BOOK REVIEW: ‘Supremacist’ by David Shapiro

Supremacist is a novel written by David Shapiro that follows a character named David Shapiro and his friend, Camilla, as they visit every Supreme store around the world.

Shapiro’s novel is ambitious, addictive, philosophical, and at the same time, brilliantly minimalistic. This isn’t a book where there is a high stakes, there is no impending deadline, nor no villain plotting against David and Camilla. Instead, David has to work through all his own demons, whether they rest at the bottom of a prescription bottle or his own thoughts outside a 7/11 in Japan. It’s a shock at the start of the novel that there is no direct tension, but instead, the reader goes with Shapiro, both the author and the character, and the underlying tension that exists between Camilla and David.

One of the things that may detract readers, but absolutely shouldn’t, is the focus on Supreme in the novel. As a reader whom had never heard of the brand previously, this didn’t hinder my reading of the book at all. Shapiro explains his fascination with Supreme through the conversations with characters who don’t understand somebody’s fascination with a brand. Here, they poke holds in Shapiro’s logic, until Shapiro simply admits that there is a strong possibility that the significance Supreme has for him is rooted in his own insecurities in his life. It’s moments like this that are where the novel truly shines, when Shapiro mixes the absurdity of popular culture and the 21^st Century with the struggles of being lonely.

Supremacist is a beautiful book that goes into the depth of human relationships. Camilla and David develop together, and their friendship, and their friendship is extremely authentic. The dialogue between them shows a difficult friendship, but one that is made from a solid connection, if difficult at times. Camilla has many of the qualities that David doesn’t, but desires the companionship from David that she doesn’t necessarily find in other people.

While Supremacist isn’t excluding to people who are unaware of Supreme, it will act as an absolute treasure for fans of the brand. It covers some of the unique items that Supreme produce, and by the end Shapiro does communicate some of the ideals of the brand, and it feels natural, like an extension of Shapiro rather than a tie-in material. The book also benefits from the inclusion of images of Supreme products, which helps illustrates the difference between fashion and art, and the blurred lines that Supreme acts between.

In total, Supreme is a novel that follows lost people as they search for a meaning, in the strangest of places because they never found answers conventionally. It’s like an extended Lost in Translation with more self-destructive characters. People who are lost should look into this book, not just for the humour, nor the pop-culture references, but to know that no matter where you are in the world, you’re not lost.