Sharks in the Time of Saviours

'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.

Kawai 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 worked in software and as a climate policy advocate. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and children. Sharks in the Time of Saviours was his first novel. It won the 2021 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, was shortlisted for the Kitschies Golden Tentacle Award, was a Barack Obama book of the year, and a Best Book of the Year in the New York Times, Guardian, Irish Times, Oprah Magazine and BBC Culture.