Do you have that fantasy version of who you would be in another life? Until I read this book, I didn’t really. Now I’m certain that if I could be reborn, I’d want to be reborn as William Finnegan. Okay, maybe the first part is not entirely true. I must have had an inkling of who I’d want to be in another life, or I never would have picked up this book. If I didn’t believe, on some level, that surfing is probably my alternate calling, I would have shelved this book like I did most of the other books in the bookstore that day (I was following a strict no-new-books policy). But I am infinitely happy that I didn’t. And when you read this book, you will be too.
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life is the memoir of writer and war reporter William Finnegan. If you have never heard of him, I hadn’t either before reading this book. Finnegan is a long-time staff writer at The New Yorker and a seriously obsessive surfer. Barbarian Days chronicles his surfing journey from his very first surfing experience in California, to his life-long pursuit of waves across countries, oceans, and seas. It is a deeply engaging and inspiring piece of work that—may or may not— make you re-evaluate many of your life choices.
I gotta say, right off the bat, that if it weren’t for this little blurb on the back of the book, I might have put this away way, way sooner. Sports Illustrated proclaims:
“Reading this guy on the subject of waves and water is like reading Hemingway on bullfighting; William Burroughs on controlled substances; Updike on adultery… A coming-of-age story, seen through the glass resin coat of a surfboard.”
Regardless of the fact that I’m not a big fan of either Hemingway or Updike, this idea of mastery of a subject really appealed to me, especially if that subject was surfing (one I’d been obsessed with since I did a brief year-long exchange program in California). I had never read a book on surfing before, and I didn’t want my first one to be an amateur piece of work, but Finnegan’s is anything but that. A talented writer and an incredibly committed surfer, journeying with him from Hawaii to the coast of Long Island (across California, the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa and Madeira) is an eye-opening experience into what it means to really chase your passion and the idea of creating a life based on meaning as well as love.
Because this is a memoir, and not just a book on surfing, much of what the book grapples with is Finnegan’s own growing up story and how he discovers his inclination for writing and interest in politics and human conflict in general. Reviewers have likened Barbarian Days to Jon Krakauers Into the Wild, or Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. Although I would argue that the same sense of adventure and personal development is definitely there, Finnegan’s focus on surfing as a pursuit in life and as an art form, does eclipse any traditional plotline, consistently bringing the reader back to what really fuels him: beauty, adventure, mastery, the Known in the Unknown. It is instructive as well as illuminating and littered with a kooky cast of characters that make the ride especially fun.
What really got to me about this book is the way in which Finnegan describes waves and the almost photogenic memory he seems to have of every wave he’s ever surfed. Finnegan animates waves the way an especially talented musician does a piece of music, or a painter his work on canvas. From “ropy” waves to “mechanical” waves to “mushburgers” to “concussion wavelets” to “waves that peel” and “waves that dip”, his creativity in detailing waves is endless and really brings to life their individuality and the singular, if unified experience of surfing them. Even if you are not especially enamoured by waves, or you don’t understand what he means when he says things like “bullet-fast left” or “run-and-gun, with a glorious tube”, there is a lesson to be learned here in the versatility of nature and the mindfulness that is required to submerge yourself in it. Seeing the appreciation that the author has for a wave’s many manifestations and the ways he approaches, leverages, and honours each of them when surfing, is a humbling experience that encapsulates many of life’s truths and gets you to think about how you tackle the challenges in your life and what persistence means to you. If you’ve ever surfed, you know that surfing is actually a mostly unrewarding hobby, as most of your time in the water is spent paddling out and waiting for the right wave. With Finnegan, however, you discover how intricate and transformative those few seconds atop a wave can be, and how much thought, planning, and work actually goes into readying yourself to take on newer and bigger waves. Before reading this book, I had no idea how much time and effort really goes into being a surfer. Now, I’m much more inclined to think the 10.000 hours thing is true.
At the heart of the book seems to lie the somewhat existential question “why do we surf?”. Even though you wouldn’t guess it from how seriously the author pursues surfing, there are many points in the story when, especially having just overcome a near-death scare or survived a particularly dangerous wave, Finnegan asks himself why he continues his commitment to this sport (I’m not sure he would classify surfing as a sport necessarily, maybe more as a lifestyle) and what purpose it serves for him in his life. His honest, searching answer, and the unpretentious way he self-reflects are some of the things that moved me the most about his writing. If you’ve ever loved something sincerely but struggled with its effects and place in your life, you might empathize.
I read Barbarian Days because I felt like a phony for loving something I did not really know enough or understand. On the surface, I definitely wanted action, and excitement, but I think in reality I wanted to penetrate the psyche that is able to risk danger for joy (again and again) and thereby discover what— if anything— I am missing out on. Even though this book taught me so much, I’m not sure I would go about freely recommending it to just anyone (no matter how much I raved above). If definitely takes a dedicated reader to stick with the journey and to appreciate how all of the parts of the writer’s story feed into each other and are interlinked. The last third of the book, I found to be kind of slow and less compelling than the rest, one of the reasons I could not give it five stars. If you tire of wave depictions and are not slightly amazed by the diversity and variety found in creation, this probably is not the book for you. If you easily lose track of people and places, this will be a challenging, but not impossible read. Nonetheless, if you have a deep thirst for the world, if you love to travel (even in your imagination) and if you are interested in other people’s life journeys, I think you will not regret seeking this book out. If it makes a difference to you, it won a Pulitzer Prize.
4/5 stars.
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