Book Review: "Shark Dialogues" (1994)

I first read Kiana Davenport's sweeping Hawaiian novel in 1996.  I was living on O’ahu and doing my clinical residency at The Queen's Medical Center.  

At the time, reading the book added considerably to my change in spirit and perspective.

So when I moved back (this time to Waipahu), I picked up the book again at my local library.  

In reading it a second time, I wondered what might have changed.  

What I found was the story and writing hold up all these years later.

The book could be called “historical fiction,” though it defies the typical category.  It might be safe under the word “novel,” which is on its cover.  But I would argue that word also doesn’t capture the book’s essence.  Perhaps it should be placed under the spirituality or intercultural relations categories, but it defies these as well.

I’m convinced the Waipahu library has the best category for it: Hawai`i.  

The book captures some things about life here that are truly unique.  One of which is just how global the islands are, yet rooted in its own.

Reading the book again 30 years later revealed more to me about the book’s story.  It revealed just as much about me and how I have changed.

For instance, this time around I understood more of the Hawaiian words and places.  More importantly, I wanted to know more about their pronunciation and meaning.  

My English bias has ebbed, and the more I am back (home?), the more it dissipates.  With this ebbing has been the ongoing retraction of generations of bias that was built into my upbringing in black and white cultures.  

When I first read Shark Dialogues, I think it was my first encounter with a book that truly helped me see my Midwest (and “mainland”) perspective.  Davenport offered characters that were all completely unlike me and my people of origin.  With perhaps one exception: One of the cousins was self righteous and self destructive in ways I could relate to.

When I first read Davenport’s book, it was perhaps my first good look at how American race relations between black and white can be seen outside the bias of mainstream America.  Davenport's perspective still informs me.  

 

The Island of Hawai`i (formerly known as The Big Island) features prominently in Shark Dialogues, notably around Pono's homestead on a coffee farm.  Today, coffee farming continues in dozens of big and small farms on this island, and others.  There are still some family farms.

My first year in Hawai`i launched me into a lifetime of engagement with Native American cultures.   This book was part of that launching.  While Hawaiian culture is part of Polynesia, it is still an indigenous culture.  Reading Davenport's book made me commit to engaging with indigenous cultures, wherever I landed. 

 

Over the past 30 years, what I found was that there are truths among indigenous people that are hidden.  Sometimes they are hidden purposefully.  

 

Most of the time, though, people like me are not able to see or hear the truths because we are not yet open to them.  I found that even as I looked for these truths, I did not discover them until I was ready. 

 

Davenport does a good job describing the few people in her book who learned and appreciated Hawaiian culture.

 

She does a fantastic job describing the majority of people who do not see these truths or teachings.

 

Reading the book again, I was reminded of how “good” “bad” “positive” “negative” and “evil” are seen in a wholly different way here. 

 

I was reminded that the book gave me important language about understanding ancestors.  Those of other cultures, and those of my family.

 

Reading the stories again, I was reminded that Davenport's characters left an indelible impression on my life.  The women in her story were just as impactful as the men in my favorite tales, such as Lord of the Rings.  And this made me realize again, Davenport's book is feminist.  It was part of the wave of excellent female writers in the 1990's, who portrayed new and wonderful aspects to women's history.  So, I was reminded that Shark Dialogues was part of the process of reaffirming my own feminism.  These characters in some way made their way into my parenting.  When I left Hawai`i in 1997, I went on to have three daughters, and to raise them with Davenport's women in my mind.  So, I credit Shark Dialogues for adding to the values I brought to parenting.  Mahalo nui, Kiana.

 

If you have read Shark Dialogues, I would love to hear your take on it.  Perhaps reading this post will inspire you to read the book.  I'd love to hear your reactions.