The title of this long novel by the late Rodney William Whitaker (aka Trevanian) refers to an other-worldly tranquil mystic state of mind that defies accurate description in any language, something which some people experience temporarily and unpredictably. Nicholas Hel, a Russian/German stateless youth aspires to and experiences this ineffable state which he describes as like becoming one with the grass and the yellow sunlight, growing up in China at the end of WWI, then living in Japan during and after WWII. He eventually becomes an international pariah assassinator-for-hire and a champion GO player. GO strategies become a metaphor for life.
The unique combination of talents and insights that the polyglot (six languages) Nicholai Hel acquires seems totally unrealistic, if reflected upon, but is somehow made to seem quite possible and even natural. He teaches himself the Basque language in three years of solitary confinement, in Japan from a dictionary and a children’s book. He also develops a paranormal proximity sense to allow him to sense who or what is nearby without any other sensory input. But the Naked/Kill weapons made from everyday household items do seem a bit too gimmicky and Bond-ish. Many of the international dark schemes also have a distinctly Ian Fleming flavour with Nicholai Hel as a James Bond. Considered in one way, the whole story could be as a sendup of the James Bond genre or perhaps that of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series. Hel even treats sex with his numerous lovers as a competition of wills to see who can hold off orgasm the longest.
The graphic description of postwar deprivation, starvation, and desperation in Japan along with unique perspectives on the superficial and snobbish attitudes of the occupying forces which totally lack any elements of this oriental Shibumi are written in beautiful insightful prose.The description of the horrors of the American carpet bombing of residential areas of Tokyo is unmatched by any pacifist rant and not likely to be included in most western history texts.
The description of the complex world of underground terrorist groups with flexible loyalties made me go back and check a few times to determine who was working for whom. The overriding control of groups and governments seems to lie with The Mother Country, allegedly part of the CIA, but in fact controlled by OPEC. No politicians are discussed by name, but the intrigue includes the Palestinian-backed Black Septembrist’s assassination of Jewish athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the PLO, the Camp David Accord, and earlier postwar conflicts between Russia, China and the U.S. in Japan. Above all, apparently deeply compromising documentation about the JFK assassination is the ace card held by Nicholai Hel as he blackmails the Mother Country people.
Hel seems to view almost all cultures except for the traditional Chinese and perhaps that of Basque revolutionaries as primitive and shallow and heaps scorn on American and most European and Russian world views.
There are many memorable quotes: “…he learned that, in diplomacy, the primary function of communication is to obscure meaning.”
Of a Russian prison guard in Japan: “He was sure this man was no common Russian soldier, despite his appearance of Slavic intellectual viscosity.”
I found the 65 pages of description of dangerous, technically demanding spelunking of Hel and a flamboyant, uninhibited, lewd Basque separatist poet near the Spanish/French border very confusing and unrealistic.
The author uses the techniques of time shift and of geographic shifts around the world from the post-WWII orient to the 1970s Europe and America to great effect in bringing convergence and unity to the story. The description of powerful computers that keep track of everyone and everything with no allowance for privacy is prescient, considering that the book was published in 1979.
This is not my favourite genre of fiction, but the very inventive prose and unique insights kept me engaged if not riveted to the end. 3.5 stars.
Thanks,
Andra
The Passionate Reader 