Tapping the Source
by Kem Nunn
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 133)
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Surf Noirists
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...more
What begins as an innocent young desert kid's search for his footloose sister develops into a soul expanding and...more
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Read in January, 1998
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 unsym...more
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Most of this book is excellent, but the ending is ridiculous. Also, the book is about 50 pages longer than it needs to be and the language near the end starts to go all wifty--it loses its clarity and honesty. If I'd been editor of this book, I'd have said, Kem, you're going down the wrong path here. But he didn't ask me! Nevertheless the book makes its point quite well: it's about a short time in the lives of a few young people that was golden, really--and they blew it. It all turned incredibly...more
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Read in May, 2007
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 ...more
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Read in May, 2008
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 fin...more
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bookshelves:
john-from-cincinnati,
noir,
summer-reading,
surf-noir,
surfing
this has that perfect black summer vibe, like listening to joy division in the blazing sun of a summer afternoon. i guess all the hidden, relevatory stuff in john from cincinnati may be mostly from david milch, because there isn't as much of that in this book, other than kem nunn unveiling those bits of spiritual need that are intertwined with the desire to surf. perfectly drawn though is the scuzzy underbelly of all that california dreaming, as that quest to tap the source abuts against all...more
Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
people for whom the term surf-noir is like manna (or crack?)
this has that perfect black summer vibe, like listening to joy division in the blazing sun of a summer afternoon. i guess all the hidden, relevatory stuff in john from cincinnati may be mostly from david milch, because there isn't as much of that in this book, other than kem nunn unveiling those bits of spiritual need that are intertwined with the desire to surf. perfectly drawn though is the scuzzy underbelly of all that california dreaming, as that quest to tap the source abuts against all...more
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Read in June, 2007
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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Read in January, 1985
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.
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What I admired most about this book, Nunn's first and the widely-regarded first account of Surf Noir, is the sense of menace. Moral characters do nasty things. Nunn, at times, is able to turn sentences on one word and surprise you in a la Johnson's Angels. The ending however is bunk and I can't decide if the intention is to be pure camp or an affectation. Nonetheless, a finely twisted story, brah.
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Read in October, 2001
Simple writing with clear imagery and an excellent plot. Read this book while in Fiji and I couldn't stop reading it. Gets a little thin at the end but still finished it off nice; needed more of a punch...maybe that's just me. EXCELLENT coming of age novel; perfect for Juniors/Seniors in high school....well maybe except at religious schools.
Killer...check it out; worth the read
Killer...check it out; worth the read
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2007
Read in November, 2007
Ike leaves the sticks for Huntington Beach to find out what happened to his sister. He falls in with tough bikers, surfers, cultists and pornographers, as he tries to grow up without getting killed. The pacing and narrative is great, but the writing is weak, as are most of the characters, who come across at Point Break characters.
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This book reconnected me with beach culture. I don't know why I liked it so much, but I think it was the characters that got me. I was drawn into this seedy world and wanted to stay there longer when I was done.
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Okay, that is really a three and a half star review. This book started out awesome, but definitely lost steam in the last 50 pages. I loved the beginning in the desert, and the middle in the waves.
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This book is like a crazy cross between the movies "Vanilla Sky" and "Point Blank". As if Bukowski and James Patterson got together to write point blank without robbers and Keanu.
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Read in July, 2006
recommends it for:
surfers
if you surf, read this. it's a story about a kid who learns to surf, gets lucky with a surf bunny and kicks some serious ass along the way.
or wait for movie. whatever.
or wait for movie. whatever.
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Read in January, 2007
This has everything essential to a good novel: bikers, surfers, crazy vietnam veterans, murder, pimping underagers, sibling incest, and coke-fueled orgies.
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my obsession with HBO's John from Cincinnatti led me to this book. same writer.
didnt actually finish this one. boring. just incredibly boring.
didnt actually finish this one. boring. just incredibly boring.
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This is one of my favorite works of fiction. It's about the world of surfing in Southern California, and the dark side of that world.
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Read in June, 2006
recommends it for:
surfers
This book rides this gorgeous line between blinding emotional reality and total trash. I would read it again but I probably won't.
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Read in January, 2007
Gangster ass surf book about Huntington Beach back in the day.
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