Sharks in the Time of Saviors – Kawai Strong Washburn

100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: [adapted from the dustjacket] In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean, and what happens next shocks everyone. When supernatural events revisit the Flores family with tragic consequences, they are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage and the cost of survival.

Expectation: A quasi-scifi family drama about carrying the weight of your family’s hopes and dreams.

Reality: A strong first half was ruined by a mid-point plot twist that rendered the rest of the novel far less interesting.

Recommended For: Fans of high concept storytelling rooted in realistic people and situations.

Why I Read It: It was one of Barack Obama’s favorite reads in 2020.

My Take:

A book that starts promisingly and fizzles out by the end is the avid reader’s equivalent of a child’s anticipation at opening the largest gift under the Christmas tree only to find it’s mostly packaging and filled with clothes.

For 60 percent of “Sharks in the Time of Saviors,” I was completely invested and lavishing early praise to all who would listen. As the story dragged to its conclusion, my listening was out of obligation for the early goodwill Kawai Strong Washburn earned rather than my enjoyment.

It’s a shame because Washburn hooked me immediately. Quickly establishing our main characters and giving us taste of how this quasi-magical family drama was going to play out.

The tense first chapter almost left me breathless. In it, Malia, a mother of three, recounts the horror in seeing her youngest son, Nainoa, in the jaws of a shark after going overboard during a sightseeing cruise.

That horror quickly turns to celebration as Nainoa — or Noa — is unscathed by the encounter, leading to the assumption he must have been anointed by ancient Hawaiian gods to do great things. Thus, a chain of events is started that will have significant impact on all members of the family, but especially his older brother, Dean, and younger sister, Kaui.

We then follow the family for 15 years and hear the POVs of Malia, Noa, Dean and Kaui. Through their experiences, Washburn raises interesting questions about anointing a child gifted, and the strain that puts on a family. From parents, who put all their hopes and dreams (and finances) on the backs of one person, and the siblings who no matter how hard they try will never measure up.

Washburn, a native Hawaiian, also addresses the marginalization of Pacific Islanders, and the challenges with poverty, housing insecurity and substance abuse. All-in-all, it was a unique and insightful read with the right balance of mystical and realism.

Then it wasn’t.

[major spoilers ahead]

After Noa’s death, which was incredibly underplayed by Washburn considering he is the center of the story, it felt like everything fell apart. Instead of exploring how the family recalibrates and processes — especially Malia — the last third turned into a focus almost exclusively on Dean and Kaui, making the last third felt like a different novel from the one I started.

There’s something authentic in having people you were rooting for let you down, it’s often how life goes, but the death of Noa and drastic shifts in personality from Dean and Kaui made the entire novel feel like a bait and switch.

I’m not someone that needs a happy ending or character redemption to feel satisfied (see Kirstin Valdez Quade’s “The Five Wounds”), but I do want characters on a journey that feels authentic and that’s not what happened.

Dean entering jail and aligning with an organized crime ring? Huh? That’s a far cry from the former basketball star with a chip on his shoulder about not living up to his own expectations. In many ways he was the emotional center of the novel but all of that was ripped away.

Kaui addicted to drugs and dropping out of school? Um…what? She often felt like an outlier to the core plot since she wasn’t particularly close to her brothers or parents, but the exploration of her sexuality and finding her “why” was compelling. So, to have her giving it all up to work on a farm back in Hawaii felt like a stretch.

There was nothing in their past experiences that led you to believe this is where they would end up. Yes, trauma and grief can alter your life in profound ways, but I wasn’t buying it here.

[major spoilers ended]

Would I give Washburn another shot? Absolutely. There was a general ease in his prose and — except for what’s noted above — a realism in how the characters were presented and developed. I was invested in each of their journeys, to a point, and I think he’s got a few great novels left to write.

Criticism of the text aside, the audiobook was one for the ages.

Jolene Kim, Kaleo Griffith, G.K. Bowes and Tui Asau absolutely nailed their performances as Malia, Noa, Dean and Kaui, respectively. Each brought a conversational approach to the characterization, which helped elevate Washburn’s understated humor and amplified the Hawaiian roots of the Flores family.

Sometimes when you listen to multiple narrators in a family story it feels like each performer is trying to be the star. Here, they all complemented one another with no one person stealing the spotlight. They truly felt like a bonded family. Special shoutout to Kim and Bowes whose performances deepened my appreciation for Malia and Dean and made them the most interesting characters in the novel.

Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): 5/5 stars

Formats: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: May 2 – May 5, 2022

Multi-tasking: Good to go. It’s best suited for activities where you can still concentrate, however.