lizzlelizzle's review against another edition
5.0
Simply incredible memoir. Finnegan’s writing style makes you feel both like you’re right next to him—on the wave, on the sand, in the car, etc.—and like you’re a close confidant away from the action itself. How he evokes both of these sensations for the reader simultaneously, I do not know. His stories are deeply nostalgic even for someone who has no experience with surfing like myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent exploring his surf-filled, contemplative, journalistic world.
categal's review against another edition
2.0
This is not an easy book to review. Sports, athletes, adventures, challenges, travel ... I thought I'd be the perfect audience for this memoir, and I was ... until I wasn't. The book starts with young William having just moved to Hawaii. He's trying to figure out his new surroundings, how to fit in, and more importantly, where to catch the wave. I was intrigued - he already knows how to surf at this point, an interesting place to begin - not at the beginning. The first few chapters were the most interesting, but then we're into traveling around the world (fascinating? um...) looking for waves. Waves from the right. Waves from the left. Waves with breezes behind them. Waves with breezes in front of them. Big waves. Little waves in front of big waves.
So this is a book about surfing, what am I bitching about? Well, what interested me was not the waves, but the people Finnegan met and connected with, and those descriptions faded after a hundred pages or so and the book sunk into descriptions of waves. What about the people he met? What about his family? What about his girlfriends (yikes! don't ask)? OK, no people, well, what about developing technique and mastery over a lifetime? Did I mention all the water...
So this is a book about surfing, what am I bitching about? Well, what interested me was not the waves, but the people Finnegan met and connected with, and those descriptions faded after a hundred pages or so and the book sunk into descriptions of waves. What about the people he met? What about his family? What about his girlfriends (yikes! don't ask)? OK, no people, well, what about developing technique and mastery over a lifetime? Did I mention all the water...
apemue's review against another edition
5.0
ya completely rocked my world i loved it. this dude rocks.
malhotramonika's review against another edition
Tbh I did not finish this but I got the gist of it
lilylikesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
“I felt the weight of unmapped worlds, unborn language. This was what I was chasing: not the exotic, but a broad-beamed understanding of what is what.”
“Still, something beckoned.”
“Still, something beckoned.”
hannahmadden's review against another edition
5.0
This makes me want to leave behind my ~structured~ life to be a surf bum
rch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0