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Bocas Trilogy #3
Bolinas
Third in the Bocas Trilogy, Bolinas takes George to Northern California. He’s got an assignment in a quiet beach town with an unnerving welcoming party.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 7, 2019
15 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 27, 2020
I have anxiously awaited the last book in this trilogy. The main character George is bumbling through life, trying to be a good guy in a world that is not always good nor easy to understand. Maybe the real appeal for me is that I identify with George’s mom!
George’s idiosyncratic view of his own life and world keeps me interested and entertained. Throw in free-spirited supporting cast members and some oddball humor and I am happy each time I read this author.
George’s idiosyncratic view of his own life and world keeps me interested and entertained. Throw in free-spirited supporting cast members and some oddball humor and I am happy each time I read this author.
December 21, 2019
Great ending to the Bocas trilogy. I’m sad for it to be over.
June 28, 2020
This is the last of the three novels following our friend George. After adventures in Panama and Australia, he’s now back “home” in California, Bolinas specifically.
I’m sort of sad to see the end. It’s almost like an old fashioned Hardy Boys series — George in Panama, George in Australia, George in California, . .
But there’s a ladder that George is climbing, and if he didn’t make it to the top in this one, he’s in sight of it. The stories make up a kind of coming of age story, where George goes from quasi-innocent or unwitting participant in the tension of the story, to sidekick, and now to leader.
He’s found his way to Bolinas as part of his new, regular gig as a journalist for Esquire. In Bolinas, he’s going to learn to surf, and he’s writing up his experiences as an “immersed” journalist, a first hand account of learning to surf.
And, conveniently as it turns out, he’s also taken an assignment learning martial arts from a studio a short drive away in San Francisco.
It’s convenient because Bolinas isn’t as sleepy as it looks.
Bolinas is known for being unknown — its residents have (in real life) tried to make it hard for visitors to find the town, valuing their privacy along a coast that goes the opposite direction, trying to draw tourists and sell them wine and seashells.
But George finds Bolinas, and he finds its seamy side. No spoilers, but there are some bad guys in Bolinas, just like there were in Panama and Australia. George has a compass tuned to bad guys.
These bad guys traffic in sexual slavery. Bad news.
George’s moral sense has developed to the point that he has to take this on, no questions asked.
Along the way, he’s fallen in with two women, lovers and accomplices. At least one of them is an accomplice, and the other, you’ll have to see for yourself.
Anyway, it’s more fun, like the first two books.
Maybe because George is growing up, and by now, I know George, the plot seemed to fly on to a climax I kind of knew was going to happen, at least in outline. And I knew he was going to find his way to his two accomplice-friends’ beds. Maybe by now I just know George too well.
Anyway, like I said, I’m at least a little sorry it’s over. And I’m sorry to see things didn’t work out with Shawna (from the first two books) after all. That’s not a spoiler — we find that out right off the bat.
Here’s hoping for a long, happy life for George. And maybe fewer bad guys.
I’m sort of sad to see the end. It’s almost like an old fashioned Hardy Boys series — George in Panama, George in Australia, George in California, . .
But there’s a ladder that George is climbing, and if he didn’t make it to the top in this one, he’s in sight of it. The stories make up a kind of coming of age story, where George goes from quasi-innocent or unwitting participant in the tension of the story, to sidekick, and now to leader.
He’s found his way to Bolinas as part of his new, regular gig as a journalist for Esquire. In Bolinas, he’s going to learn to surf, and he’s writing up his experiences as an “immersed” journalist, a first hand account of learning to surf.
And, conveniently as it turns out, he’s also taken an assignment learning martial arts from a studio a short drive away in San Francisco.
It’s convenient because Bolinas isn’t as sleepy as it looks.
Bolinas is known for being unknown — its residents have (in real life) tried to make it hard for visitors to find the town, valuing their privacy along a coast that goes the opposite direction, trying to draw tourists and sell them wine and seashells.
But George finds Bolinas, and he finds its seamy side. No spoilers, but there are some bad guys in Bolinas, just like there were in Panama and Australia. George has a compass tuned to bad guys.
These bad guys traffic in sexual slavery. Bad news.
George’s moral sense has developed to the point that he has to take this on, no questions asked.
Along the way, he’s fallen in with two women, lovers and accomplices. At least one of them is an accomplice, and the other, you’ll have to see for yourself.
Anyway, it’s more fun, like the first two books.
Maybe because George is growing up, and by now, I know George, the plot seemed to fly on to a climax I kind of knew was going to happen, at least in outline. And I knew he was going to find his way to his two accomplice-friends’ beds. Maybe by now I just know George too well.
Anyway, like I said, I’m at least a little sorry it’s over. And I’m sorry to see things didn’t work out with Shawna (from the first two books) after all. That’s not a spoiler — we find that out right off the bat.
Here’s hoping for a long, happy life for George. And maybe fewer bad guys.
February 29, 2020
Bolinas is the final novel in Thomas Barron’s travel-based Bocas Trilogy. The series follows the adventures of an affable young American who finds himself in a different beachfront location in each novel (all starting with the letter B) where he inevitably becomes embroiled in romantic entanglements and criminal enterprises ranging from arms-dealing (Bocas) to domestic violence (Bronte) to human trafficking (Bolinas).
In the third novel, Bolinas, George has returned to the US after his adventures abroad in Bocas Del Toro and Australia. He is prepared to get on with his life, putting tragedy, homicide, and relief at not being a father behind him. He quickly cuts ties with a former love interest and embarks on a new job – a job that takes him on assignment to the reclusive beach town of Bolinas in Northern California near San Francisco. It doesn’t take our hero long to complicate his personal life by becoming romantically involved with two women who work at the bar in town. It also doesn’t take much time for him to cross paths a band of surfer dudes who dabble in human trafficking.
Bolinas, like Bocas and Bronte, is brimming with humor, charm, poignant moments, and sharp observations on life and relationships. Many of these are conveyed brilliantly in the form of Instagram posts and articles George writes for his new job on the topics of learning a martial art and how to catch a wave. The author uses these moments to provide witty and perceptive observations on how men and women relate to one another. Barron’s writing is refreshingly spare, ripe with wordplay, and loaded with insight and like earlier novels in the series, the characters he has created are fully realized, deeply flawed, and achingly human.
Bolinas is a well-written, clever, and perceptive novel that is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
In the third novel, Bolinas, George has returned to the US after his adventures abroad in Bocas Del Toro and Australia. He is prepared to get on with his life, putting tragedy, homicide, and relief at not being a father behind him. He quickly cuts ties with a former love interest and embarks on a new job – a job that takes him on assignment to the reclusive beach town of Bolinas in Northern California near San Francisco. It doesn’t take our hero long to complicate his personal life by becoming romantically involved with two women who work at the bar in town. It also doesn’t take much time for him to cross paths a band of surfer dudes who dabble in human trafficking.
Bolinas, like Bocas and Bronte, is brimming with humor, charm, poignant moments, and sharp observations on life and relationships. Many of these are conveyed brilliantly in the form of Instagram posts and articles George writes for his new job on the topics of learning a martial art and how to catch a wave. The author uses these moments to provide witty and perceptive observations on how men and women relate to one another. Barron’s writing is refreshingly spare, ripe with wordplay, and loaded with insight and like earlier novels in the series, the characters he has created are fully realized, deeply flawed, and achingly human.
Bolinas is a well-written, clever, and perceptive novel that is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
January 4, 2024
It’s hard enough for a sequel live up to the hype. It’s even harder for a trilogy. Bolinas picks up right after Bronte and starts of with our boy Georgie finally returning to his home, just to escape to a desolate and eerie yet enchanting and beautiful town called Bolinas. Barron yet again is able to implicitly describe the culture and surroundings of Bolinas to a tee to the point where I have a clear image of it in my head. We get introduced to several new lovable characters, in addition to some really unloveable ones. The reason this book didn’t have the same effect on me as the last two is because the town of Bolinas is a little less magical than the last two. That being said, Barron’s metaphor of the water and surfing being an escape \ enters its prime in this novel and made me want nothing more than to ride a wave even though I’ve never done so. This book comes off as a bit slower, but has the humor, romance, and action that the last two books provide. A great way to end the trilogy, but probably my least favorite of the three.
February 5, 2024
After reading Bocas (the first novel of the trilogy) I quickly ordered the remaining 2. They were great stories especially if you like the drama and suspense that one might find on a surf trip. Bolinas was especially great since I had spent time in the area and knew the darkness and danger that sits beneath it charming small town facade. From the romance with the local girls to the suspense of trying to thwart greasy criminals, this book was hard to put down.
February 20, 2020
George's journey brings him to scenic, yet sinister, Bolinas, where no one new goes unnoticed. With a cast of memorable characters and moody ambiance, the small town - a haven for seekers, free spirits, and outlaws - draws George in. His new life takes a thrilling detour, as he tries to find a way back home.
December 25, 2020
Held my interest throughout
December 26, 2020
Really fun book! Great writing.
July 18, 2020
Somehow a previous rating of 1 Star was attributed to me. Wrong! I just completed the Triology, of which Bolinas was the final novel.
Loved every minute that I spent reading Thomas Barron’s work. Bolinas was a great ending to a long journey spent with our main character, George. Felt very invested in what direction his life would take. So, it’s hard to review just this one book. You have to read all three to really appreciate where this author takes you.
Loved every minute that I spent reading Thomas Barron’s work. Bolinas was a great ending to a long journey spent with our main character, George. Felt very invested in what direction his life would take. So, it’s hard to review just this one book. You have to read all three to really appreciate where this author takes you.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews