Ask a Bookseller: 'Sharks in the Time of Saviors'

Ask a Bookseller · Oct 3, 2020 · 2m

Bookseller Christine Reed of Basically Books in Hilo, Hawaii recommends a debut novel by Kawai Strong Washburn called “Sharks in the Time of Saviors.” Washburn grew up in Hawaii and now lives in Minneapolis. Set in Hawaii beginning in 1995, the story opens with a miraculous event: seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard into shark-infested waters — and is rescued by a shark. His family takes the rescue as a sign that he is blessed by the ancient Hawaiian gods. The multiple viewpoint story blends the mundane and the mystical as it follows the family through their struggle to adjust to…