Sharks in the Time of Saviors

De: Kawai Strong Washburn

Narrado por: Jolene Kim, Kaleo Griffith, G. K. Bowes, Tui Asau

Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a groundbreaking debut novel that folds the legends of Hawaiian gods into an engrossing family saga; a story of exile and the pursuit of salvation from Kawai Strong Washburn.

In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, 7-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends.

Nainoa’s family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods - a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart: Nainoa, working now as a paramedic on the streets of Portland, struggles to fathom the full measure of his expanding abilities; further north in Washington, his older brother Dean hurtles into the world of elite college athletics, obsessed with wealth and fame; while in California, risk-obsessed younger sister Kaui navigates an unforgiving academic workload in an attempt to forge her independence from the family’s legacy.

When supernatural events revisit the Flores family in Hawaii - with tragic consequences - they are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage, and the cost of survival.

©2020 Kawai Strong Washburn (P)2020 Recorded Books

Gorgeous story telling!!

Absolutely loved this book! Loved the performance of the readers. Wish it didn’t end.
It would be a great movie.

Really didn’t understand the point of this story

Enjoyed the performance but really struggled to finish the book. Would say the narrators
did a good job though.

Almost nailed it

This story is a familiar one for us in rural Hawai’i Island, and while it was at times hard to follow, it was easy to get back on track if you slipped down the cliff a little.
The only bummer is that the performers were not all authentic in their Pidgin accent, and Hawaiian pronunciation, which ended up detracting from the overall experience. I wish they would re-record this performance so that they all sound as local as Augie’s performer. It would make the performance a 10. It would sound like the people who the story is about.

Definitely a must listen

The amazing ensemble cast of narration made this book. I definitely would not have enjoyed it as much if I had simply read the words and not listened to the beautiful accents and pronunciations. I thought the story was beautifully written, and very descriptive but unfortunately, just depressing. Maybe it’s where I am in life but I kept waiting for something great to happen and it never really did; it was just hardship after hardship…and maybe that’s the partially the point of the book. Real life is no fairy tale. One confusing part of the story is each character’s chapter starts with a year, but even though the beginning of the book starts in the 90s, the narrative is discussing things which happened in the 2000s; talking about things which are happening and things which haven’t happened yet all in the same chapter “year”makes it a bit confusing to understand where you are in the story.

What Happens to People

We all love to vacation on the islands of Hawai’i. It once belonged to a people not white. But they were colonized then taken over by white people. So when we sip Mai Tai’s under the coconut trees, read this book and think about how the displaced people that once owned the Islands, try to survive living in another culture today.

An amazing experience

Excellent. So beautifully written and performed by several readers. The best audiobook experience I've had out of approximately 60 books.

Great story. Great writing. Believable performances.

All good, except the underlying current that repeatedly shouts, stupid holli dude stay out.
After reading I may.

A sacred taste of Hawaii

I fell into the rythm of the Hawaiian speakers and the journey of returning to knowing the ancestors
Thank you for taking me along

Loved the sound of each voice

The story is compelling and moving. Really got invested in each character and having different people do each voice helped me see them in my mind. Highly recommend this book and really enjoyed listening to it.

Amazing

As a lover of the land, I really enjoyed this book. For all the people who love their land.