Review
WL Rating
I wasn’t sure what to make of this book when I finally picked it up. Candidly, I’m not a very spiritual person so I was a bit worried that this might be preachy or worse....boring. I was also concerned that this might be one of those books where people drone on self-indulgently about surfing being a religion, their path to inner peace, blah, blah, blah. The kind of bizarre stuff that makes me want to hide the fact that I love to surf. Turns out, this is a great book. Writing in pithy, self-deprecating prose, Jaimal Yogis efficiently describes his sometimes amusing, but always interesting, quest for meaning. Yogis manages to keep the book light, even when he’s tossing you a sizable chunk of religious philosophy. Fortunately, those introspective passages are written without any hint of self-importance. In fact, it’s quite the opposite since Yogis is the first person to clearly note that both his motives and actions are sometimes questionable. I also enjoyed Yogis writing about surfing. In many cases, surf-authors have a tendency to write about the act of surfing like it’s some sort of heavy artistic impression. The result are at best awkward, but more often they’re downright creepy. Yogis, on the other hand, has a gift for describing the act of surfing in a clear, entertaining manner that I think captures the best essence of the sport. This book is a very easy, entertaining read that I’d recommend to anyone who surfs. (October 2009)
Saltwater Buddha - Jaimal Yogis
