From renowned writer Paul Theroux comes a dazzling novel following a big-wave surfer in Hawaii
as he confronts ageing privilege and mortality 'It was as if in surfing he was carving his
name in water invisibly joyously.' Joe Sharkey knows he is passed his prime. Now in his
sixties the younger surfers around the breaks on the north shore of Oahu still revere him as
the once-legendary 'Shark' but his sponsors have moved on and Joe wonders what new future
awaits him on the horizon. Uninterrupted quality time with the ocean he hopes. Life has other
plans. When he accidentally hits and kills a man near Waimea while drunk-driving he fears he
will never rebound. Under the direction of his stubbornly loyal girlfriend Olive he throws
himself into uncovering his victim's story. But what they find in Max Mulgrave is entirely
unexpected: a shared history - and refuge in the sea. Set on the stunning Hawaiian coast
Theroux captures the glory and nostalgia of looking back at a rich and adventurous past whilst
learning to ride out life's next unexpected wave. '[Paul Theroux's] writing skills are
disciplined and muscular his ear as finely tuned as a musician's his eye sharper than any
razor' Daily Mail
