Monthly Book Pick: Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
“We’d feel the rip pull us sideways along the beach, see who could get deeper under each wave, let the sucking current of the coming set drag us along, the grains of sand gathering and bouncing over our spines, and we’d feel the water start to bend and stand up, tugging on our board shorts, and when the wave crested and tossed its full force directly on top of us, we’d push deep and open our eyes and grin at the yawning curl of gold sand and blue ocean that couldn’t touch us. Underwater, Dean’s eyes were as I think mine were, squinted with joy, and the air rushed from out noses and mouths in silver ropes as we swam back to the surface, where we’d high-five at our bravery, at what we could beat” (30).
In Kawai Strong Washburn’s debut, he delivers us a gift of a novel. Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a tale of a family torn apart and rebuilt by the strange magic that lurks in their home, Hawaii. Kaui, Dean, and Nainoa are children of the island, their leather brown skin perpetually crusted over with salt. They frolic in the trees and on the beaches, getting into all sorts of mischief until one day the family takes their first vacation on a cruise. Nainoa, or Noa, is thrown off board and nearly drowns when the unimaginable happens, the sharks that once circled him menacingly deliver him back to the boat safely, shivering as he rides in the mouth of the alpha. From then on, Kaui and Dean are left to figure out how to forge their own legacies as Noa discovers powers that rake in much-needed money for the family. The story continues to follow the children, each chapter narrated by a different perspective, as they break apart from their home but are called back by the whispering voices of the island, as well as a catastrophic event that forces them all to question everything they knew about their childhood.
Sharks in the Time of Saviors is the perfect escapism book. Read it to get whisked away to a sunny beach beneath towering palm trees. I picked the quote above as one of my favorites because it gives you a taste of the intricate and imaginative language that Washburn employs to make this a truly exceptional story.
