Synopses & Reviews
Surfing in Far Rockaway, romantic obsession, and Moby-Dick converge in this winning and refreshing memoir
Winner of the Oregon Book Award for Creative Nonfiction
Justin Hocking lands in New York hopeful but adrift-he's jobless, unexpectedly overwhelmed and disoriented by the city, struggling with anxiety and obsession, and attempting to maintain a faltering long-distance relationship. As a man whose brand of therapy has always been motion, whether in a skate park or on a snowdrift, Hocking needs an outlet for his restlessness. Then he spies his first New York surfer hauling a board to the subway, and its not long before he's a member of the vibrant and passionate surfing community at Far Rockaway. But in the wake of a traumatic robbery incident, the dark undercurrents of his ocean-obsession pull him further and further out on his own night sea journey.
With Moby-Dick as a touchstone, and interspersed with interludes on everything from the history of surfing to Scientology's naval ties to the environmental impact of the Iraq War, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld is a multifaceted and enduring modern odyssey from a memorable and whip-smart new literary voice.
Review
"Melville-haunted, surfing-imbued, and wisdom-packed, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld is a lucid and moving memoir. Hocking's laid-back erudition and narrative generosity take us by the hand down a winding path at the end of which lies a new openness to the world's wonder." Antoine Wilson, author of Panorama City
Review
"Searching, gutsy, and vulnerable, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld is a deeply felt account of a young man's aching coast-to-coast search for an emotional home in the world. The settings and quasi-romances couldn't feel more contemporary — anti-depressants and underground New York skateparks, sleeping pills and cold water surf breaks in the Pacific Northwest. But the journey couldn't be more universal, painful, and worthwhile." Daniel Duane, author of Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast
Review
"This beautiful memoir is beyond cool. A voyage both erudite and affecting." Junot Diaz, author of This Is How You Lose Her
Review
"As generous as it is smart, as intimate as it is grand, as illuminating as it is dark. With grace and guts, Justin Hocking dares to go where few men have gone before: not only out to sea, but also into the depths of the human heart." Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild
Review
"Melville-haunted, surfing-imbued, and wisdom-packed, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld is a lucid and moving memoir. Hocking's laid-back erudition and narrative generosity take us by the hand down a winding path at the end of which lies a new openness to the world's wonder." Antoine Wilson, author of Panorama City
About the Author
Justin Hocking is an avid surfer and skateboarder. He edited Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End, and his work has appeared in The Rumpus, Thrasher, and The Normal School. He is the executive director of the Independent Publishing Resource Center and lives in Portland, Oregon.