Daniel Duane

This book could've suffered from the Henry Thoreau curse - every book I read that's compared to Thoreau's 'Walden' is usually painful to get through. However, I found it quite enjoyable. His best writing was about his fellow surfers and what made them tick, what made them live the lifestyle that they lived - unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough of this for me...

Ray Connelly failed in his attempt on El Capitan, Yosemite's forbidding sheer rock face, letting down his friend Mo. He is in even more trouble with his friend having "borrowed" the many stories Mo has told him, written a book of them and their climbing adventures together and tried to get it published. Mo is not happy.

Can he repair the rift in their friendship, what hopes of his future as a writer if he must abandon his cherished book, and has he finally found love in the form of Fiona, and show more how much of this is he prepared to sacrifice in order to make things right with Mo?

Looking For Mo provides and insight into the lives of those young men who pursue the thrills and dangers of surfing and climbing and live life according to their own values. When Ray finally tracks down Mo and they make another attempt on El Capitan we experience something of the thrills of the climb ourselves.

This is a well written and engaging novel, Ray has a very high regard for his friend Mo, and when we finally meet Mo it is easy to see why. While the conclusion is positive it gives little clue as to where Ray's life will go from there, I'd like to have known something of what the future now holds for him. show less

Caught Inside by Daniel Duane
A Surfer spends a year In Santa Cruz, CA coast surfing. Local wildlife and how surfing works, water dynamics and the board itself.
Real life stories of when he is on the board, in the ocean and what creatures approach.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

good book of a guy who needs to find himslef, write a book, and become a better surfer.