tatrinajarillas

While I wouldn't rate this quite as high in my opinion as Krol's previous novel, Callisto, it's still impressive, and it may very well be that I simply loved the other one because it so brilliantly lambasted our country's obsession with "homeland security" and crushing "terrorists." At any rate, there is also a lot that is brilliant about this second effort. The story takes place just following WWII and centers around a family of German expatriates who are lost in the Amazon jungle after their plane goes down in a storm. The narrator, young Erich, tells their twisted story very well. He and his mother, younger brother "Zeppi", and uncle/stepfather Klaus are wondering how they will survive and find their way to the Orinoco River when they are discovered by a tribe of Amazonian aboriginals. Based on a dream one of the tribesmen has recently had that predicted where a where a small group of white people would appear, they are assumed to be "dolphin people," dolphins who have been magically transformed into humans, and are treated with great deference. Upon arrival in the tribe's settlement, they discover another German expatriate, an anthropologist who has been with the tribe for 11 years collecting information for a book he plans to publish when he returns to his home. The remainder of the story documents the transformations of each member of the party as they adapt to life in the jungle in the midst of a totally foreign culture, as well as their attempts to plan their escape. There are many surprises and revelations about various characters which I will not spoil. Parts of this story are frankly hilarious, and parts are absolutely gruesome, but maintained throughout is an atmosphere of dark humor that continuously drives home its brilliant message about loyalty, family values, relative reality and simply moral versus immoral behavior.

2022-10-04 11:30