American history is littered with big man myths, but most of the powerful change in this country happens when communities take care of each other, build themselves up, communicate, and organize. Superhero worship, the idea that there’s a singular figure (usually male) that’s going to save us all. Kawai Strong WashburnLargely through having been beaten over the head with so many Messianic stories, reinforcing the “big man” theory of history, whether it’s something like The Matrix or, I don’t know, Harry Potter. How did you arrive at this structure for the plot of your novel? To be met by salvation and miracle instead was such an unexpected hook for me. You inverted my expectations of what an aftermath novel is-I’ve come to expect an aftermath novel to center, first, disaster. Kathryn SavageIn a starred review, Kirkus described Sharks as set in “the aftermath of miracles.” The miracle at the outset of the book is of Nainoa’s survival after falling overboard during a boat tour and being rescued by sharks. It's no surprise that my big-hearted, wise, and generous friend wrote it. At the heart of this beautiful novel is the complexity of family love, heartache, grief, and the pressures of brilliance. When sharks appear in the water and deliver him unharmed to his mother, what follows is an aftermath story of a different order, the story of what comes after salvation. The novel is set in 1995, and the Flores family is on an expensive rare ocean day trip when seven-year-old Nainoa falls overboard into the Pacific.

For a while, I kept a Post-it taped above my desk that said, “Do what Kawai does,” which meant, simply, make time to write no matter what. I knew he untangled sentences in the early predawn hours while his family slept, and I immediately admired the dogged constancy of his work ethic. I met Washburn some years ago, at a writer’s conference, and we became swift friends. Kawai Strong Washburn’s stunning debut novel, Sharks in the Time of Saviors (FSG), navigates family, climate change, fatherhood, fate, mythology and magic, 'Told with daredevil lyricism to burn,' to quote Marlon James.

Sharks in the time of saviors review