Normally when I read a book about an outdoor activity, I become so enamored that I spend an equal amount of time either shopping for necessary gear or planning a trip around my newfound favorite activity. Despairingly, Barbarian Days did not manage to garner a similar enamor—after reading the book I never once shopped for a new surfboard even though a good chunk of the story took place in San Francisco. I am unable to pinpoint exactly why this was the case. Perhaps the activity of surfing does not intrigue me like mountaineering does. But I do know that Finnegan is not to blame for my general lack of enthusiasm concerning surfing. The book’s rawness and Finnegan’s open policy regarding his thoughts and life consequences offers the reader a truly fearless biography.

Before reading Barbarian Days my knowledge of surfing was equivalent to an average American (i.e., me) watching a rugby match: I don’t know what is going on. Behind the obvious aspect of riding waves, I knew nothing about the vibes and surfer science that goes into picking the perfect wave. It was interesting to follow Finnegan’s peregrinate in pursuit of the “perfect wave”—searching for something that, once attained, seemed to only satisfy him for a little bit of time. Similar to learning more about Formula 1 thanks to the Netflix series Drive to Survive, Barbarian Days provided context and process into why surfers dedicate their life to perfecting the craft and spending a vast majority of their days chasing waves. Indeed, unlike other sports whose main participants are weekend aficionados (e.g., skiing, skateboarding, rock climbing), surfing appears to hold an aura of its own that teeters closer to being a religion than a hobby or a sport.

My one main complaint with Barbarian Days is the chapter lengths. I will usually read two or three books at a time, and to make sure none of the books drag on, I read a chapter or two of each daily. But because the chapters in Barbarian Days average around sixty pages, the book required an increased length in time to complete. I could not read that many pages in one sitting while also reading other material and completing my schoolwork. In hindsight, I did enjoy how the chapters were centered around Finnegan’s different seasons of life—for clarity purposes that made the story easy to follow—but the chapters could still be split into lower page counts nonetheless.