The Life by Malcolm Knox, Allen & Unwin, $32.99.
The Life is what a famous world champion surfer can expect to enjoy, a magic combination of international trips, adoring fans and the right to raid the hotel mini-bar.
The Life is what poor, parentless Dennis Keith from Coolangatta, Qld, works for, and achieves, and is ultimately destroyed by.
DK RULES, says the spray paint at his local beach, tribute to his freakish understanding of the way waves break and dominance of his sport.
But this demon on a board can’t handle the consequences of his single, consuming skill and becomes a drug-addled, destructive wash-up.
It’s a familiar tale, the troubled genius broken by his own gift, but Knox is a seriously good writer who stretches himself here, giving a choppy, jazzy energy to DK’s character and voice.
We learn about surfing — starting in the ’70s, when surfers were cruisy amateurs, through to the takeover by the professional circuit — but also about fame, self-delusion, and the cost and collapse of hopes.
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