Tapping the Source: A Novel

The only reason I read this book is because of an old Jane's Addiction video called Soul Kiss where the bass player is sitting on the toilet and says he's reading "Tapping The Source" so I thought - hell why not. It is such a good book. Great story about a normal California kid, low self esteem, deciding to change up his life and move away from his home inland. He makes his way by bus to Huntington Beach and meets the craziest people - some good, some bad. And on top of a great story there's an awesome description of what it's like to surf. From just starting out, getting bashed by the locals to becoming a local and surfing near the pier at night. His adventures are a blast to follow and this book is good from start to finish! Yeah I usually judge a book by it's cover, but I'm glad I didn't with this one. The cover is a horrible design, but the book is worth every second. Read it!

Skinny sad sack Ike Tucker, not yet 19 years old, takes the Greyhound bus nearly eight hours to Huntington Beach, Calif., to search for his wild runaway sister Ellen, who ran away a year ago. All he has is a crumpled piece of paper with three names and a garbled account of a trip his sister took with those three men to Mexico. Thus, a young man who has lived nowhere but a tiny desert town discovers inner strength and a working knowledge of the ways of the world — including the underworld and the shadowy world of bikers, runaways, and surfer punks.Not knowing anyone in Huntington Beach when he arrives, Ike nonetheless manages to gradually piece together clues to Ellen’s fate. In the meantime, Ike tries to determine who he can trust — and who he cannot. After a leisurely start, in which author Kem Nunn introduces Ike — and us newbies who are reading "Tapping the Source" — to the world of surfing, the novel, a National Book Award finalist, turns into a gripping page-turner with more twists and turns than the Pacific Coast highway. To reveal more would be to ruin this five-star book. However, be sure to ride this wave

"Tapping the Source" is Kem Nunn's first novel, and it won critical acclaim. Ike Parker is growing up in a small town in the California desert, with no parents and only an older sister as friend and confidante. When she leaves, to follow sun and surf, Ike stumbles around for a long time until a stranger comes to town and tells Ike his sister had gone to Mexico with some bad dudes and never came back. He has some names, and a location: Huntington Beach pier.Ike is only sixteen, and he's not sure what he can do, but he has to do something. Thus begins the story of Ike's excursion into the culture of sun, surf and sin. Sounds simple, but it's not. Nunn understands surfing in a way that few writers do, but he also understands the weirdness surrounding it. He gets the reader so far inside the main character that you easily feel every thrill, disappointment, confusion or fear that Ike feels. It's all beautiful at the start, but as Ike tries to find out what has become of his sister, he is gradually drawn into a seamy underside of the surf culture, where older, has-been surfers prey on young girls.The main characters are strong; the supporting cast well drawn. The mystery behind Ike's sister's disappearance is complex and unfolds slowly. Maybe she's holed up somewhere and needs his help; maybe she's beyond help, but who, how? There are some twists and surprises as the novel concludes. Some may seem contrived to a reader in 2013, but considering it was written in the 80's, it makes total sense.Nunn continued to provide insight into the surf culture, but not in a sunny, Beach Boys kind of way. In each of his novels, there's a darkness looming just as heavy and sure as the crest of a wave behind your shoulder. In "Dogs of Winter" (2004), he explores the peculiar mystique of big wave riders. Now that we've all seen news video of a surfer on the face of a hundred-foot wave, what is mystifying and plain crazy to most people makes total sense to Nunn's readers.Even if you never surfed, but wanted to, Kem Nunn can help you drop in off the crest, take the long ride down the face, waiting, waiting, then turning sharply and shooting inside the curl and rolling over the shoulder of big waves. But there's a price - a lot of psychological drama goes on before you get there.Nunn became more of a TV writer, penning episodes for "Deadwood"; and other dramas. But his readers are hoping for a new novel.

I've had TAPPING THE SOURCE in my "need to read" list since 1997 when I read and enjoyed Nunn's DOGS OF WINTER. So glad I finally got around to reading it. I'm actually shocked to see that this was published in 1984. Reading it today thirty years later it doesn't feel dated at all.This book wraps up a coming of age story, surfing, mystery, action, suspense in a nifty 300 page package. I enjoyed the heck out of it. I loved how pieces of the story were revealed over the course of the book as things were revealed about the characters or they just chose to come clean for one reason or another. The Ike character was especially well done. He starts out as this very noble and innocent kid, but really goes through the wringer over the course of the story.I did not realize that the book had inspired the movie POINT BREAK. But if you've seen that film, you'll recognize all of the things that they borrowed from here. I hope the author got paid for the "inspiration"!I noticed some other reviewers who complained about the ending being too "left field". I don't really agree with that at all. There was clearly some shady stuff going on at the beach and the ending is warped but not unexpected.Anyway, don't hesitate to take a look at this book you may have missed the first time around.

Brilliant read. Everyone loves it.

What a find! Couldn't stop reading it. Great to discover this cult classic surf noir set right in Southern California!

Very good

The shipping was fast and the book arrived ok. But the cover was not hard as it was said in the description.

thanks