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pryngols 's review for:
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
by Kawai Strong Washburn
DNF at 35%. The promised magical realism elements were not fully realized, but that should have been fine by me if the narrative still works. Most of my issues are the unlikeable characters and awkward scenes. It’s possible that the conflict is due to cultural differences, but I found a lot of things cringey, e.g. how the family members would joke around with each other about intimate body parts and sexual acts so casually; and another scene that I will be mentioning below.
***SPOILERS AHEAD—At the start of the book, we have the mom addressing her son in a monologue. I just find it weird how she had to describe her sexual relationship with her husband (the father) in too much detail to her son. There’s also a lot of focus on Nainoa’s siblings, mainly about how unhappy and jealous they are of all the attention Nainoa is getting. Still, I continued reading because I was honestly curious where the story is going. I gave up because of a scene where the main character’s sister Kaui is in a bathroom stall with her friend Van. Van ate a lot of cheese during a party, but it turns out she’s lactose intolerant. So Kaui ended up helping her remove her shorts so she can take a sh*t. After the deed, Kaui even described things as really stinky. But while they’re still inside the stall they ended up kissing and making out. I’m sure this situation could be somebody’s fetish, but it’s just a no for me. It made an already tedious reading experience simply unbearable. —END OF SPOILERS***
There’s just too much weird things going on and too little of what I was hoping for—which is to read about the life of a simple boy who can perform miracles. I am grateful to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. I‘m sorry it didn’t work for me but I still encourage other people to read this unique book, you may enjoy it more than I did.
***SPOILERS AHEAD—At the start of the book, we have the mom addressing her son in a monologue. I just find it weird how she had to describe her sexual relationship with her husband (the father) in too much detail to her son. There’s also a lot of focus on Nainoa’s siblings, mainly about how unhappy and jealous they are of all the attention Nainoa is getting. Still, I continued reading because I was honestly curious where the story is going. I gave up because of a scene where the main character’s sister Kaui is in a bathroom stall with her friend Van. Van ate a lot of cheese during a party, but it turns out she’s lactose intolerant. So Kaui ended up helping her remove her shorts so she can take a sh*t. After the deed, Kaui even described things as really stinky. But while they’re still inside the stall they ended up kissing and making out. I’m sure this situation could be somebody’s fetish, but it’s just a no for me. It made an already tedious reading experience simply unbearable. —END OF SPOILERS***
There’s just too much weird things going on and too little of what I was hoping for—which is to read about the life of a simple boy who can perform miracles. I am grateful to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. I‘m sorry it didn’t work for me but I still encourage other people to read this unique book, you may enjoy it more than I did.