A review by mongert
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

4.0

I loved this book. William Finnegan is a very clean writer. I read and re-read his sentences trying to figure out the perfection behind the simplicity. It just works. This book is very technical about surfing and about the surfing science of waves. That can get a little tedious at times.

I read this book as a story about a boy growing up in a different time who was lucky enough to find a true, deep passion for something. I wish in many ways that my boys could grow up with the freedom that shaped William Finnegan (although he says the lack of parental oversight was pretty shocking in hindsight). I also loved the adventurous traveling spirit of this book and the details about Finnegan as a writer and journal keeper. The book actually inspired me to start journaling again. About my landlocked life in suburban Colorado as the aging mother of two boys. But whatever, the inspiration remains.