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  • Under the Wave at Waimea

  • Written by: Paul Theroux
  • Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
  • Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)

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Under the Wave at Waimea

Written by: Paul Theroux
Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
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Publisher's Summary

“Theroux’s work is like no one else’s.”–Francine Prose, New York Times Book Review

From legendary writer Paul Theroux comes an atmospheric novel following a big-wave surfer as he confronts aging, privilege, mortality, and whose lives we choose to remember.

Now in his sixties, big-wave surfer Joe Sharkey has passed his prime and is losing his “stoke.” The younger surfers around the breaks on the north shore of Oahu still idolize the Shark, but his sponsors are looking elsewhere. One night, while driving home from a bar after one too many, Joe accidentally kills a stranger near Waimea, a tragedy that sends his life out of control. As the repercussions of the accident spiral ever wider, Joe's devoted girlfriend, Olive, throws herself into uncovering the dead man’s identity and helping Joe find vitality and refuge in the waves again.

Set in the lush, gritty underside of an island paradise audiences rarely see, UNDER THE WAVE AT WAIMEA offers a dramatic, affecting commentary on privilege, mortality, and the lives we choose to remember. It is a masterstroke by one of the greatest writers of our time.

Narrated by Jim Meskimen

©2021 by Paul Theroux (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

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Olive character needs development

Olive, a main character in the story is just a cardboard cutout of a person. It doesn't feel like enough work was put into developing this character. Also her story seems to be told only from the point of view of the main protagonist which is strange since the novel itself has an omniscient narrator. Otherwise great surfing descriptions and overall atmosphere of surfers in Hawaii. Very good reading by Jim Meskimen.

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