Product Details

• • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books (April 26, 2016)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0143109391
  • ISBN-13: 978-0143109396
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces

Editorial Reviews Review “How many ways can you describe a wave? You’ll never get tired of watchingFinnegan do it. A staff writer at _The New Yorker_, he leads a counterlife asan obsessive surfer, traveling around the world, throwing his vulnerable,merely human body into line after line of waves in search of transient momentsof graceIt’s an occupation that has never before been described with thistenderness and deftness.”–_TIME_ Magazine, Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2015 “A hefty masterpiece.” –_Geoff Dyer, The Guardian_ “TerrificElegantly written and structured, it’s a riveting adventure story,an intellectual autobiography, and a restless, searching meditation on love,friendship and familyA writer of rare subtlety and observational gifts,Finnegan explores every aspect of the sport — its mechanics and intoxicatingthrills, its culture and arcane tribal codes — in a way that should resonatewith surfers and non-surfers alike. His descriptions of some of the world’smost powerful and unforgiving waves are hauntingly beautifulFinnegan displaysan honesty that is evident throughout the book, parts of which have a searing,unvarnished intensity that reminded me of ‘stop Time,’ the classic coming-of-age memoir by Frank Conroy.” _ –Washington Post _ “The kind of book that makes you squirm in your seat on the subway, gaze outthe window at work, and Google Map the quickest route to the beach. In otherwords, it is, like Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, a semi-dangerous book, onethat persuades young mento trade in their office jobs in order to roam theworld, to feel the ocean’s power, and chase the waves.” _ –The Paris Review Daily _ “Fans of [Finnegan’s] writing have been waiting eagerly for his surfingmemoirWell, Barbarian Days is here. And it’s even better than one could haveimaginedThis is Finnegan’s gift. He’s observant and expressive but showscareful restraint in his zeal. He says only what needs to be said, enough tocreate a vivid picture for the reader while masterfully giving that picture akind of movement.” _ –Honolulu Star-Advertiser _ “That surfing life is [Finnegan’s], and it’s a remarkably adventurous one sureto induce wanderlust in anyone who follows along, surfer or notLyrical butnot overbaked, exciting but always self-effacing. It captures the moments ofjoy and terror Finnegan’s lifelong passion has brought him, as well as hisoccasional ambivalence about the tenacious hold it has on him. It’s easily thebest book ever written about surfing. It’s not even close.” _ –Florida Times-Union _ “An engrossing read, part treatise on wave physics, part thrill ride, partcultural study, with a soupon of near-death events. Even for those who’venever paddled out, Finnegan’s imagery is as vividly rendered as a film, hisexplanation of wave mastery a triumph of language. For surfers, the book isThe Endless Summer writ smarter and larger, touching down at every iconicbreak.” _ –Los Angeles Magazine _ “Vivid and propulsiveFinneganhas seen things from the tops of ocean peaksthat would disturb most surfers’ dreams for weeks. (I happily include myselfamong that number.)A lyrical and enormously rewarding readFinnegan’senchantment takes us to some luminous and unsettling places — on both theedge of the ocean, and the frontiers of the surfing life.” _ –San Diego Union-Tribune _ “Barbarian Days gleams with precise, often lyrical recollections of the mostmemorable waves [Finnegan has] encounteredHe carefully mines his surfingexploits for broader, hard-won insights on his childhood, his most intensefriendships and romances, his political education, his career. He’s alwaysattuned to his surroundings, and his reflections are often tinged with self-effacing wit.” _ –Chicago Reader _ “Extraordinary[ Barbarian Days] is in many ways, and for the first time, asurfer in full. And it is cause for throwing your wet-suit hoods in the airIfthe book has a flaw, it lies in the envy helplessly induced in the armchairsurf-traveler by so many lusty affairs with waves that are the supermodels ofthe surf world. Still, Finnegan considerately shows himself paying the priceof admission in a few near drownings, and these are among the mostelectrifying moments in the bookThere are too many breathtaking, originalthings in Barbarian Days to do more than mention here–observations aboutsurfing that have simply never been made before, or certainly never so well.” _ –The New York Times Book Review _ “Without a doubt, the finest surf book I’ve ever read All this technicalmastery and precise description goes hand in hand with an unabashed,infectious earnestness. Finnegan has certainly written a surfing book forsurfers, but on a more fundamental level, ‘Barbarian Days’ offers a cleareyedvision of American boyhood. Like Jon Krakauer’s ‘Into the Wild,’ it is asympathetic examination of what happens when literary ideas of freedom andpurity take hold of a young mind and fling his body out into the far reachesof the world.” _ –The New York Times Magazine _ “Which is precisely what makes the propulsive precision of Finnegan’s writingso surprising and revelatory Finnegan’s treatment of surfing never feels likeperformance. Through the sheer intensity of his descriptive powers and theundeniable ways in which surfing has shaped his life, Barbarian Days is anutterly convincing study in the joy of treating seriously an unseriousthingAs Finnegan demonstrates, surfing, like good writing, is an act ofvigilant noticing. ” _ –The New York Review of Books _ “Finnegan is an excellent surfer; at some point he became an even betterwriter. That pairing makes Barbarian Days exceptional in the notoriously foamygenre of surf lit: a hefty, heavyweight tour de force, overbrimming withsublime lyrical passages that Finnegan drops as effortlessly as he executedhis signature ‘drop-knee cutback’ in the breaks off WaikikiReading this guyon the subject of waves and water is like reading Hemingway on bullfighting;William Burroughs on controlled substances; Updike on adulteryFinnegan is avirtuoso wordsmith, but the juice propelling this memoir is wrung from thequest that shaped himA piscine, picaresque coming-of-age story, seen throughthe gloss resin coat of a surfboard.” _ –Sports Illustrated _ Overflowing with vivid descriptions of waves caught and waves missed, ofdisappointments and ecstasies and gargantuan curling tubes that encircleriders like cathedrals of pure stained glassThese paragraphs, with their mixof personal remembrance and subcultural taxonomies, tend to be as elegant andpellucid as the breakers they immortalizeThis memoir is one you can ride allthe way to shore.” _ –Entertainment Weekly _ “[A] sweeping, glorious memoirOh, the rides, they are incandescentI’d soonerpress this book upon on a nonsurfer, in part because nothing I’ve read soaccurately describes the feeling of being stoked or the despair of being heldunder. But also because while it is a book about ‘A Surfing Life’it’s alsoabout a writer’s life and, even more generally, a quester’s life, morecarefully observed and precisely rendered than any I’ve read in a long time.” _ –Los Angeles Times _ “Gorgeously written and intensely feltWith Mr. Finnegan’s bravura memoir, thesurfing bookshelf is dramatically enriched. It’s not only a volume forfollowers of the sport. Non-surfers, too, will be treated to a traveloguehead-scratchingly rich in obscure, sharply observed destinationsDare I saythat we all need Mr. Finneganas a role model for a life fully, thrillingly,lived.” _ –Wall Street Journal _ “An evocative, profound and deeply moving memoirThe proof is in thesentences. Were I given unlimited space to review this book, I would simplyreproduce it here, with a quotation mark at the beginning and another at theend. While surfers have a reputation for being inarticulate, there is actuallya fair amount of overlap between what makes a good surfer and a good writer. Asmooth style, an ability to stay close to the source of the energy, humilitybefore the task, and, once you’re done, not claiming your ride. In otherwords, making something exceedingly difficult look easy. The gift for writinga clean line is rare, and the gift for riding one even rarer. Finneganpossesses both.” _ –San Francisco Chronicle _ “Finnegan writes so engagingly that you paddle alongside, eager for him totake you to the next waveIt is a wet and wild run. He makes surfing seem asforeign and simultaneously as intimate a sport as possibleSurfing is thebackbone of the book, but Finnegan’s relationships to people, not waves, formits flesh[A] deep blue story of one man’s lifelong enchantment.” _ –Boston Globe _ “Finnegan’s epic adventure, beautifully told, is much more than the story of aboy and his wave, even if surfing serves as the thumping heartbeat of hislife.” _ –Dallas Morning News _ “That’s always Finnegan’s M.O.: examining the ways in which surfingintertwines with anthropology, economics, politics, and, of course, writing.Finnegan is a sober, straightforward author, but the level of detail, emotion,and insight he achieves is unparalleledA must-read for all surfers — notjust because of its unblinking prose and subtle wit, but because it’s the onlybook that properly details what it’s like to cultivate both an award-winningcareer and a dedicated surfing life.” _ –Eastern Surf Magazine _ “Finnegan describes, with shimmering detail, his adventures riding waves onfive continents. Surfing has taken him places he’d never otherwise havethought to go, but it also buoyed him through a career reporting on thepolitics of intense scarcity, limitless cruelty, and unimaginable suffering.It’s a book about travel and growing up, and the power of a pastime when itbecomes an obsession.” _ –Men’s Journal _ “With a compelling storyline and masterful prose, Finnegan’s beautiful memoiris sure to resonate.” _ –The New York Observer _ “Fearless and full of grace.” _ –Outside Magazine _ “Irresistible.” _ –O, The Oprah Magazine _ “It’s always fabulous when an incredible writer happens to also have a memoir-worthy life; Barbarian Days bodes well.” _ –GQ.com _ “A demonstration of gratitude and mastery. [Finnegan] uses these words todescribe the wave, but they might as well apply to the book. In a sense,Barbarian Days functions as a 450-page thank you letter, masterfully crafted,to his parents, friends, wife, enemies, ex-girlfriends, townsfolk, daughter–everyone who tolerated and even encouraged his lifelong obsession. It’s a wayto help them–and us–understand what drives him to keep paddling out half acentury after first picking up a board.” _ –NPR.org _ “[A] lyrical, intellectual memoir. The author touches on love, onresponsibility, on politics, individuality and morality, as well as on thelesser-known aspects of surfing: the toll it takes on the body, the weirdlingo, the whacky community. Finnegan’s world is as dazzling and deep as anyocean. It’s a pleasure to paddle into and makes for a hell of a ride.” _ –The Millions _ “As it progresses the whole book turns into a portalIt’s tempting to say thatBarbarian Days will bring readers as close as they’ll get to the surf, shortof actual surfing. But I had a stronger reaction: The book brought me closerthan I’d ever been, or expected to get, to the real, unfathomable ocean.” _ –Bookforum _ “A dream of a book by a masterful writer long immersed in surfing culture.Finnegan recaptures the waves lost and found, the euphoria, the dangertheallure.” _ –BBC.com _ “Panoramic and fascinatingThe core of the book is a surfing chronicle, andFinnegan possesses impeccable short-board bona fidesA revealing andmagisterial account of a beautiful addiction.” _ –Publishers Weekly (starred review) _ “Like that powerful, glassy wave, great books on surfing come few and farbetween. This summer, New Yorker writer Finnegan recalls his teenage years inthe California and Hawaii of the 1960s–when surfing was an escape for lonersand outcasts. A delightful storyteller, Finnegan takes readers on a journeyfrom Hawaii to Australia, Fiji, and South Africa, where finding those waves isas challenging as riding them.” _ –Publishers Weekly’s Best Summer Books of the Summer _ “A fascinating look inside the mind of a man terminally in love with amagnificent obsession. A lyrical and intense memoir.” _ –Kirkus _ “An up-close and personal homage to the surfing lifestyle through the author’sjourney as a lifelong surfer. Finnegan’s writing is polished and bold[A]high-caliber memoir.” _ –Library Journal _ _From the Hardcover edition._ About the Author WILLIAM FINNEGAN is the author of _Cold New World_, _A Complicated War_,_Dateline Soweto_, and _Crossing the Line_. He has twice been a NationalMagazine Award finalist and has won numerous journalism awards, including twoOverseas Press Club awards since 2009. _Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life_received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography. A staff writer at _TheNew Yorker_ since 1987, he lives in Manhattan. _From the Hardcover edition._ See all Editorial Reviews