Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Dean, who is a jock, pushes himself hard to excel at basketball. Nainoa’s older brother Dean and his sister Kaui push themselves to develop their own talents to compete with the family prodigy.

However, the sibling rivalry also has some positive effects. Nainoa is the center of attention in the family. His teachers call him a prodigy, and his parents talk glowingly about Nainoa’s special gifts around their other two children, which makes them jealous. They pay for Nainoa’s healing sessions, which helps family’s financial struggles.īesides his healing gift, Nainoa also excels in school and becomes a talented ukulele player at a young age. Nainoa gains a reputation as a prodigy, and people come to him seeking healing from various ailments and injuries.

When Nainoa heals a boy whose hand was badly injured in a fireworks accident, Malia’s belief in his special gifts seems confirmed. After the shark incident, Malia is convinced that the gods are working through Nainoa and that he is destined to save both the family and Hawaiian culture. Sharks swarm around the boy, but instead of attacking, one of them lifts him out of the water and returns him to his mother. In 1995, seven-year-old Nainoa becomes a local legend on the Big Island after he falls overboard during a boat trip. She recalls his nightmares that foretell the demise of the sugarcane plantation where his father works. Malia also describes how animals are drawn to Nainoa and nuzzle him. The night she conceives him on a beach, she and her husband see the night marchers, legendary spirits of ancient Hawaiian warriors.

Perspectives on these themes vary depending on the point of view of the narrator, with each chapter in the book recounted from the first-person point of view of one of the five main characters.įrom the time of Nainoa’s birth, Malia believes he is special. Ancient Hawaiian legends, gods, and spirits haunt the story and define the character of Malia Flores. Written by Kawai Strong Washburn, who was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, the novel explores the cultural clash between native Hawaiians and mainlanders as well as the effects of a favorite son on the family’s dynamics.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn