Surfing Serendipity

Brief synopsis:

Setting : East London / Essex / Cambridge (with foreign excursions, including California) from 1955-75

Themes: Friendship, sex, love and family but, above all, a celebration of an opportunist approach to life as embodied by Devereux Norman, the serendipity surfer himself.

Dev is one of life's natural chancers, joyfully surfing through life on instinct, wit, charm and no little talent, edged with an almost reckless need to ride every wave of opportunity that arrives, no matter the consequences. The story follows his life from schooldays to mid twenties, weaving through characters and events but always returning to his lifelong friend, Norman Devereux. They are opposite in name and character and, linked by that inversion, deeply affect each other's lives.

"Sure, they were opposites, and it had always seemed an odd friendship to outsiders. But the truth was, they complemented each other, indeed almost needed each other. Norman was Dev's touchstone, and vice versa. The one defined the other, set the context, judged success or failure. In this way their lives intertwined."

Story outline:

The end A 'cut down' version of the closing section sets the scene and briefly introduces many of the main characters, leaving questions as to their relationships (and, indeed, about the events described) which are then developed throughout the novel.

Part I: innocence and friendship Dev and Norman arrive in the same infants school class. Marked out by their intelligence but with little else in common a friendship develops. Their basic characteristics are established.

Part II: transition and experience The partnership is split as Norman goes off to boarding school at 12, and Dev develops a new set of friends. Adolescent traumas follow, but Dev survives. Links with Norman and his new friend Jonathan are maintained, placing Dev against a different backdrop. Dev has an erratic school career, teetering on the edge of criminality in association with his friend Gary, whilst Norman sails his steady course. Girls make a formative appearance and Dev gets laid but is later almost entrapped. At the crucial moment, Norman's success inspires, if only through shear cussednesss.

Part III: freedom and confusion

Back with Norman and Jonathan again in Cambridge. Sex'n'drugs'n'rock'n'roll as you might expect from student days, but confusion through sexual permissiveness. Jenny as an unflattering mirror, set in the context of a complex relationship with Jonathan and Dev. Norman meets Deborah and ploughs on obliviously. Crisis leads to resolution but new threads emerge.

Part IV: love and 'family' A chance encounter leads to a meaningful relationship. Dev tries to get a career off the ground but cross-links back to his 'criminal' past cause complications. The Dev/Des, Norman/Deborah relationship develops… Deborah and Norman plan to start a family, but are having problems with conception. Des is keen, too, though Dev is not... but accidents can happen.

Part V: chaos and redemption Work and 'family' problems reach crisis point and Dev and Des split acrimoniously. Rushing to Norman for advice, Dev finds him out but the desperate Deborah all too welcoming. He leaves for temporary exile in California confused and in turmoil, where he keeps himself to himself for a while but is finally drawn into a sexual relationship with an older woman. Only on finding what she has given up in the name of freedom does he realise what he has walked out on. Dev returns determined to win Des back - but things are not as he expects...

The end (reprise) The full version of the introductory pages rounds off the story

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