Sharks in the Time of Saviours
- 1 Apr 2021
- 9781786896513
- £9.99
- 384 pp
- 130×197mm
- 2 Apr 2020
- 9781786896506
- £7.99
- 384 pp
- 5 Mar 2020
- 9781786896490
- £12.99
- 384 pp
- 153×234mm
- 2 Apr 2020
- 9781786896520
- £25
- 13 hrs
In a few words
A powerful debut novel that blends Hawaiian myth with the broken American dream
In a few words
A powerful debut novel that blends Hawaiian myth with the broken American dream
In a few words
A powerful debut novel that delicately blends Hawaiian myth with the broken American dream, this is an engrossing family saga and a story of exile and the pursuit of salvation
In a few words
A powerful debut novel that delicately blends Hawaiian myth with the broken American dream, this is an engrossing family saga and a story of exile and the pursuit of salvation
The novel you never knew you were waiting for. Old myths clash with new realities, love is in a ride or die with grief, faith rubs hard against magic, and comic flips with tragic so much they meld into something new. All told with daredevil lyricism to burn. A ferocious debut
Marlon James
Sharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliant novel and one of the most engaging and memorable books I’ve read this year. Sentences sparkle, the narrative voices remain distinctive and complete, and the deep notes of magic sound under the realism of poverty and loss. I didn’t want it to end
Sarah Moss
The novel you never knew you were waiting for. Old myths clash with new realities, love is in a ride or die with grief, faith rubs hard against magic, and comic flips with tragic so much they meld into something new. All told with daredevil lyricism to burn. A ferocious debut
Marlon James
Sharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliant novel and one of the most engaging and memorable books I’ve read this year. Sentences sparkle, the narrative voices remain distinctive and complete, and the deep notes of magic sound under the realism of poverty and loss. I didn’t want it to end
Sarah Moss
The novel you never knew you were waiting for. Old myths clash with new realities, love is in a ride or die with grief, faith rubs hard against magic, and comic flips with tragic so much they meld into something new. All told with daredevil lyricism to burn. A ferocious debut
Marlon James
Sharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliant novel and one of the most engaging and memorable books I’ve read this year. Sentences sparkle, the narrative voices remain distinctive and complete, and the deep notes of magic sound under the realism of poverty and loss. I didn’t want it to end
Sarah Moss
The novel you never knew you were waiting for. Old myths clash with new realities, love is in a ride or die with grief, faith rubs hard against magic, and comic flips with tragic so much they meld into something new. All told with daredevil lyricism to burn. A ferocious debut
Marlon James
Sharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliant novel and one of the most engaging and memorable books I’ve read this year. Sentences sparkle, the narrative voices remain distinctive and complete, and the deep notes of magic sound under the realism of poverty and loss. I didn’t want it to end
Sarah Moss
More about
the book
‘As vivid as it is splendid’ New York Times
‘Beautifully written and completely absorbing’ Sarah Moss, Guardian
A BARACK OBAMA BOOK OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVEL and SHORTLISTED FOR THE KITSCHIES GOLD TENTACLE AWARD
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR in the NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, IRISH TIMES, OPRAH MAGAZINE and BBC CULTURE
At seven years old, Nainoa falls into the sea and a shark takes him in its jaws – only to return him, unharmed, to his parents. For the next thirty years Noa and his siblings struggle with life in the shadow of this miracle.
Sharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliantly original and inventive novel, the sweeping story of a family living in poverty among the remnants of Hawai‘i’s mythic past and the wreckage of the American dream.
More about
the book
‘As vivid as it is splendid’ New York Times
‘Beautifully written and completely absorbing’ Sarah Moss, Guardian
A BARACK OBAMA BOOK OF THE YEAR, 2020
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR in the NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, IRISH TIMES, OPRAH MAGAZINE and BBC CULTURE
At seven years old, Nainoa falls into the sea and a shark takes him in its jaws – only to return him, unharmed, to his parents. For the next thirty years Noa and his siblings struggle with life in the shadow of this miracle.
Sharks in the Time of Saviours is a brilliantly original and inventive novel, the sweeping story of a family living in poverty among the remnants of Hawai‘i’s mythic past and the wreckage of the American dream.
More about
the book
‘The novel you never knew you were waiting for’ Marlon James
‘As vivid as it is splendid’ New York Times
‘I didn’t want it to end’ Sarah Moss
A Barack Obama Book of the Year. Named one of the Best Books of 2020 by New York Times, Guardian, Irish Times, Oprah Magazine, BBC Culture, Good Housekeeping, Kirkus Reviews and Amazon
In 1995 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores is saved from drowning by a shiver of sharks. His family, struggling to make ends meet amidst the collapse of the sugar cane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favour from ancient Hawaiian gods.
But as time passes, this hope gives way to economic realities, forcing Nainoa and his siblings to seek salvation across the continental United States, leaving behind home and family.
With a profound command of language, Washburn’s powerful debut novel examines what it means to be both of a place, and a stranger in it.
More about
the book
‘The novel you never knew you were waiting for’ Marlon James
‘As vivid as it is splendid’ New York Times
‘I didn’t want it to end’ Sarah Moss
A Barack Obama Book of the Year. Named one of the Best Books of 2020 by New York Times, Guardian, Irish Times, Oprah Magazine, BBC Culture, Good Housekeeping, Kirkus Reviews and Amazon
In 1995 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores is saved from drowning by a shiver of sharks. His family, struggling to make ends meet amidst the collapse of the sugar cane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favour from ancient Hawaiian gods.
But as time passes, this hope gives way to economic realities, forcing Nainoa and his siblings to seek salvation across the continental United States, leaving behind home and family.
With a profound command of language, Washburn’s powerful debut novel examines what it means to be both of a place, and a stranger in it.
As vivid as it is splendid . . . This may be his debut, but he proves himself an old hand at dissecting the ways in which places – our connections to them, our disconnections from them – break us and remake us . . . With prose that can be breathy and sweaty in one paragraph before gliding softly and tenderly into the next, this passionate writer cries out for us to see Hawaii in its totality: as a place of proud ancestors and gods and spirits, but also of crumbling families and hopelessness and poverty. Of mystery and beauty at every corner
Imbolo Mbue
New York TimesSharks in the Time of Saviours bursts with life. It is bright and beautifully noisy. It’s so good it hurts and hurts to where it heals. It is revelatory and unputdownable. Washburn is an extraordinarily brilliant new talent. This family saga is shark tooth sharp. Its pages shoot off crackles and sparks, and you come out of it changed. It is sublime
Tommy Orange, Author Of There, There
Adjusted my understanding of the world . . . Beautifully written and completely absorbing
Sarah Moss
Guardian[Hawai'i's] ancient history and lush natural beauty pulses through the book. Washburn is an assured and agile stylist, creating a unique and urgent voice for each member of the family . . . An electrifying, heart-wrenching exploration of how life, hope and goodness persist in the aftermath of loss
As vivid as it is splendid . . . This may be his debut, but he proves himself an old hand at dissecting the ways in which places – our connections to them, our disconnections from them – break us and remake us . . . With prose that can be breathy and sweaty in one paragraph before gliding softly and tenderly into the next, this passionate writer cries out for us to see Hawaii in its totality: as a place of proud ancestors and gods and spirits, but also of crumbling families and hopelessness and poverty. Of mystery and beauty at every corner
Imbolo Mbue
New York TimesSharks in the Time of Saviours bursts with life. It is bright and beautifully noisy. It’s so good it hurts and hurts to where it heals. It is revelatory and unputdownable. Washburn is an extraordinarily brilliant new talent. This family saga is shark tooth sharp. Its pages shoot off crackles and sparks, and you come out of it changed. It is sublime
Tommy Orange, Author Of There, There
Adjusted my understanding of the world . . . Beautifully written and completely absorbing
Sarah Moss
Guardian[Hawai'i's] ancient history and lush natural beauty pulses through the book. Washburn is an assured and agile stylist, creating a unique and urgent voice for each member of the family . . . An electrifying, heart-wrenching exploration of how life, hope and goodness persist in the aftermath of loss
As vivid as it is splendid . . . This may be his debut, but he proves himself an old hand at dissecting the ways in which places – our connections to them, our disconnections from them – break us and remake us . . . With prose that can be breathy and sweaty in one paragraph before gliding softly and tenderly into the next, this passionate writer cries out for us to see Hawaii in its totality: as a place of proud ancestors and gods and spirits, but also of crumbling families and hopelessness and poverty. Of mystery and beauty at every corner
Imbolo Mbue
New York TimesSharks in the Time of Saviours bursts with life. It is bright and beautifully noisy. It’s so good it hurts and hurts to where it heals. It is revelatory and unputdownable. Washburn is an extraordinarily brilliant new talent. This family saga is shark tooth sharp. Its pages shoot off crackles and sparks, and you come out of it changed. It is sublime
Tommy Orange, Author Of There, There
Adjusted my understanding of the world . . . Beautifully written and completely absorbing
Sarah Moss
Guardian[Hawai'i's] ancient history and lush natural beauty pulses through the book. Washburn is an assured and agile stylist, creating a unique and urgent voice for each member of the family . . . An electrifying, heart-wrenching exploration of how life, hope and goodness persist in the aftermath of loss
As vivid as it is splendid . . . This may be his debut, but he proves himself an old hand at dissecting the ways in which places – our connections to them, our disconnections from them – break us and remake us . . . With prose that can be breathy and sweaty in one paragraph before gliding softly and tenderly into the next, this passionate writer cries out for us to see Hawaii in its totality: as a place of proud ancestors and gods and spirits, but also of crumbling families and hopelessness and poverty. Of mystery and beauty at every corner
Sharks in the Time of Saviours bursts with life. It is bright and beautifully noisy. It’s so good it hurts and hurts to where it heals. It is revelatory and unputdownable. Washburn is an extraordinarily brilliant new talent. This family saga is shark tooth sharp. Its pages shoot off crackles and sparks, and you come out of it changed. It is sublime
Tommy Orange, Author Of There, There
Adjusted my understanding of the world . . . Beautifully written and completely absorbing
Sarah Moss
GuardianSharks in the Time of Saviours is a story of trauma passed down through the generations, of how poverty, grief, and broken dreams weave their way through the lives of one family. Yet it is a story told with joy, even humour, in lyrical, hypnotic prose that will stay with you long after you turn the last page
Tahmima Anam, Author Of The Bones Of Grace
Kawai Strong Washburn
View profileKawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Electric Literature and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among others. He has received scholarships from the Tin House and Bread Loaf writer’s workshops and has worked in software and as a climate policy advocate. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughters. Sharks in the Time of Saviours is his first novel. It won the 2021 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel.
kawaistrongwashburn.com
Kawai Strong Washburn
View profileKawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Electric Literature and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among others. He has received scholarships from the Tin House and Bread Loaf writer’s workshops and has worked in software and as a climate policy advocate. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughters. Sharks in the Time of Saviours is his first novel.
kawaistrongwashburn.com
Kawai Strong Washburn
View profileKawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Electric Literature and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among others. He has received scholarships from the Tin House and Bread Loaf writer’s workshops and has worked in software and as a climate policy advocate. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughters. Sharks in the Time of Saviours is his first novel.
kawaistrongwashburn.com
Kawai Strong Washburn
View profileKawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Electric Literature and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among others. He has received scholarships from the Tin House and Bread Loaf writer’s workshops and has worked in software and as a climate policy advocate. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughters. Sharks in the Time of Saviours is his first novel.
kawaistrongwashburn.com
