eden şey, ihtiyaçlarıyla varlıkları arasında bir denge olmasıdır. Bütün sorun, bu dengenin nasıl sağlanacağı. İnsan bunu belki varlıklarını yükseltip ihtiyaçlarının düzeyine çıkararak yapabilir ama bu, budalalık olur. Bunu yapmak, arada bir sürü doğa dışı şeyler yapmayı da gerektirir. Pazarlık etmek gibi, çalışmak gibi, çabalamak gibi… Öyleyse? Öyleyse akıllı bir adam dengeyi, ihtiyaçlarını azaltarak, yani onları varlıklarının düzeyine indirerek sağlar. Bunu yapmanın en iyi yolu, bedava olan şeylerin değerini bilmektir. Dağların, kahkahanın, şiirin, bir dostun verdiği şarabın...

In short, “Shibumi” features Nicholai Hel, half Russian, half German brought up as Japanese. Hel is a master assassin, a fabulous lover, an adventurer, and much more. On the other side of the story, there is the “Mother Company.” An organization of energy companies, which control the CIA, FBI and the Government in general. Having said that, “Shibumi” is much more than your regular thriller; it has deep insight into Eastern philosophy and life in general. This book is by far the best thriller (although I shrink at describing this book as such since it is much more) I have ever read.

Bu kitabı okumakta neden bu kadar geciktim? Kendime çok kızıyorum.

Sizi seviyorum Bay Hel.

Harika bir roman.

Hoooly Christ what a masterpiece! Completely fascinating mixture of thriller, parody, comedy, action novel, intrigue, conspiracy... there's even complete package of everything that makes ninja novels what they are, except the larger than life character isn't a factual ninja. Still, he's deep into martial arts and spirituality, commands sixth sense very similar to haragei, is a master of Tantra whether he knows it or not, draws and polishes his wisdom in the ancient game of Go (oh delight, there's even something similar to chess in there!), and there's aways a female of sublime beauty around (one described as "part asian, part black, and part cock"). It's one wonder after another. In fact, in its basic premises it's very similar to Nicholas Linnear series by Eric Van Lustbader, which is one of my favorites. So yeah. One of the best books ever.

The reading public back in 1979 picked this book up thinking they were reading a best selling thriller novel, little did they know they were going to be exposed to a Trevanian philosophy called SHIBUMI.

n  n

“SHIBUMI has to do with great refinement underlying commonplace
appearances. It is a statement so correct that it does not have to be bold, so poignant it does not have to be pretty, so true it does not have to be real.
SHIBUMI is understanding, rather than knowledge. Eloquent silence. In
demeanor, it is modesty without prudency. In art, where the spirit of
SHIBUMI takes the form of SABI, it is elegant simplicity, articulate brevity.
In philosophy, where SHIBUMI emerges as WABI, it is spiritual tranquility that is not passive; it is being without the angst of becoming. And in the personality of a man, it is…authority without domination. One does not achieve SHIBUMI, one…discovers it. And only a few men of infinite refinement ever do that. One must pass through knowledge and arrive at simplicity to arrive at SHIBUMI.”

I've seen reviewers say that this book is too intelligently written to be published today. A bit cynical in my opinion, the book is a product of the time, but certainly doesn't come across as a typical written by-the-numbers thriller. Written today it would obviously be written differently. Probably some of the more defining aspects of the book would be lost, but I still think this book would make the spring list of a major publisher.

The first part is about Nicholai Hei's upbringing in Shanghai and Tokyo. He was born to an exiled Russian countess and a German soldier. His mother does whatever she needs to do to survive as territory changes hands and new armies march into town. Luckily for Hei his mom has the good fortune to snag a Japanese General, Kishikawa,who takes a shine to the boy. He arranges for Nicholai to be sent back to friends who can further his teachings in the Japanese philosophy game of GO. Nicholai has a natural ear for languages and learns five. As the world destabilizes and the Americans and the Russians start competing for trophies, Nicholai finds himself without a country. His one asset is his knowledge of languages. He takes a job working for the Americans even though he loathes them. The book is filled with pointed criticisms of all nationalities, but Trevanian's favorite target is the Americans.

"It was not their irritating assumption of equality that annoyed Nicholai so much as their cultural confusions. The Americans seemed to confuse standard of living with quality of life, equal opportunity with institutionalized mediocrity, bravery with courage, machismo with manhood, liberty with freedom, wordiness with articulation, fun with pleasure – in short, all of the misconceptions common to those who assume that justice implies equality for all, rather than equality for equals."

Hei commits an act that brings him under the control of the CIA. The accusations that are thrown at him reminded me of 2008 when then Senator Obama was running for President and people were holding up signs with a Hitler mustache under his nose and accusing him of being a Stalinist. I kind of felt they needed to pick whether he was a Nazi or a Communist. It is really hard to be both.

"If I understand you, Major-and frankly I don't much care if I do-you are accusing me of being both a communist and a Nazi, of being both a close friend of General Kishikawa's and his hired assassin of being both a Japanese militarist and a Soviet spy. None of this offends your sense of rational probability?"

Hei is subjected to devastating torture while in the hands of the Americans and this treatment sets him on his course of being an international assassin for hire and a level four master of sexual intercourse. Yes, in this novel there are four levels of sexual aptitude and I am not going to speculate as to where I fall on the spectrum.

The first part of the novel is really good, but I really liked the second part because we get to meet Hei's friends. We find Nicholai living in a chateau in the Basque region of France.

n  n

His best friend is Beñat Le Cagot a self made man, a Basque poet who has an ego larger than Donald Trump only expressed with much more intelligence. He is randy, fun loving, and a spelunking companion for Hei. He likes expressing himself with colorful language such as "By the Two Damp Balls of John the Baptist."

A typical conversation Hei always has to endure Le Cagotisms.

"Is everything laid out?
"Does the devil hate the wafer?"
"Have you tested the Brunton compass?"
"Do babies shit yellow?
"And you're sure there's no iron in the rock?"
"Did Moses start forest fires?"
"And the fluorescein is packed up?"
"Is Franco an asshole?"

Hei takes this all in stride, but I found myself snorting out loud several times at the Le Cagot wit. Trevanian must have had a giggle or two coming up with some of the Le Cagot expressions.

Needless to say Hei becomes enmeshed with a situation counter to American interests. He enlists the aid of his other friend "The Gnome" a dwarf (Peter Dinklage?) and a world class blackmailer who has the means to bring governments to their knees. Body counts rise quickly, and in the course of his chess match with the Americans he realizes he has much more to lose than his life philosophy would ever have him admit. The book is at times over the top, spoofish, but the real brilliance of the book is the ability to read it on whatever level you want. If you want to take it to the beach as a mind diverting entertainment it will deliver. If you want to read it and let your mind toss around the aspects of the philosophy of Shibumi that is also quite easily done. Either approach to the book will garner enjoyment. Highly recommended and if I write much more I'm going to convince myself to bump it from four to five stars.

I want to leave you with a summary of Hei's view of American culture.
"It's not Americans I find annoying; it's Americanism: a social disease of the postindustrial world that must inevitably infect each of the mercantile nations in turn, and is called 'American' only because your nation is the most advanced case of the malady, much as one speaks of Spanish flu, or Japanese Type-B encephalitis. It's symptoms are a loss of work ethic, a shrinking of inner resources, and a constant need for external stimulation, followed by spiritual decay and moral narcosis. You can recognize the victim by his constant efforts to get in touch with himself, to believe his spiritual feebleness is an interesting psychological warp, to construe his fleeing from responsibility as evidence that he and his life are uniquely open to new experiences. In the later stages, the sufferer is reduced to seeking that most trivial of human activities: fun."

Go oyunu siyah ve beyaz olmak üzere 361 tane taş ile oynanıyor. Öncelik olarak siyahların başladığı oyunda amaç kendi stratejini kurarak oyun tahtasında en çok yeri elde etmek. Bunun için sadece kendi planını kurup alan işgal etmek de yetmiyor. Karşı taraftaki kişinin de ilerlemesine engel olmak ve bu yolla var olmak gerekiyor. Tıpkı hayattaki güç dengelerinin kuruluşu gibi.

n  Sude Çataln

İncelemenin tamamı: https://kayiprihtim.com/inceleme/sibu...

O grande foco aqui é contar a estória de Nicholai Hel, nascido em Xangai, filho de um alemão e de uma russa. Criado no Japão durante a 2ª Guerra Mundial, Hel desenvolve habilidades específicas, tornando-se no futuro uma espécie de James Bond forjado pela cultura oriental, com aguçado senso de justiça e austeridade. Com habilidades que fazem inveja ao McGuiver e ao Kid Bengala, ele se torna um assassino de aluguel e um amante irresistível.

Aposentado, vivendo recluso num castelo, ele tem sua paz interrompida pela chegada de uma visita inesperada, que o procura para vingar a morte dos atletas judeus na Olimpíadas, numa caça os responsáveis pelo ataque que planejam agora sequestrar um avião na Inglaterra. Essa visita acaba sendo monitorada pela Companhia-Mãe, uma espécie de agência de inteligência supragovernamental ligada a interesses dos países produtores de petróleo, que volta a colocar Hel no seu radar. Até então, já tinham se passado três quartos do livro, onde se contou como fora a infância e criação de Hel, a sobrevivência no Japão durante a Guerra e o desenvolvimento de seu hobby de explorar cavernas (em descrições desnecessariamente detalhistas). Daí, o livro finalmente parte para a ação, onde Hel se inspira em Liam Neeson e vai sozinho resolver seus problemas, contra tudo e contra todos.

Acho que esta resenha cumpre no fim um papel diferente das outras que já escrevi, tentando colocar um pouco de luz sobre o que se trata esse livro. A meu ver, a capa já traz uma incorreção ao informar que “TODOS” o que querem morto, uma vez que essa perseguição a Hel é feita na verdade somente por Diamond, funcionário do alto-escalão da Companhia-Mãe, que tem motivos pessoais para buscar uma vingança. Além disso, acho um exagero falar que o livro é do gênero espionagem, uma vez a ação nesse sentido acontece somente no quarto final da narrativa, e os fatos se sucedem meio que no atropelo, sem grande desenvolvimento. Trata-se, sobretudo, de um romance histórico, que detalha bem a vida e costumes no Japão durante o pós-Guerra.

Avaliação Final: 6,0/10
Leitura Concluída: 37º livro de 2022
Próxima Leitura: “Verity” (Colleen Hoover)

trevenian mahlasini kullanan yazar her kimdiyse her seyi yanlis anlamis, humanizmi de, dinginlik halini de, asaleti de, cinselligi de, kultur farkini da her seyi ama herseyi yanlis anlamis.

Sibumi romani, oglanci, mikropenisli, etnik bir espri olan aptal araplarla, nedense herhangi bir sifatla tanimlanmamis olan israilliler arasindaki kavganin, enerji kaynaklarinin, hukumetlerin ve akla gelebilecek her seyin dolayisiyla da tum dunyanin kontrolunu elinde tutan zenginlere sorun cikarmasindan kaynaklanan tatsiz bir durumun, asil ve onurlu japon kulturu etkisinde buyumus, atesli-nuktedan-isyankar ve durust basklara kendini yakin hissettiginden bask bolgesinde bir satoda yasayan, orumcek adamin yakinlik algisini, batmanin dovus tekniklerini, supermanin kisilik degistirme ozelligini, schraderin donuk bakislarini ve calimeronun haksizlik karsisindaki durusunu bunyesinde toplamis, subyanci, zubbe, 7 dil bilen, go oyunu ustadi, sevisgen, sorunlu ve evli kadinlara amator fahise diyen bir ultrakahramanin maceralarini, avrupanin artiklarindan ortaya cikmis amerikalilarin, beceriksiz italyanlarin, duzensiz fransizlarin, bilmem ne olan ingilizlerin, temellerin ve fadimelerin yasadigi bir dunyada, irkci-macist-ozenti bir yazar? tarafindan kaleme alinmis bir kitaptir

edebiyat, felsefe, mantik adina kitapta hicbir sey yok, ki kitabin basligi olan sibumi sadelikteki guzelligi, dinginlikteki dogruyu bulma anlamina geliyor. Film tadinda bir kitap okumak isterseniz okuyabilirsiniz bu kitabi ama o film berbat bir hollywood aksiyon filmi bunu da bilin

bir daha boyle bir kitap okursam iki olsun.

I would like to give this 5 stars, really, I would. But there's so much irritating about Rod Whitaker's perspective that I just wouldn't feel comfortable lending the book that level of personal approval. This book interested me from the start and I even started playing a little badu (badly). When I heard that Whitaker's was racist, misogynist, and just generally disgusting, I thought that this may have been just a product of the time but it's really just a product of his personal revulsion for anything not Whitaker. You can tell that he identified with the flawless Hel. Whitaker's pedestrian attitude toward other cultures emerges to that point of satire. By the way, I'd love to see a body count in this book.