After the death of his brother, Sanch Murray takes a surf trip to Costa Rica in search of an alternative to the American dream.
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 and sets 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. Through sometimes humorous episodes such as trying his hand as a matador at a road side rodeo or in his not so humorous battle with dysentery, Sanch explores life's beauty and wonder alongside the darker undercurrents of humanity. Along his journey, Sanch befriends a shamanic 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.
Professional Reviews
Like the Walt Whitman lines
"Like the Walt Whitman lines from which Nic Schuck takes the title for his debut novel, Native Moments explores 'life coarse and rank' with its 'libidinous joys' and passions. With a keen ear for dialogue and a poet's eye for the resonate detail, Nic Schuck creates a world his readers will be eager to enter and reluctant to leave." - Jonathan Fink, author of The Crossing
Outstanding debut novel
"I loved this book. You can almost hear the surf booming and smell the salt air as you read this story, and the surf is always there, waiting, and that's a very good thing indeed. Native Moments is an outstanding debut novel and it's most highly recommended." - Jack Magnus, Readers' Favorite
A great book to toss in your board bag
"Schuck does a good job of showing the multilayered cake that is Costa Rica, complete with surfing paradise, dangerous fauna, unlimited vice, all of which is coated in a sweet, ironic icing of Pura Vida. This is a great book to toss in your board bag on your next surf trip." - Drew Sievers, TheWatermansLibrary.com
As deafness, illness, and demonic forces close in around him, Ludwig van Beethoven must summon his faith and genius to complete the Missa Solemnis—a sacred masterpiece he believes could bring divine light into a darkening world.
