Shark Dialogues

A Novel

By: Kiana Davenport

Narrated by: Jolene Kim

“Compares with Toni Morrison.” (Glamour)

Beginning with the fateful meeting of a 19th-century Yankee sailor and the runaway daughter of a Tahitian chief, and sweeping over a century and a half of passionate, turbulent Hawaiian history, Shark Dialogues takes its place as the first novel to do justice to the rich heritage and cruel conflicts of the beautiful and beleaguered islands and their people. Surreal, provocative, erotic, magical, meaningful, and supremely wise, it is a tale of islanders and invaders, of victors and victims, of queens and whores, of lepers and healers. And at its center are Pono, the magnificent pure-blooded matriarch and seer, and her four mixed-blood granddaughters seeking to come to terms with the contradictions of their ancestries and the hungers of their hearts. Their loves, their hates, the bonds joining them, and the furies possessing them are interwoven with ancient legends and lore of the islands whose past offers their salvation and whose future is their fate. Kiana Davenport has written a major contribution to the literature of the Pacific Rim—a great listening experience both brilliantly contemporary in its form and timeless in its illumination.

“A giant, image-fevered, luxuriant saga of a Hawaiian family...powerful, memorable, intoxicating.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Complex, resonant...handles the sweep of history and the nuance of the personal equally well.... Sensuous.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

©1994 Kiana Davenport (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

Shark Dialogues

As a lover of Hawaii, I read this book while I was there and recently moved to North Carolina and listened to the audiobook on a road trip. I love the rich description of Hawai and the history of all the women. I would highly recommend it!🌴🌺🌴

Finally! Been waiting on this one for a while

I’ve leant this book out for more than 20 years,, and the narration is gorgeous. I must confess that I am a biblical file and this book out of all that I have read is on my top 10.

Cultural implications and sensitivity

There is much to learn and understand about the people of Hawaii and their culture. This novel is beautifully written and eye opening. I will “see” even more the third time.

A treasure

Loved this book. Some of the narrating was off, pausing and not pausing at appropriate times, but the accents were brilliantly done.

Great book

The bad Australian accents made me laugh but were hard to get past
Good part of the story though