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catalogthis's review against another edition
I tried. But after 200 pages, I still had zero interest in surfing in general, or this guy in particular.
jimo12_'s review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This is a thoughtful and brilliant book from an author totally obsessed and driven by surfing, but not without well defined characters that have impacted his life and broader historical context about his favourite spots that delivers a real page turner.
I found the timelines slightly jumpy and difficult to follow early on in this book but that could be a reflection of the author’s early years and multiple location changes. This soon dissipates though and the story really progresses into a fantastic read. Thoroughly recommend.
I found the timelines slightly jumpy and difficult to follow early on in this book but that could be a reflection of the author’s early years and multiple location changes. This soon dissipates though and the story really progresses into a fantastic read. Thoroughly recommend.
juniperd's review against another edition
2.0
2 ½-stars, if we could do that here.
please be forewarned: this is likely going to be a hot-mess of a review. my thoughts are completely unorganized and poorly formed. sorry!!
let me distract you from things with a look a this lovely picture for a moment! (from surfer mag, "going public" essay linked below review.)
says finnegan in "doc's games", a two-part 1992 new yorker longread about san francisco surfer/doctor mark reneger (also linked below the review),
what i didn't get from the book, in contrast to finnegan's statement, was the enchantment (or passion). to me, the telling felt very formal and detached. while it's hugely evident an obsession with surfing is going on, the confusion did surface for me so often while reading because i couldn't feel the love coming off the pages. a lot of times, i felt an indifference about the whole thing from finnegan. i kept hoping to feel some sort of passion from him.
i slightly surprised myself on that front. i had familiarity with finnegan through his new yorker work. and so that formal style shouldn't have been a surprise. but, if you dedicate almost your entire life to one thing - surfing in this case - wouldn't there be a heap of emotional ups and downs conveying the highs and lows, conveying the passion? (though, to be fair, i find the concept of 'passion' - follow your passion - troublesome and murky. just to add a layer of confusion there. sorry!)
while i have never surfed, i find surfing fascinating. i came of age during the 80s, when surfing used to be televised on the saturday or sunday sports shows - and always opened with the agony of defeat (thanks, ABC!). i would be glued to the TV, watching these, to my mind, maniacs in the giant waves of hawaii (usually). and while i profess to be no expert on all of the surf lingo, i didn't find it too much of a stretch in reading barbarian days. my brother and i were also skateboarders, so some of that culture, and those days, did overlap. i do think it would have been cool to provide a glossary and some maps, but mostly because i am a total book nerd who likes extras, beyond photos, with my nonfiction. i think these things would have been a nice concession to readers (though, i suspect hugely distasteful to finnegan). sometimes, it did feel like finnegan took a bit of a pompous tone/perch.
finnegan's writing career certainly has allowed him some wonderful flexibility in his life, to be able to take time off, or work remotely, while balancing his surfing and his income earning. not everyone is so fortunate, so it's pretty awesome how things worked out for him. especially given the aimlessness he conveyed during his 20s. finnegan is a good bit older than i am right now, and when he writes of his surfing from his late-30s through to his present age (60-something), i did wonder a lot about the wear and tear on his body. the ferocity of some of the waves he encountered over the years was conveyed, but i did feel like, often, the injuries or extreme danger, along with his physical state, were often downplayed or brushed over. some of the wipeouts i witnessed during my 80s TV viewing were BRUTAL. i actually only learned about these things in reading articles about finnegan after-the-fact. it's really not pretty! as fascinated as i am by surfing, and as much as i love the ocean... i have never had any desire to find myself in the tube of a giant, powerful wall of water. i have never, ever pretended to have a daredevil bone in my body.
and there does seem to be a huge element of risk-taking involved in surfing. (as there does in finnegan's reporting work which has leaned heavily towards major social issues, political upheaval in war-torn countries, and a good stint covering the mexican drug cartel(s)). i feel like finnegan tries to convey a sense of control over all of this. or methodicalness. or sensibility. and yet, he often ends up in dicey, dangerous, potentially life-ending situations. so... ? when you have no control over a situation, or mother nature, choices can be life-changing.
damn, i am rambling so much! i am sorry. let me get to some sort of point. maybe.
i think there is a really excellent 300 page book in here. at its published heft, it felt like too much. i felt finnegan overwrote, and the work - much like this review - needed more editing. the flow could be really clunky at times. for example, he would close out a section with a fast-forward comment, projecting us ahead. but then the next part would be back in time. also, finnegan has never met a simile or metaphor he did not love. seriously. holy cow. stop it. the book had intense moments, and lulls - i guess to give the feeling of the surf. finnegan could be very thoughtful, and also extremely obtuse. and while - at the end of all of this - i don't believe finnegan has figured it out... his 64yo body has now done that for him. (though from extra reading, he's in awesome shape, all things considered, and i should be so damn lucky!)
while i appreciated much about this book, i mostly felt frustrated by it.
if you are interested in further reading -- some of which served as early components of the book:
finnegan's new yorker archive:
* http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/william-finnegan/all/1
some surfing essays of finnegan's:
* off diamond head; 25 may 2015: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/01/off-diamond-head-finnegan
* local hero; 05 september 2011: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/09/05/local-hero-william-finnegan
* going public; 25 january 2011: http://www.surfermag.com/features/going-public/#gfTLjAVgyh4O7mFk.97
* catching an e-wave; 04 december 2006: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/12/04/catching-an-e-wave
* blank monday; 21 august 2006: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/08/21/blank-monday
* playing doc's* games; 24 august 1992 & 31 august 1992:
-- part one: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/08/24/playing-docs-games-part-one
-- part two: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/08/31/playing-docs-games-part-two
* doc - dr. mark "doc" renneker: http://www.surfermag.com/features/wisdom-mark-doc-renneker/#JBavdKJUiVQ3mFtm.97
please be forewarned: this is likely going to be a hot-mess of a review. my thoughts are completely unorganized and poorly formed. sorry!!
let me distract you from things with a look a this lovely picture for a moment! (from surfer mag, "going public" essay linked below review.)
says finnegan in "doc's games", a two-part 1992 new yorker longread about san francisco surfer/doctor mark reneger (also linked below the review),
“I felt direly confused about surfing…and was trying to sort it out ... I was trying to figure out how to live with the disabling enchantment of surfing.”and i get this confusion. i felt direly confused a few times while reading this book. it felt, to me, like a major psychological excavation was going on - though not one that comes to any clean or revelatory conclusion. (does anything in a life really do either of these things? tidy endings can be so annoying. haha!!) i am, generally, a fairly quick reader, but it took me a while to work my way through this book. i spent a lot of time considering the work. considering finnegan. and wondering what the end goal was with this thing.
what i didn't get from the book, in contrast to finnegan's statement, was the enchantment (or passion). to me, the telling felt very formal and detached. while it's hugely evident an obsession with surfing is going on, the confusion did surface for me so often while reading because i couldn't feel the love coming off the pages. a lot of times, i felt an indifference about the whole thing from finnegan. i kept hoping to feel some sort of passion from him.
i slightly surprised myself on that front. i had familiarity with finnegan through his new yorker work. and so that formal style shouldn't have been a surprise. but, if you dedicate almost your entire life to one thing - surfing in this case - wouldn't there be a heap of emotional ups and downs conveying the highs and lows, conveying the passion? (though, to be fair, i find the concept of 'passion' - follow your passion - troublesome and murky. just to add a layer of confusion there. sorry!)
while i have never surfed, i find surfing fascinating. i came of age during the 80s, when surfing used to be televised on the saturday or sunday sports shows - and always opened with the agony of defeat (thanks, ABC!). i would be glued to the TV, watching these, to my mind, maniacs in the giant waves of hawaii (usually). and while i profess to be no expert on all of the surf lingo, i didn't find it too much of a stretch in reading barbarian days. my brother and i were also skateboarders, so some of that culture, and those days, did overlap. i do think it would have been cool to provide a glossary and some maps, but mostly because i am a total book nerd who likes extras, beyond photos, with my nonfiction. i think these things would have been a nice concession to readers (though, i suspect hugely distasteful to finnegan). sometimes, it did feel like finnegan took a bit of a pompous tone/perch.
finnegan's writing career certainly has allowed him some wonderful flexibility in his life, to be able to take time off, or work remotely, while balancing his surfing and his income earning. not everyone is so fortunate, so it's pretty awesome how things worked out for him. especially given the aimlessness he conveyed during his 20s. finnegan is a good bit older than i am right now, and when he writes of his surfing from his late-30s through to his present age (60-something), i did wonder a lot about the wear and tear on his body. the ferocity of some of the waves he encountered over the years was conveyed, but i did feel like, often, the injuries or extreme danger, along with his physical state, were often downplayed or brushed over. some of the wipeouts i witnessed during my 80s TV viewing were BRUTAL. i actually only learned about these things in reading articles about finnegan after-the-fact. it's really not pretty! as fascinated as i am by surfing, and as much as i love the ocean... i have never had any desire to find myself in the tube of a giant, powerful wall of water. i have never, ever pretended to have a daredevil bone in my body.
and there does seem to be a huge element of risk-taking involved in surfing. (as there does in finnegan's reporting work which has leaned heavily towards major social issues, political upheaval in war-torn countries, and a good stint covering the mexican drug cartel(s)). i feel like finnegan tries to convey a sense of control over all of this. or methodicalness. or sensibility. and yet, he often ends up in dicey, dangerous, potentially life-ending situations. so... ? when you have no control over a situation, or mother nature, choices can be life-changing.
damn, i am rambling so much! i am sorry. let me get to some sort of point. maybe.
i think there is a really excellent 300 page book in here. at its published heft, it felt like too much. i felt finnegan overwrote, and the work - much like this review - needed more editing. the flow could be really clunky at times. for example, he would close out a section with a fast-forward comment, projecting us ahead. but then the next part would be back in time. also, finnegan has never met a simile or metaphor he did not love. seriously. holy cow. stop it. the book had intense moments, and lulls - i guess to give the feeling of the surf. finnegan could be very thoughtful, and also extremely obtuse. and while - at the end of all of this - i don't believe finnegan has figured it out... his 64yo body has now done that for him. (though from extra reading, he's in awesome shape, all things considered, and i should be so damn lucky!)
while i appreciated much about this book, i mostly felt frustrated by it.
if you are interested in further reading -- some of which served as early components of the book:
finnegan's new yorker archive:
* http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/william-finnegan/all/1
some surfing essays of finnegan's:
* off diamond head; 25 may 2015: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/01/off-diamond-head-finnegan
* local hero; 05 september 2011: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/09/05/local-hero-william-finnegan
* going public; 25 january 2011: http://www.surfermag.com/features/going-public/#gfTLjAVgyh4O7mFk.97
* catching an e-wave; 04 december 2006: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/12/04/catching-an-e-wave
* blank monday; 21 august 2006: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/08/21/blank-monday
* playing doc's* games; 24 august 1992 & 31 august 1992:
-- part one: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/08/24/playing-docs-games-part-one
-- part two: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/08/31/playing-docs-games-part-two
* doc - dr. mark "doc" renneker: http://www.surfermag.com/features/wisdom-mark-doc-renneker/#JBavdKJUiVQ3mFtm.97
sammyb1233's review against another edition
4.0
Surprising, enthralling, and delightful all the way until the end. Surprising in the way that this novel, with such a singular subject, never felt stale or repetitive as I expected it to-talking about waves, boards, and similar surf spots. I will miss Finnegan's humble, reflective, self-aware voice upon finishing this novel. I also appreciated the less than romantic descriptions of far-flung South Pacific islands that few authors seem to be able to realistically capture.
spygrl173's review against another edition
3.0
Poetic. An interesting mix of settings. Drags on a bit.
bruinuclafan's review
5.0
One of the best recently-published books I've read. Barbarian days is ostensibly about surfing. But it's a book about life. It's about an unusual upbringing in California and Hawaii. A childhood developing a strong sense of independence that carried into adulthood. It's about a young man who traveled the world to surf great waves, but learned about culture, history, and world politics in the process. It's a glimpse into living under Apartheid. And it's an honest, often self-depracating assessment of life, romance, success, and failure--especially failure.
Finnegan's writing is, as you'd expect from a New Yorker contributor, excellent. I never got tired of his descriptions at sea, of rolling waves, huge barrels, and close encounters with the sea floor. He also does a superb job describing his feelings and his impressions of what others were thinking. He's a highly empathetic person.
I really enjoyed reading about his great surf tour with Bryan. And later, his surfing exploits in New York. I also loved the mood the book evoked--I've never read Jack Kerouac, but I imagine that "On the road" would have a similar feel. And I love that Finnegan is a fellow Banana Slug.
I wonder whether it's possible to live a life like this in modern times. He explored the unexplored, put off responsibility while he simply lived, and still landed on his feet. I like the idea of young people pursuing their passions for some years, instead of slogging off to college, then grad school, then 40 years of work.
Finnegan's writing is, as you'd expect from a New Yorker contributor, excellent. I never got tired of his descriptions at sea, of rolling waves, huge barrels, and close encounters with the sea floor. He also does a superb job describing his feelings and his impressions of what others were thinking. He's a highly empathetic person.
I really enjoyed reading about his great surf tour with Bryan. And later, his surfing exploits in New York. I also loved the mood the book evoked--I've never read Jack Kerouac, but I imagine that "On the road" would have a similar feel. And I love that Finnegan is a fellow Banana Slug.
I wonder whether it's possible to live a life like this in modern times. He explored the unexplored, put off responsibility while he simply lived, and still landed on his feet. I like the idea of young people pursuing their passions for some years, instead of slogging off to college, then grad school, then 40 years of work.
kendall5300's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
5.0