Scan barcode
nj1960's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a beautiful complicated read of the history of Hawaii told through one very strong and complicated character the book is not an easy read but well worth it for the history of a beautiful and misunderstood place the islands of Hawaii… this authors writing is poetic but she doesn’t pull any punches and tells hard truths.
nogayourbroga's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Read for my personal Jewish/AAPI readathon for May.
Oddly enough, not exactly in the vein of other magical realist family sagas I've read. Not to say it's the worst, but I fear that the interesting cast, complex relationships, and tense family drama wasn't presented in the best way.
In other family sagas, the story is presented in a linear fashion, to give parallels and plotlines room to develop and grow. The constant jumping and summarizing of entire backstories almost had the effect of flattening out the characters and making the parallels too obvious.
Also? Way too much sex. It kinda bugged me in Confessions of the Fox, but seeing as it's all about the criminalization of underclasses including sex workers and LGBTQ people, it makes sense. Here, you could find yourself in the middle of a detailed, two page sex scene for no reason. And even with the weird kinky shit that Rachel and Hiro get up to, they all sound exactly the same after a while. The House of the Spirits has a lot of sex, too, but Allende knew when to condense and summarize. We didn't need graphic descriptions of exactly how Blanca and Pedro Tercero fucked to get that they're fucking; a few poetically vague paragraphs will suffice.
And as for the prose, while it was often very beautiful, it relied a bit too much on run-ons for my taste. I get that this is just a magical realism family saga thing—I'll never forget Spirit's two-page sentence, lol—but these ones are frequent and noticable with to bug me. The ebook is also sadly lousy with typos—not every single page, but again, enough to be noticable.
Overall, the history was powerful, as were the final 150-odd pages when the plot really began to kick into high gear. But this could have—and should have—easily lost a quarter of its girth in order to really hit hard.
Oddly enough, not exactly in the vein of other magical realist family sagas I've read. Not to say it's the worst, but I fear that the interesting cast, complex relationships, and tense family drama wasn't presented in the best way.
In other family sagas, the story is presented in a linear fashion, to give parallels and plotlines room to develop and grow. The constant jumping and summarizing of entire backstories almost had the effect of flattening out the characters and making the parallels too obvious.
Also? Way too much sex. It kinda bugged me in Confessions of the Fox, but seeing as it's all about the criminalization of underclasses including sex workers and LGBTQ people, it makes sense. Here, you could find yourself in the middle of a detailed, two page sex scene for no reason. And even with the weird kinky shit that Rachel and Hiro get up to, they all sound exactly the same after a while. The House of the Spirits has a lot of sex, too, but Allende knew when to condense and summarize. We didn't need graphic descriptions of exactly how Blanca and Pedro Tercero fucked to get that they're fucking; a few poetically vague paragraphs will suffice.
And as for the prose, while it was often very beautiful, it relied a bit too much on run-ons for my taste. I get that this is just a magical realism family saga thing—I'll never forget Spirit's two-page sentence, lol—but these ones are frequent and noticable with to bug me. The ebook is also sadly lousy with typos—not every single page, but again, enough to be noticable.
Overall, the history was powerful, as were the final 150-odd pages when the plot really began to kick into high gear. But this could have—and should have—easily lost a quarter of its girth in order to really hit hard.
reikista's review against another edition
4.0
The story of a Hawaiian family, beginning with a lost, poor man of Dutch descent and an escaping Tahitian princess, who live in the jungles and begin an empire. The main characters are Pono, a Kahuna, descendant of the two founders, and committed to the land, in love with Duke, who suffers Leprosy, and the granddaughters she has worked to bring back to the island. It is a story of suspense, emotion, and magic.
Learned of Hawaiian history and politics, coffee plantations, leprosy and its treatment, race relations & racism, colonialism, terrorism, heroin, yakuza, south pacific issues, surviving in the jungle, Hawaiian geography and legends, magical realism; relations with Philippines, Japanese, Chinese.
Learned of Hawaiian history and politics, coffee plantations, leprosy and its treatment, race relations & racism, colonialism, terrorism, heroin, yakuza, south pacific issues, surviving in the jungle, Hawaiian geography and legends, magical realism; relations with Philippines, Japanese, Chinese.
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Davenport's writing style. Back in 2015 I read her books of short stories, which were set in different Pacific Islands, including Hawai'i, but this book is set mostly in Hawai'i. I am glad I read this right after visiting the islands, because it refreshed my memory of the sights we had visited. This book is Historical Fiction and the first part of the book was just lovely, but I didn't enjoy the latter chapters as much, so the book was a bit uneven for me. Definitely worth reading.
antjerook's review against another edition
5.0
Eines der wenigen Buecher, das ich mehr als drei mal gelesen habe
artemisiaday's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Disclaimer: I received this book from my library. Support your local library! All opinions are my own.
Book: Shark Dialogues
Author: Kiana Davenport
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Diversity: Hawaiian MC and characters
Recommended For...: historical fiction, magical realism
Publication Date: August 1, 1995
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Relevance: 17+ (sexual content slight, DNFed read)
Explanation of Above: There is some slight sexual content in this book. I also had to DNF this read so not all content and relevance items are here.
Publisher: Plume
Pages: 512
Synopsis: Beginning with the fateful meeting of a nineteenth-century Yankee sailor and the runaway daughter of a Tahitian chief, and sweeping over a century and a half of passionate, turbulent Hawaiian history, Shark Dialogues takes its place as the first novel to do justice to the rich heritage and cruel conflicts of the beautiful and beleaguered islands and their people. Surreal, provocative, erotic, magical, meaningful, and supremely wise, it is a tale of islanders and invaders, of victors and victims, of queens and whores, of lepers and healers. And at its center are Pono, the magnificent pure-blooded matriarch and seer, and her four mixed-blood granddaughters seeking to come to terms with the contradictions of their ancestries and the hungers of their hearts. Their loves, their hates, the bonds joining them, and the furies possessing them are interwoven with ancient legends and lore of the islands whose past offers their salvation and whose future is their fate. Kiana Davenport has written a major contribution to the literature of the Pacific Rim—a great reading experience both brilliantly contemporary in its form and timeless in its illumination.
Review: I had to DNF this read at about 15% into it. I couldn’t get into it as much as I wanted to. The world building was amazing and the details were so beautiful, but a bit hard for me to understand. There was a lot going on in the book and it was just a little overwhelming for me.
Verdict: I couldn’t get into this one and it wasn’t for me, but maybe it’ll be for you!
Book: Shark Dialogues
Author: Kiana Davenport
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Diversity: Hawaiian MC and characters
Recommended For...: historical fiction, magical realism
Publication Date: August 1, 1995
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Relevance: 17+ (sexual content slight, DNFed read)
Explanation of Above: There is some slight sexual content in this book. I also had to DNF this read so not all content and relevance items are here.
Publisher: Plume
Pages: 512
Synopsis: Beginning with the fateful meeting of a nineteenth-century Yankee sailor and the runaway daughter of a Tahitian chief, and sweeping over a century and a half of passionate, turbulent Hawaiian history, Shark Dialogues takes its place as the first novel to do justice to the rich heritage and cruel conflicts of the beautiful and beleaguered islands and their people. Surreal, provocative, erotic, magical, meaningful, and supremely wise, it is a tale of islanders and invaders, of victors and victims, of queens and whores, of lepers and healers. And at its center are Pono, the magnificent pure-blooded matriarch and seer, and her four mixed-blood granddaughters seeking to come to terms with the contradictions of their ancestries and the hungers of their hearts. Their loves, their hates, the bonds joining them, and the furies possessing them are interwoven with ancient legends and lore of the islands whose past offers their salvation and whose future is their fate. Kiana Davenport has written a major contribution to the literature of the Pacific Rim—a great reading experience both brilliantly contemporary in its form and timeless in its illumination.
Review: I had to DNF this read at about 15% into it. I couldn’t get into it as much as I wanted to. The world building was amazing and the details were so beautiful, but a bit hard for me to understand. There was a lot going on in the book and it was just a little overwhelming for me.
Verdict: I couldn’t get into this one and it wasn’t for me, but maybe it’ll be for you!
hiltzmoore's review against another edition
2.0
I love a good epic historical fiction, and I thought this book did a good job of covering the US usurping of the Hawaiian Monarchy. The author also did a great job of covering the leper colony of Molokai and the treatment of its patients. She just completely lost me with the grandaughter/cousin storylines, and for the love of all that is holy, she needs to stop with the run on sentences! I know it was done with artistic intent, but it wasn't well done and it was an overused tactic so that whenever I came across these paragraphs with no punctuation, I skimmed right over. I do like this author and will continue to try her works, but this was disappointing.
dkai's review against another edition
4.0
Generally in 2 sections, the first half of the book is a wild intergenerational tale interspersed with aspects of Hawaiian history that are often glossed over. The latter half tells of the four daughters and has important tales, but ultimately needs major editing for brevity (a brevity like that which was used so brilliantly in the first half).
courto875's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75