A review by booklywookly
Sharks in the Time of Saviours by Kawai Strong Washburn

5.0

 

7-year-old Noa falls off a boat into the Pacific and is rescued by a shark. He emerges unharmed which everyone on the island now regards as a sign from the gods. Believed to be in possession of otherworldly healing powers, Noa is anointed as the savior of the debt ridden family, of the islanders and the island, and is expected to perform miracles and cure diseases and bring good fortune. 

Overshadowed by Noa are his other two siblings, Dean and Kaui, who also have their lives and upbringing disrupted in the aftermath of this miracle for no fault of their own. Their talents ignored, their needs dismissed as petty jealousy -  their parents seem to only care about Noa - they grow bitter and distant from the family and island. 

When the times comes, the siblings leave Hawaii to build their future. But the island refuses to leave them. All three of them are suffering from identity crisis in the mainland. Dean is frustrated growing up as the lesser brother. Kaui is struggling with her sexuality. And Noa is burdened by the expectations of performing miracles. 

The book is presented from the PoV of four narrators - the siblings and the mother - struggling and treading through time and their altered fates ever since the incident with the shark. Washburn very crafty weaves in Hawaiian folklore, magical realism and myths into a modern story. Instead of getting a commercially exploited Hawaii, the book gave me an insight to the daily lives of native Hawaiians, their beliefs and culture, tradition, their views on mainland, and their fear of being invaded by outsiders. 

I loved this book. There is a certain lyrical beauty to his writing and I didn’t want it to end. I look forward to read more from Washburn. 

Prateek
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