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Shibumi

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Shibumi

By: Trevanian
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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About this listen

 Nicholai Hel, born in the ravages of World War I China to an aristocratic Russian mother and a mysterious German father, raised in the spiritual gardens of a Japanese Go Master, survives the destruction of Hiroshima to emerge as the world's most artful lover and its most accomplished and highly paid assassin. Genius, mystic, master of language and culture, Hel's secret is his determination to attain a rare kind of personal excellence, a state of effortless perfection: shibumi.

Now living in an isolated mountain fortress with his magnificent Eurasian mistress, Hel faces his most sinister enemy, a super-monolith of espionage and monopoly. The battle lines are drawn: ruthless power and corruption on one side and on the other, shibumi.

©1979 Trevanian (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks Espionage Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense China Imperial Japan Military Russia

Critic Reviews

  • 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration (Male)

"It's hard to imagine a more nearly perfect spy story." (Milwaukee Journal)
"Novels about international intrigue demand intricate plotting. Shibumi delivers." (Los Angeles Times)
All stars
Most relevant  
Every bit as good as the most favourable reviews here that prompted me to select this title.
Fantastic story development, wry humour, and socially relevant commentary 30 years on.
This is a classic that slipped under my radar, that I am so glad to have discovered.

Worth a listen and a read.

Delivers as promised

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The US fascination with Japanese culture in the 70s crossed with the conflicts between state and commerce, crossed with the sensibilities of multiple cultures, with a spy novel interwoven. I cannot recall a better book

best Audiobook I have ever listened to

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I enjoyed the first two books but thin one was superior even though the other two were great

The philosophy and history of the story

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I read Shibumi 20 years ago and was looking forward to re-visiting the story on audiobook. I have done this with other books and generally find the experienced enhanced by another person reading.
In this case, the opposite is true. Shibumi is staunchly anti-American in it's sentiment, so whoever chose Joe Barrett to read it had either a mean streak or a sick sense of humour. His inability to pronounce simple words like "mauve" adds to the overall fingers down the blackboard experience. At one stage early in the book, he attempts an Australian accent, which he clearly learned from Monty Python.
A seminal novel like Shibumi deserved better.

Great book ruined by poor narration

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The story is great, there's a few twists and turns. Very clearly written by a man but if you can get past the belittlement of females, then this is a fantastic story

A man's dream

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Much has been written about this captivating story but the author is obviously having a lend of his readers. Ridiculous plot and absurd extremism by a master storyteller. One who doesn't try very hard to hide his own pretensions and loathing of the society that made him a wealthy recluse. Fun read but just a tad over the top to deserve its reputation as a classic.

Spoof spy adventure

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