Sharks in the Time of Saviors

sifuCJC reviewed Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

An intimate connection to a whole family's struggle

5 stars

Poetic descriptions usually put me off in a novel because the act puts importance on something that usually doesn't need it. It pulls me out of the story. Strong Washburn uses poetics instead to show the inner feelings of the character. And she does it well. You viscerally feel the turmoil or the disgust or the peace. It totally worked for me.

This was done in a magical-realism type of plot (though the grittiness is not like the wispy distance of the genre at all), so the dream-like connections to the earth had the same feeling as the prose.

And the final speech was brutally beautiful. I cried.

Tofu Musubi reviewed Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Fun look at life on Hawai'i's Big Island

4 stars

This book nicely blends modern life with ancient folklore. Its story involves a family and their struggles to live a meaningful life while the world around them devolves. The ending felt abrupt, but left me wanting to know more. Recommended.

Allison Wyss reviewed Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Review of 'Sharks in the Time of Saviors' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I wrote about some really wonderful imagery in this one.

https://bit.ly/SharksImagery

gadabyte reviewed Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Review of 'Sharks in the Time of Saviors' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

goddamn.

Bridgman reviewed Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Review of 'Sharks in the Time of Saviors' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A wow of a first novel that makes you look forward to more while at the same time you worry that anything else will be a disappointment. [a:Kawai Strong Washburn|11350440|Kawai Strong Washburn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1566579953p2/11350440.jpg] clearly worked hard on this, which you can tell by how effortless it is to read. A glossary would've been nice as there are many Hawaiian words in it, but you'll know what's going on even if you're too lazy to get off the couch and look them up, like I am.
[b:Sharks in the Time of Saviors|57155105|Sharks in the Time of Saviors|Kawai Strong Washburn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614084115l/57155105.SY75.jpg|70730151] teeters into a genre I dislike—magic realism—but ultimately stays far enough away from that to feel real.
The novel is narrated in five first-person voices, each authentic, and different readers may have different favorites. (Mine was Dean's, but that doesn't mean he was my favorite character.)

Beat hits hard enough in …

A wow of a first novel that makes you look forward to more while at the same time you worry that anything else will be a disappointment. [a:Kawai Strong Washburn|11350440|Kawai Strong Washburn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1566579953p2/11350440.jpg] clearly worked hard on this, which you can tell by how effortless it is to read. A glossary would've been nice as there are many Hawaiian words in it, but you'll know what's going on even if you're too lazy to get off the couch and look them up, like I am.
[b:Sharks in the Time of Saviors|57155105|Sharks in the Time of Saviors|Kawai Strong Washburn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614084115l/57155105.SY75.jpg|70730151] teeters into a genre I dislike—magic realism—but ultimately stays far enough away from that to feel real.
The novel is narrated in five first-person voices, each authentic, and different readers may have different favorites. (Mine was Dean's, but that doesn't mean he was my favorite character.)

Beat hits hard enough in the club after eleven, making my ears all fuzzed along with the dirty tilt I'm getting from my sixth shot, I think. Me and the boys at the bar, this one with its restaurant on the other side and the sports TVs, and in between the spinning color lights and a little stage and dance floor like the place can't decide which one it is, bar or club or restaurant. Waiters trying for get around the few couples all grinding half faded on the dance floor.