Sharks in the Time of Saviours by Kawai Strong Washburn: book review

Sharks in the Time of Saviours (2020) is set from 1995-2009 in Kailua-Kona Hawaii.

The first narrator is Nainoa Flores’ mother Malia. Nainoa (nicknamed Noa) is eight years old. When he was seven, and swimming in the ocean, sharks surrounded him. Malia is writing about the past year, since the day the sharks saved her son’s life.

The sugar cane plantation, where the family had worked, collapsed and her job at the warehouse ceased. The family could barely afford food: ‘if we could’ve poured our money into a cup that cup would be half empty.’ The day of the sharks was like a message from the ancient Hawaiian gods. A day of hope and salvation.

Each character—Malia, Nainoa, Nainao’s nine-year-old brother Dean, his four-year-old brother Kaui, and his father Augie—narrate their lives over the years since the day of the sharks.

Everything revolves around Noa. He is the saved one. His life is destined for eternal protection. But what of his brothers? Did their parents care about them as much as they did about Noa? What is Noa’s life after the day of the sharks?

This is one family’s drama told in the style of magical realism. The story circles like sharks, forcing a close-knit family apart before bringing them back together. It highlights what home means to each of them, the factors that break down the family structure, and the links that make them stronger. It’s an interesting novel, nicely told.

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MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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