Native Moments, Nic Schuck
Native Moments, Nic Schuck
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Native Moments
A Costa Rican Surf Adventure

Author: Nic Schuck

Narrator: Dan Jones

Unabridged: 8 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/13/2025


Synopsis

After the death of his brother, Sanch Murray leaves for a surf trip to Costa Rica as a way to cope, but also as a way to prolong making decisions about his adult life, setting out on a quixotic search for an alternative to the American Dream.Set in 1999 Costa Rica, Sanch and his friend Jake Higdon wander the dirt roads of Tamarindo and surrounding areas chasing waves as a way to live out the romantic fantasy lifestyle of traveling surfers. Jake Higdon, six years Sanch's senior, takes on the role of the wise leader and Sanch as his young apprentice. Sanch's adventure leads to encounters with people who share world views he had never considered and could potentially shape his own changing perceptions about life. His existential adjustment gradually manifests through sometimes humorous episodes such as trying his hand as a matador at a roadside rodeo or in his not-so-humorous battle with dysentery. Along his journey, Sanch befriends a shamanistic traveler named Rob, young revolutionaries from Venezuela, numerous expatriates from around the world trying to escape whatever it is that keeps chasing them and a beautiful local girl named Andrea, who Sanch suspects is a prostitute but can't help falling for.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ed Sarna on August 25, 2020

Entertaining story that kept me turning pages but, with a strong editor, could have been so much more. Reminiscent of The Sun Also Rises.......more

Goodreads review by Jules The Book Junkie Reviews on July 04, 2018

More “drugs, women and surfing” than “wine, women, and song”, Native Moments is drug-fueled existentialism. Readers need to be prepared to question the established and expected social norms from the perspective of the young Sanch and Jake. Their disillusionment and inebriated wandering are reminisce......more

Goodreads review by Jose on June 23, 2016

I received this book for free by the author in exchange for an honest review. It digs deeper into the spirit of those who find living in wandering and travelling. Deals with thoughts, that I'm sure, have crossed the minds of many generations at some point during their life. Thrill and empathy at a wi......more

Goodreads review by Leo on March 28, 2021

Simple tale of mis-guided youth, albeit with surfing. Audible makes it even worse with poor narrator.......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on October 09, 2023

Schuck captures all the exhilaration, doubt, bravado, fear, innocence, arrogance, prowess, ineptitude, and freedom of being young while exploring the world. The brilliantly realistic, nonjudgmental coming-of-age tale follows the adventures of Jake and Sanch, two surf bums who leave behind their live......more