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Sharks in the Time of Saviors
by Kawai Strong Washburn
SHARKS IN THE TIME OF SAVIORS by Kawai Strong Washburn is a novel set in Hawaii about a family’s hopes and dreams, the relentless burden of poverty, the islands’ legends, and the weight of unrealized expectations.
Each of the Flores family’s three children is special in their own way: Dean is a basketball star, Nainoa is touched by the gods with the power to heal others, and Kaui is whip-smart. Throughout their lives, their family teeters on the knife-edge of subsistence, one bad fall from complete indigence. Their collective hope lies in the children, who each go to the mainland for college: that Dean will make it big and play in the NBA, that Nainoa will harness supernatural abilities and become something great, that Kaui will achieve success and stability as an engineer.
However, the splinters and fractures accumulate as the kids’ paths don’t proceed as expected, and it’s only a matter of time until the entire castle of dreams collapses. How will the family go on? Will they stay together through it all? What hope is there after all hopes are burnt to ash?
Washburn’s writing is astoundingly good, vigorous and tender and magical. The story is told from four different vantage points, and he gives each character a distinct, compelling, memorable voice that epitomizes their personalities. He conveys deep love and reverence for Hawaii and its ancestors while spinning a modern tale of a family struggling against the looming legacies of imperialism, capitalism, and the lack of a safety net. It’s alchemy; it’s gold.
Just read this one! It bathed me in lush prose, it swept me into the Flores family’s tsunami, it drowned me in heartbreak. Winner of the 2020 PEN/Hemingway Award for debut novel, on Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2020 list, and named one of the NY Times Best Books of 2020, don’t miss this one, especially if you appreciate family sagas with a alternating viewpoints and a touch of magical realism.
Each of the Flores family’s three children is special in their own way: Dean is a basketball star, Nainoa is touched by the gods with the power to heal others, and Kaui is whip-smart. Throughout their lives, their family teeters on the knife-edge of subsistence, one bad fall from complete indigence. Their collective hope lies in the children, who each go to the mainland for college: that Dean will make it big and play in the NBA, that Nainoa will harness supernatural abilities and become something great, that Kaui will achieve success and stability as an engineer.
However, the splinters and fractures accumulate as the kids’ paths don’t proceed as expected, and it’s only a matter of time until the entire castle of dreams collapses. How will the family go on? Will they stay together through it all? What hope is there after all hopes are burnt to ash?
Washburn’s writing is astoundingly good, vigorous and tender and magical. The story is told from four different vantage points, and he gives each character a distinct, compelling, memorable voice that epitomizes their personalities. He conveys deep love and reverence for Hawaii and its ancestors while spinning a modern tale of a family struggling against the looming legacies of imperialism, capitalism, and the lack of a safety net. It’s alchemy; it’s gold.
Just read this one! It bathed me in lush prose, it swept me into the Flores family’s tsunami, it drowned me in heartbreak. Winner of the 2020 PEN/Hemingway Award for debut novel, on Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2020 list, and named one of the NY Times Best Books of 2020, don’t miss this one, especially if you appreciate family sagas with a alternating viewpoints and a touch of magical realism.