Krol's bizarre second novel (after Callisto
) sends a Nazi-sympathizer family into the wilds of the Amazon. Sixteen-year-old narrator Erich Linden is fleeing to Venezuela with his war widow mother, Helga, and effeminate younger brother, Zeppi, after the fall of the Reich. They've been sent for by Erich's uncle Klaus, who intends to marry Helga as part of a plan to change his identity to evade prosecution for war crimes. Once they arrive and are rebranded as the Brandt family, they head inland to their new home, but their plane crashes, leaving them stranded in the Amazon, where they are welcomed by members of the Yayomi tribe, who believe the Brandts are dolphins in human form, as prophesied by a tribesman's dreams. Gerhard Wentzler, a German anthropologist who has been living with the tribe, serves as a translator, helping the “dolphins” stay as long as possible, which isn't long. Though the dolphin conceit is a stretch and the climax is too chaotic to be fulfilling, Krol is adept at creating suspense while imbuing the story with an unexpected amount of compassion and tenderness. (Dec.)
