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jmiae 's review for:
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
by Kawai Strong Washburn
Let this be the Goodreads equivalent of a standing ovation. This book is truly a triumph. Of prose, of thematic arcs, of character voices, of representing Hawaii. On that last point, I speak only as someone who grew up in Hawaii, not as a Hawaiian. But it is a glorious thing, to be able to read books like this, written from perspectives that are so specific and authentic.
It's a bit ironic, reading this immediately after The Swimmers, another book that resonated with me, but with a different piece of my identity. In this instance, I felt like someone else was speaking to me about what it means to be from Hawaii and to feel the pull of the land. What it means to move away to the mainland and still feel like part of you is tethered to the islands. It's a bit eerie, actually, to see your experiences reflected on the page. Eerie but incredibly affirming.
But mostly, this book is just gorgeous. Kawai incorporates Hawaiian pidgin unabashedly (no glosses, no glossary), which could be somewhat challenging for readers who are unfamiliar with those grammatical structures and phrases specific to the dialect. But I think, for all its specificities, that the story about the Flores family and the experiences of their three children also connect with emotions and relationships that are deeply universal.
It's a bit ironic, reading this immediately after The Swimmers, another book that resonated with me, but with a different piece of my identity. In this instance, I felt like someone else was speaking to me about what it means to be from Hawaii and to feel the pull of the land. What it means to move away to the mainland and still feel like part of you is tethered to the islands. It's a bit eerie, actually, to see your experiences reflected on the page. Eerie but incredibly affirming.
But mostly, this book is just gorgeous. Kawai incorporates Hawaiian pidgin unabashedly (no glosses, no glossary), which could be somewhat challenging for readers who are unfamiliar with those grammatical structures and phrases specific to the dialect. But I think, for all its specificities, that the story about the Flores family and the experiences of their three children also connect with emotions and relationships that are deeply universal.