Shark Dialogues

Perhaps, I should begin by stating that I am not the biggest fan of multi-generational sagas. My reaction, therefore, to “Shark Dialogues” by Kiana Davenport may be skewed.

The author is definitely talented. I really enjoyed the first 60 pages or so, in which we experience Hawai'i and the intertwined fortunes of Kelonikoa, a Tahitian princess banned from her home island when she refused to marry a hideous cousin. Ms. Davenport does a nice job of including Hawai'i's history and the US's colonization. Then, we quickly pass Emma's history and on to her daughter, Lili (quickly again), and then her daughter, Pono, who eventually becomes the grandmother of the four cousins we meet at the beginning of the book. And I found I just didn't care. It feels as though we could have spent a little more time with the two generations before Pomo.

I tried so hard to read this book and even incurred overdue fines in the process (criminal!).

With all that said, the author has a lovely writing style that shown clearly in the first quarter of the book. I am interested in reading more of her work to see if this book was a bit too ambitious.