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emmay8's review against another edition
2.0
This book had potential. It started out great but then meandered into ridiculously long narratives of specific waves that made little sense to a non-surfer. William Finnegan has a vast vocabulary and it sometimes seems as if he attempted to cram every interesting word he knows into one book. The effect of this was long, slogging, overly wordy descriptions and chapters that felt endless. It picked up again towards the end and became easier to read. But then veered back into its prior verbosity which made me desperate to just finish it already. I stubbornly insisted on finishing but it was absolutely a chore.
griffgriffgriff_'s review against another edition
5.0
I rarely write more than a few sentences in review of any book, regardless of how good it is, but this one feels like it deserves an essay.
Finnegan is a tremendous storyteller, and he has a knack for the thing I admire most in a writer, which is the ability to allow the reader to feel his emotions and convictions as strongly as the writer might. There are passages throughout this book where I shed tears over descriptions of waves and surfboards—completely alien subjects for me. The sheer quality of his prose is immense. He writes so beautifully, so powerfully about the complex minutiae of his hobby (really his way of life) that it seems simple and intoxicating to the uneducated reader.
This is a memoir, but the strength of the stories told are due to the enormous cast of characters that accompany Finnegan through his life. Whether childhood friends in Hawai’i, girlfriends in college, parents and children in New York City, or surf buddies and life partners literally all over the globe, the path he takes through life is undoubtedly richer because of the people he chooses to spend his time with. Finnegan spends more time describing and illustrating his companions than he does on his own exploits. It’s a narrative choice that certainly pays off.
This book is unreal. It is so good. If I could give it 10 stars I would.
Finnegan is a tremendous storyteller, and he has a knack for the thing I admire most in a writer, which is the ability to allow the reader to feel his emotions and convictions as strongly as the writer might. There are passages throughout this book where I shed tears over descriptions of waves and surfboards—completely alien subjects for me. The sheer quality of his prose is immense. He writes so beautifully, so powerfully about the complex minutiae of his hobby (really his way of life) that it seems simple and intoxicating to the uneducated reader.
This is a memoir, but the strength of the stories told are due to the enormous cast of characters that accompany Finnegan through his life. Whether childhood friends in Hawai’i, girlfriends in college, parents and children in New York City, or surf buddies and life partners literally all over the globe, the path he takes through life is undoubtedly richer because of the people he chooses to spend his time with. Finnegan spends more time describing and illustrating his companions than he does on his own exploits. It’s a narrative choice that certainly pays off.
This book is unreal. It is so good. If I could give it 10 stars I would.
chabiinho's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
4.5
sarahleffel95's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
karpediem's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
Decent, but as a non-surfer it was a slog. At least half of it is just descriptions of waves and storms and surf, and after the first few of those they all felt fairly similar - I didn't need 7 dozen. The timeline seemed to jump around inconsistently and that bothered me; it certainly didn't add anything to the storytelling. I could sum up the book with 'privileged white surfer talks about waves way too much and travels the world taking advantage of the hospitality of locals in developing countries and doesn't acknowledge his privilege until the very end.'
ladyj317's review against another edition
5.0
i didn’t know anything about surfing before reading this book. now i know a little bit. i loved reading about his traveling and crazy crazy life style and intense obsession. i rec this book
ariadnamonkeys's review against another edition
5.0
quan dic que és el meu llibre preferit no ho dic a la lleugera