Barbarian Days

A Surfing Life

By: William Finnegan

Narrated by: William Finnegan

Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016

A deeply rendered self-portrait of a lifelong surfer by the acclaimed New Yorker writer.

Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.

Raised in California and Hawaii, Finnegan started surfing as a child. He has chased waves all over the world, wandering for years through the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa. A bookish boy and then an excessively adventurous young man, he went on to become a distinguished writer and war reporter.

Barbarian Days takes us deep into unfamiliar worlds, some of them right under our noses - off the coasts of New York and San Francisco. It immerses the listener in the edgy camaraderie of close male friendships annealed in challenging waves. Finnegan shares stories of life in a whites-only gang in a tough school in Honolulu even while his closest friend was a Hawaiian surfer. He shows us a world turned upside down for kids and adults alike by the social upheavals of the 1960s. He details the intricacies of famous waves and his own apprenticeships to them. Youthful folly - he drops LSD while riding huge Honolua Bay on Maui - is served up with rueful humor. He and a buddy, their knapsacks crammed with reef charts, bushwhack through Polynesia. They discover, while camping on an uninhabited island in Fiji, one of the world's greatest waves.

As Finnegan's travels take him ever farther afield, he becomes an improbable anthropologist: unpicking the picturesque simplicity of a Samoan fishing village, dissecting the sexual politics of Tongan interactions with Americans and Japanese, navigating the Indonesian black market while nearly succumbing to malaria. Throughout, he surfs, carrying listeners with him on rides of harrowing, unprecedented lucidity.

©2015 William Finnegan (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Much more here than surfing

There is so much more in this book than just surfing and description of waves. I am not a surfer, but learned there are as many descriptions of waves as Alaska natives have of snow. Beautifully narrated by the author, it is about life as a youth in the 60s, friendship, travel, taking risks, failures, serendipity and the love of family. One of my all time favorites.

Fascinating, intense, and delightful author and book

Excellent, exciting book. I'm another non-surfer who nonetheless found the book and the author to be equally fascinating. When I lived in Kauai, I heard surfers talking non-stop about the waves, but they were not nearly as articulate as William Finnegan. Even his actual descriptions of the joy of surfing are interesting, although frequently harrowing.

The complexities of his relationships, examination of male friendship, and sensitivity about his treatment of women and his evolution in that area over the years, as well as his relationship with his parents all add to the depth of the book.

A peek at the cultures and people in the areas around the world where he traveled are insightful and thoughtful. His reading of the book is a delight. He is able to remove ego both in reading and writing, and take us along for quite a ride! I never imagined I would read (well, listen to) a book about surfing, and enjoy it so much.

Brilliant!!!

One of the greatest books ever written about surfing and what it means to be a surfer.

Good travelogue/surfing tale

He is clearly adventurous, loves surfing, and has a great vocabulary. Elements of the story will resonate with everyone who has ever had a sense of wanderlust.

I think the book could have used a better editor to shorten some of the overly detailed descriptive portions, as well as a glossary for non-surfers.

I was amazed, I will say, at how he had kept his journal so meticulously through the years, and therefore had excellent recall of small details from 20+ years ago.

Grand tale

The author does a good job of telling this long tale. The quality of the recording is diminished by the poorly done re recordings where lines had to be redone. No effort was made to match pacing or volume or tone of voice, so be prepared for these lines to jump out. Otherwise, get ready to dive into the life of a surfer in an unexpected autobiography.

4 A Surfer.

Riding the literate waves of Finnegans writing was a journey I did not want to end. There was a time in the first half of the book in which I questioned the selfish surfing search for sensational waves, a bit boring. I was pleasantly rescued by the prose of warmly written vignettes that captured friends, places, and memories of growing up, and aging, in the love of surf.
The reading performance is a soothing lull for a long drive. Thank You Mr Finnegan !!

one of the best memoirs

a lovely instruction manual for the examined Life, this memoir not only teaches you the language and imagery of surfing, it's a blue print for digging down and learning what gives a person meaning. it's so not about surfing on the deepest levels, but how to listen to and follow your heart

More than Surfing

I don't surf and never will, but this book "in and pens curiosity and appreciation for the love of surfing. The vast majority of these folks do it for no other reason than the fact that they love it. That kind of devotion and spirit is becoming harder and harder to see these days. And exceptional book, and so much more than a narrative about the past time.

This book deserved the prize!

Wow! This book does not disappoint. It is one of my all-time favorites. I learned so much and it felt great :-)

Good if you are interested in surfing

Well written and interesting but if you have no interest in surfing this will bore you. I have a little interest and no knowledge but I still enjoyed it overall...especially hearing about the traveling.