Items related to TAPPING THE SOURCE
Ike Tucker, desperately searching for his sister Ellen who has disappeared, finds himself attracted to the same tough trio of surfers who appear to be responsible for his sister's disappearance
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Review:
If you aren't already familiar with Kem Nunn's 1984 novel Tapping the Source, or if the idea of a "classic surfing novel" makes you either chuckle or shudder, be prepared to realign your literary biases. This is not a story of gilded surfers and sun-bleached blonds, of insouciant days and moonlit nights on the beach; instead, Nunn has crafted a darkly pensive meditation on solitude and desire. Ike Tucker is the quintessential loner, trapped by both circumstance and inclination in a California desert town, abandoned first by his mother and then by his sister, Ellen, who fled, in turn, toward the promise of the coast. His awareness of his own alienation, rendered in prose that is always elegant and often poignant, is haunting:
About the Author:
As he listened the train sounds grew faint and disappeared and someone shut off the music so there was just the silence, that special kind of silence that comes to the desert, and he knew that if he waited there would come a time, stars fading, slim band of light creeping on the horizon, when the silence would grow until it was unbearable, until it was as if the land itself were about to break it, to give up some secret of its own.
The secret, though, comes not from the desert but from the sea. Propelled by a mysterious rumor of his sister's murder, Ike enters the surfing mecca of Huntington Beach, whose bright façade conceals shadowy violence and joyless violation. Wistfully intent on understanding the men who might have killed his sister, Ike abandons himself to the hypnotic allure of the ocean: "The tide was low and the waves turned crisp black faces toward the shore while trails of mist rose from their feathering lips in the golden sun." Nunn's language effortlessly reflects Ike's desires and fears; the novel spirals gracefully into the young man's eventual immersion in the surfing culture and riffs on the terrifying ease with which that immersion becomes overwhelming. Although a murder may lie at the heart of the narrative, the novel is far more an exploration of character than of suspect and motive--and that exploration is infinitely rewarding. --Kelly Flynn
Kem Nunn spent his youth in Southern California surfing and working on boats and did not go to college to study the writer's craft until he was nearly 30. Kem Nunn now lives in Northern California, has contributed articles to Surfer Magazine, and added university work and screenwriting to his list of occupations alongside his fiction.
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- PublisherLaurel
- Publication date1988
- ISBN 10 0440500311
- ISBN 13 9780440500315
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages304
- Rating
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Tapping/Source
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Laurel Press
(1988)
ISBN 10: 0440500311
ISBN 13: 9780440500315
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0440500311I3N00
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Tapping/Source
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Laurel Press
(1988)
ISBN 10: 0440500311
ISBN 13: 9780440500315
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Paperback
Quantity: 1
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0440500311I3N00
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Hard Cover. Condition: Good. Has discoloration. please see photos. Seller Inventory # ABE-1717117901815
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Tapping the Source.
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Dell: Laurel, New York, NY
(1988)
ISBN 10: 0440500311
ISBN 13: 9780440500315
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Book Description Paperback. First Edition Thus [1988]; First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence. Near Fine in Wraps: shows just a hint of wear to extremities, with the mildest nudge at the bottom of the front 'hinge'; a very small scuff at the upper front panel; the end papers and outside edges of the text block show faint but pervasive foxing; the faintest sun-blanching to a small area of red background field at the head of the backstrip; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of any creases to the backstrip. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting or marginalia or marks in the text. Free of ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, or labels. A handsome copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing several minor, unobtrusive imperfections. Bright and clean. Corners sharp. Very close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8.1 x 5.4 x 0.75 inches). 300 pages. Language: English. Weight: 11.5 ounces. Originally published by Doubleday in hardcover in 1984. Trade Paperback. Nominated for The American Book Award-Best First Novel. Classic surfing novel. Nunn has crafted a darkly pensive meditation on solitude and desire. The novel is far more an exploration of character than of suspect and motive--and that exploration is supremely rewarding. First Edition Thus [1988]; First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence. Seller Inventory # 56559
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