“Miss Swivven regretted two aspects of her career: this getting sunburned every week or so, and the occasional impersonal use Mr. Diamond made of her to relieve his tensions. Still, she was philosophic. No job is perfect.” “Hana laughed softly. “Do call me Hana. After all, I am not Nicholai’s wife...
"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 i...
Playful take on the thriller genre, and shows surprisingly few creaky parts for being published in 1979. The computer databases know everything, just like now, only they print it on old-fashioned paper. I liked the first half, going from current spies trying to clean up after a botched case and the ...
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5! Senses Working Overtime!SEE the assassin in his youth! see him as a child in war-torn Shanghai, as a young Go-Master in Japan, as a dutiful son and as a tortured prisoner, as an expert caver in Basque Spain, as an equally expert Stage IV Lovemaker! see him enact the "Delight of th...
This book is one of the best spy novels I’ve ever read. I learned many things about Japanese culture and history. I also enjoyed the portrayal of Basque people (who are very similar to Iranian Kurds!). There were fantastic characters in the book, including General Kashikawa, Le Cagot (revolutionary ...
a hit by the Goodreads rec algorithm, which told me to read Fire on the Deep (yes), Old Man's War (no), and then this (definitely yes). Trevanian is a snob and obsessively masochistically anti-American and pro-Japanese, but his clever "meta-novel" as the wikipedia description goes, "deconstructs" th...
This book is for people who like James Bond, Jason Bourne, and all those other super-ninja Gary Stu action heroes fueled by atomic testosterone. Except if you pay attention, Trevanian is laughing at you. Shibumi shamelessly exploits every single cliche in the genre and then sneers at them. Trevanian...
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.“SHIBUMI has to do with great refinement underlying commonplace appearances. It is a statement so ...
Fuck. I have to retract two stars and my rave review. I mean, clearly it was a rave. I'd say this book loses the plot about half way through, but to be fair, there isn't really a plot. Once the book leaves Japan and finds its home in Basque land, it rapidly becomes close to unbearable. I am afraid t...
If you've ever wanted to know what it takes to become the world's hottest lover and most kick-ass ninja-style assassin, then Shibumi lets you in on the secret. First, you need to learn to play Go well; then you have to become fluent in Basque. Real Go players tell me I'm about second Dan strength, b...
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