Sharks in the Time of Saviors

　　本書為瓦斯彭(Washburn)第一部小說，重新演繹夏威夷的傳統，神話與認同。故事追溯到一九九五年，年僅七歲的奈歐亞(Nainoa Flores)在難得的家庭出遊中，不慎落海。這時一群鯊魚出現在他身邊，著急的家人束手無策之際，卻有一隻鯊魚輕輕地用嘴撈起奈歐亞，交給他的母親。這個奇異的事件讓奈歐亞成了傳奇人物，大人們深信他受到眾神的眷顧，一定會帶來好運。

　　但是這個來自夏威夷眾神的禮物，卻沒能帶給這個家庭幸福：一家人賴以為生的甘蔗園倒閉，奈歐亞與他的哥哥狄恩(Dean)還有妹妹卡伊(Kaui)，成年後都紛紛離開小島，來到美國的大城市求生，追尋各自的美國夢。奈歐亞在波特蘭擔任護理人員，試著一展長才。哥哥狄恩在華盛頓追求球星夢，過著紙醉金迷的日子。卡伊則在加州生活，在酒酣耳熱之際迷失自我。分離各地的手足，冥冥中卻被一股力量操弄，逐漸想起自己的故事與傳統。家族的文化遺產，倖存的代價，陸續上門。而最後的答案都藏在家族的血脈裡。

　　In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends.

　　Nainoa’s family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods—a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart: Nainoa, working now as a paramedic on the streets of Portland, struggles to fathom the full measure of his expanding abilities; further north in Washington, his older brother Dean hurtles into the world of elite college athletics, obsessed with wealth and fame; while in California, risk-obsessed younger sister Kaui navigates an unforgiving academic workload in an attempt to forge her independence from the family’s legacy.

　　When supernatural events revisit the Flores family in Hawai’i—with tragic consequences—they are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage, and the cost of survival.

作者簡介

　　Kawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. His work has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading, McSweeney’s, and Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, among other outlets. He was a 2015 Tin House Summer Scholar and 2015 Bread Loaf work-study scholar. Today, he lives with his wife and daughters in Minneapolis. Sharks in the Time of Saviors is his first novel.