The Dolphin People: A Novel (P.S.) [Paperback]

Torsten Krol (Author)

Book Description

Series: P.S. | Publication Date: November 17, 2009

Shortly after the end of WWII, sixteen-year-old Erich Linden and his family have fled Germany and joined Erich's uncle, Klaus, in Venezuela, where they will begin a new life. But, en route to Klaus's outpost further inland, they encounter a storm and their plane crashes in the middle of the jungle. Stranded deep within Amazonia with no hope of rescue, they are discovered by the Yayomi, a violent and superstitious Stone Age tribe. The Yayomi believe the strangelooking foreigners are freshwater dolphins in human form—and the Lindens believe that as long as they can keep up the bizarre ruse they'll be safe. But the jungle is a dark, mysterious place, and no place for a family of sham dolphin-people who are ultimately left with only two choices: to escape or to die trying.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.)
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From Booklist

Krol, rumored to be an Australian writer intent on Pynchonesque invisibility, made a splash with Iraq War–oriented Callisto (2009), his second novel, thus triggering the American release of his debut. A mesmerizing storyteller with a taste for grotesque, wildly improbable satire, Krol brings together Nazi Klaus, in exile in Venezuela just after World War II, and his newly arrived, widowed sister-in-law and her two sons––Erich, 16, our able narrator, and 12-year-old Zeppi, whose maturing body carries a startling secret. A plane crash strands them in the jungle among a group of Yayomi, a fictional tribe much like the Yanomami. They believe the four fair strangers are dolphin people with magical powers, roles the family assumes with the help of a German anthropologist who knows nothing of the war. What ensues is a campy tragedy of errors and madness, a reverse Heart of Darkness, as the blood orchid of Nazi anti-Semitism takes root in Venezuelan soil, and Erich attains manhood under bizarre and deadly circumstances. Krol’s clever, gory, suspenseful, and outrageous novel asks, What is primitive? What is savage? --Donna Seaman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 edition (November 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061672963
• ISBN-13: 978-0061672965
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,268,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent storytelling, September 29, 2010

By 

Leo Nikko "Leo Nikko" (Vantaa, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dolphin People: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

This is a great novel, if your taste is in the imaginative, "old fashioned" type of fiction. Krol writes in a way which is very easy to read, and is a born storyteller, with some rather bizarre and surprising twists along the way. The story of a German family ending up in the Amazon jungle amongst a local tribe after WW 2 is quite innovative, and keeps your interest up to the last pages. It's rather difficult to categorize this novel in any genre. It's part of an adventure novel, part of "a boy growing into manhood" story. There are elements of satire in it, and Krol has quite an interesting - amusing, too - way of relating the so-called "civilized, western" culture habits into the "primitive" Amazonian tribal way of life. If I should compare this book to some other writer's works, then Kurt Vonnegut is a name that pops up for me. The way Krol tells the story by a young, teenage German boy's point of view reminds me somewhat of Mark Twain's Huck Finn. All in all, Torsten Krol is a name that is definitely worth to keep in mind for his future works.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Literary Achievement, January 14, 2011

By 

Jeannie Mancini "vernefan" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dolphin People: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

Thorsten Krol's incredible talent to show creative writing at it's best is executed in his latest novel The Dolphin People. This novel is so unique, peculiar, odd to say the least, yet thought provoking, horrifying, shocking and yet at times humorous as well. The book is a fantastic literary achievement with much panache and style not seen in others too often. I'll definitely put it on my "doozy" list, for this tale is a whopper. Putting it down for a second is not going to happen, I promise you.

Shortly after the end of WWII, Erich Linden, a 16 year old German boy is enroute to Venezuela with his mother, brother and new stepfather. After his father died in the war, his uncle Klaus offered to marry his mother and move the family to his home in Venezuela where he owned a successful business. While traveling, their airplane crashes into the ocean and all miraculously swim to safety. Finding themselves alone in the Amazon jungle, with no food, water or supplies, the situation becomes critical until they are found by the Yayomi tribe. Taken to the tribal village, they find another German there, an anthropologist that has been living with the tribe for 11 years working on a book chronicling their culture.

They are told that rescue is slim, and getting out of the jungle alive due to weather, violent natives and no boat to take them away, was impossible. Their only choice was to begin living with the Yayomi until circumstances changed. The Yayomi don't know what to make of these white people that emerged from the river, and call them the Dolphin People. From their historical legend it is said that there were dolphins that transformed themselves into people and were to be revered as gods. Playing along with this charade seemed logical as to not anger them and cause a dangerous life threatening situation. Erich and his family assimilate into the village until secrets, betrayals, jealous feuds, murders and mischief being to cause the unraveling of this unusual freakish family slowly going mad. Each member of this family has skeletons in their closets and inner demons waiting to burst free, and here in their jungle prison, all hell breaks loose!

Frightening, horrible events breathe evil into Krol's writing, allowing the reader to perch on the edge of their seats as scenario's of love, hate, racial injustice and gender issues bring thought provoking passages for the reader to ponder on. There are tender moments between two brothers struggling to adjust in a world foreign, insanity for a mother who can't cope, bitter rivalry between two men of science and intellect, and an introduction to the world of the Amazon jungle, all wrapped up in tense and emotional scenes that keep those pages flying. Intense, this is a very very intense book. One minute heartwarming and touching as two races from two countries entwine, the next minute you will find yourself cringing in horror as you struggle to breathe and attempt to turn the next page in fear. Standing ovation for this unusual novel. I loved it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool - easy read., January 10, 2012

By 

E. Taylor (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Dolphin People: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

I checked this book out from the library and loved it. When I needed to think of a gift for my 20 year old son, I thought he'd like this read - I was right.
He took it with him on a short trip and finished it that weekend.

I don't often read books twice, but I think I will read this one again. There are so many angles to the story, yet it is easy reading.

Recommend!