I really enjoyed reading about surfing and hearing about Hawaii, including the language and the culture, both good and bad, that Joe experienced. I didn’t follow how he felt or understand it. He came across as selfish and childish to me. At times, he seemed to understand the negatives about himself and seemed to want to change but also seemed unable to change. I thought that Theroux’s writing was very elegant, but the character of Joe made this book laborious for me to finish.