Summary of Barbarian Days

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan is a captivating memoir about the author's lifelong love of surfing and his journey to become one with the waves. The detailed and immersive narrative follows him from his first “surfing safari” on the beaches of California as a young teen, to his months-long seclusion in legendary Hawaii, and his years spent crisscrossing the globe in search of the perfect wave. The focal point of Finnegan’s story is the life-changing bond he formed with surfing, and how its influence developed him into the person he is today. While describing his long-standing affair with the ocean, the author also touches on a multitude of important topics, from his personal struggles to his shifting perspective on life and death. With Barbarian Days, Finnegan affirms himself as a supreme storyteller, taking readers on an unforgettable journey to distant, strange, yet deeply familiar seas.