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3rd out of 31 books
—
13 voters
Tapping the Source
by
Kem Nunn
People go to Huntington Beach in search of the endless parties, the ultimate highs and the perfect waves. Ike Tucker has come to look for his missing sister and for the three men who may have murdered her. In that place of gilded surfers and sun-bleached blondes, Ike's search takes him on a journey through a twisted world of crazed Vietnam vets, sadistic surfers, drug deal...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
December 30th 2005
by Thunder's Mouth Press
(first published January 1st 1984)
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Surfing, drugs, Satanism, a dead sister and some bad sex-type stuff. 1980's southern California beach culture gone bad. You never know what's going to happen next, and you never get cheated.
Why is it that every work of fiction I've ever read about southern California makes it seem like the place you go not to sell your soul, but to trade it for nothing?
Why is it that every work of fiction I've ever read about southern California makes it seem like the place you go not to sell your soul, but to trade it for nothing?
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This is touted as the best ever surfing novel, or a pre-eminent example of "surf noir", and I'm pretty sure it's the only novel I've read that fits easily into either category. They don't tell you this, but it's also a great example of a novel that's running along fine and then suddenly plunges off a cliff. I mean, what the hell was that with the [spoiler]? And the [major spoiler]? That didn't even make any sense! A poorly explained tangent into the realm of [spoiler] aside, it's a fine, well-pu...more
Interesting contrast to Don Winslow's The Dawn Patrol in the small world of surf noir. Winslow's book is a little too cartoonish, with characters that could have come out of a USA Network series c. 1994 (Hey, remember Pacific Blue?). This one seems a little ponderous. That's probably a reflection of style. Thirty years ago you could have your characters self-interrogate themselves as a way of mapping for the reader the development in both character and plot. But now it seems sorta silly for char...more
At its core Tapping the Source is a meditation on loneliness. Ike Turner, a kid from California's Inland Empire, comes to Huntington Beach in search of his sister. He quickly becomes caught in Southern California's surfing culture and takes solace among the waves as he learns to surf. There's something pure and true about the ocean in Nunn's novel. However, that purity has been corrupted by a decaying surfing culture.
This corruption of purity is a central theme in the novel. Ike searches throug...more
This corruption of purity is a central theme in the novel. Ike searches throug...more
I stumbled across this book years ago - given to me as part of a gift set, I think, and I've read it three times since. Nunn's debut - I've read two more of his since and, for me, he hasn't come close to reproducing anything of this quality - is dark and brooding and has been credited with creating a whole sub-genre of books (surf noire). In many ways, though, it's a novel about a main character breaking away from his past and reinventing himself; using the suspicious disappearance of his older...more
The best coming of age novel I've ever read. Gritty, extremely well read, themes of murder, corruption, cheap sex, drugs, a boy loses the one person he has ever loved, his sister, and embarks on a quest to find her. Beautifully written, unforgettable. Every teenager and young adult in the USA should read this book.
There are three elements driving this train wreck (well, okay, no train leaves the station as a wreck) and they are surfing, coming of age, and crime. Like Mr. Loaf said, "Two out of three ain't bad". Wow, I really just wrote that. Having limited experience in all three elements, I can attest to each being true to life and well written, and I especially liked the narrator as conscience style applied to it all. I did not like the retarded turn of events that took what was looking like a great nov...more
I would highly suggest this book to anyone who digs gritty fiction that doesn't shy away from the darker side of life, or for anyone who has a remote interest in surfing as a zen-like subculture. Kem Nunn is the quintessential voice for the blending of the two. This book is essentially a suspense/mystery with a young bumpkin-type protagonist who moves to Huntington Beach to find his missing sister. All of the life changes he experiences via the surf culture give this story a lot of sustenance, b...more
Kem Nunn wrote a pretty decent unconventional detective story here. Set in the ever mystical backdrop of Huntington Beach California, a troubled young man from the desert leaves his home and goes seeking answers after being told that his runaway sister had probably been murdered. What drew me to this novel was that it served as the "inspiration" for one of my favorite junk action movies from the 1990's "Point Break"
Inspiration is by far the most appropriate term to use. This isn't a story about...more
Inspiration is by far the most appropriate term to use. This isn't a story about...more
Imagine Nathanael West trying to hang ten or Raymond Chandler shaking the sand out of his shorts and you've got an idea of the feel of Tapping the Source. Author Kem Nunn is firmly in the West, Chandler tradition of presenting Southern California as the end of the line for the Great American Dream. In this case The Dream is wiping out in the surf near the piers of Huntington Beach.
What begins as an innocent young desert kid's search for his footloose sister develops into a soul expanding and dep...more
What begins as an innocent young desert kid's search for his footloose sister develops into a soul expanding and dep...more
Kem Nunn's Tapping The Source is generally considered the finest surfing novel ever written. But it is so much more than a piece of niche genre literature. Tapping The Source is one of the best novels ever written PERIOD. I definitely consider it one of the most powerful, fascinating, and gripping novels I've encountered. Rereading novels is something I seldom do. However, this one I will reread as many times as I can. It's that good.
It was ok. I really liked the book until the end. I won't give anything away but the ending, in my opinion, was LAME. The book was beautiful, and seedy, and accurate about the underbelly of Huntington Beach but man what the hell was Kem thinking at the end? I was actually kind of ticked off. This was a perfect book and then you do that?! LAME Why don't you have aliens come down next time?
I was blown away by this one. Point Break is my favorite movie so once I heard about this book being the basis of it's inspiration I was in a hurry to read it. The first half or so is slow moving and seemingly going nowhere until the main character get's to know Hound Adams and things become increasingly complex and fast paced. There are still things I have difficulty understanding about the story though.
Very original story..
The author is really good at developing the characters [and trust me there are all kinds in this book:].
It is really neat how surfing, bikers, 70's lifestyle and mystery are interweaved in the novel. The author also does a great job at keeping you in the dark about how the story will unfold but he gives you enough to where you can't stop turning the pages.
It is also written in sort of a different style. The main character is Ike and it is his story or being told from his poi...more
The author is really good at developing the characters [and trust me there are all kinds in this book:].
It is really neat how surfing, bikers, 70's lifestyle and mystery are interweaved in the novel. The author also does a great job at keeping you in the dark about how the story will unfold but he gives you enough to where you can't stop turning the pages.
It is also written in sort of a different style. The main character is Ike and it is his story or being told from his poi...more
I had heard about this book for quite some time. Now I know why.
A great read, it works as a surfing novel, a crime novel and a coming-of-age story. The three come together to create not only an original world, but a story that is both gripping and never predictable.
It allows all the characters to find both the dark and light sides of their humanity. The relationships between characters are immediately complex and real.
I highly recommend TAPPING THE SOURCE. Well-written, insightful, and a blast.
A great read, it works as a surfing novel, a crime novel and a coming-of-age story. The three come together to create not only an original world, but a story that is both gripping and never predictable.
It allows all the characters to find both the dark and light sides of their humanity. The relationships between characters are immediately complex and real.
I highly recommend TAPPING THE SOURCE. Well-written, insightful, and a blast.
Started and finished over Thanksgiving break. Not an all time classic/keeper, but a very satisfying who-dunnit with a surfing twist that kept me coming back until I finished the book. A bit of a stretch of a plot line in the end, but I was engaged. What can I say, I thought that 'feds on surf boards' in Point Break made for good entertainment too. So maybe I have a bit of a surfing bias.
What a fun book! I keep seeing it categorized as "surf noir" ---which is probably true but it seems like kind of an absurd category (how can something be noir when it's so sunny out?), but all of the over-the-top dramatic lines are very in the theme of noir! The book reminded me of when I went to the U.S. Open a few years ago---all of the sponsor representatives were passing out lots of flyers and stickers and junk on the pier, and they were handing out this big sticker that had the "Top 10 Best...more
I am still reading this book but thusfar, it is a masterpiece in the vein of hardboiled detective fiction. Written in a no-nonsense, minimalist prose-style, Nunn manages encapsulate images, characters, and environment with cat-like precision, vividly yet economically rendering as many senses as possible at all times. I am totally absorbed in this book.
Jan 27, 2009
Abed Gheith
is currently reading it
So far I'm loving it.
Kem Nunn was a writer on Deadwood as well as co creator of a very underappreciated series, "John From Cinncinati" yeah I know that show didn't make sense but it sure as hell made me want to surf.
This is a surf murder mystery and it's set in the 80's in Huntington Beach, where Surfers can be dangerous. And I'm loving every page of it.
Kem Nunn was a writer on Deadwood as well as co creator of a very underappreciated series, "John From Cinncinati" yeah I know that show didn't make sense but it sure as hell made me want to surf.
This is a surf murder mystery and it's set in the 80's in Huntington Beach, where Surfers can be dangerous. And I'm loving every page of it.
Sep 13, 2012
Mason Milan
added it
Considered one of the great "surfing novels." It has some surfing in it but that's not the focus. The book follows a young and naive kid who comes to Huntington Beach looking for a new life. He loses himself in the seedy and corrupt scene before finding redemption. Moody and atmospheric with some scenes that have a painting's vividness.
Teen goes looking for his lost sister and finds himself involved with drugs, porn and murder among the gangs and former surfing greats of Huntington Beach. Author has a deep appreciation for the beauty of surfing. Much of the storyline was pretty fantastical, far-fetched and seamy. It was an entertaining read, even if not a literary work.
Really good book. Books about surfers and surf culture are so often full of cliches, stereotypes, etc. This one does some justice to it, though -- complex, unpredictable characters and plot, beautiful language and description. I was a little disappointed in the climax/ending, but overall a really good book.
I love the surf noir genre. I don't know how many books are in the genre but I wish there were more. The show, John From Cincinatti got me started on Kem Nunn because the show was a surf noir show and I think Kem Nunn was involved with the production. Sun surf blonds and lots of sordidness.
Nunn’s coming of age novel which transcends the limitation of that genre with an unusually likeable protagonist, an interesting mystery, and a setting in a decaying milieu of bikers, surfers, drugs, orgies, punk rock, orgies, porn, ritual murder, and a sense of palpable evil. Each character brings its own set of quirks and contradictions and you never stop guessing what is going on until the very end. An incredible debut and even if you don’t care about surfing(though Nunn very much does and you...more
Dec 31, 2007
Robert Vertrees
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who enjoys surfing or surf novels, or 1970's era drugs and snuff porn
I had high expectations and was slightly disappointed by this novel, but I finished it and, coming from me, that is a huge stamp of approval. This was Kem Nunn's first novel. Kem's written for HBO's "Deadwood" and was responsible for the ill-fated "John from Cincinnati." I didn't watch much "Deadwood" but as in "John" and another novel of his, "The Dogs of Winter," it seems Kem can't help himself from delving into the occult. I love his unsympathetic gritty drama but I hate it when he unnecessar...more
Heard it was a seminal surf story so I picked it up. Having finished it now I can't really say that is true. The book was engrossing, but it's more of a coming-of-age thriller than anything else. Extremely enjoyable, but not half as mellow or serious as I'd anticipated.
Picked this up partly based on a friend's goodreads review, partly because I'm a big fan of Nunn's show "John From Cincinnati". Had very little idea what to expect but taking the plunge into the unknown worked very well with this book. More and more is revealed over time, both about character and place and plot, and while there was no Son Of God-like surfer aliens or floating retired surfers, this is a story that allowed itself to get darker and weirder and more and more out there as the book go...more
The end sucks, and that's a real pet peve of mine. If you're gonna put the time in to read something, you expect a payoff, and when that payoff leaves you going, "Wait a minute, what?" It's a bummer, especially when it comes out of the gate with such promise. The novel starts with an examination of disaffected youth, surfing, drugs, and the lazy day beach culture in an ugly and uniquely American landscape. The main character and the two opposing forces he deals with are well drawn and interestin...more
Falls just short of greatness due to a terrible and cheesy denouement. It's still an exceptional piece of writing that, in an unlikely setting, combines an angsty coming-of-age story with the tropes of crime noir.
Reading this for like the 3rd time. Love it. It's beautiful. There's ugliness in the book, but the writing is beautiful. Love reading this and Nunn's last book, Tijuana Straits (read that multiple times also) to see how his style progressed. His last book came in 2004. I need more.
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