THE DIVING BELL

Strasser notes that history records the first use of diving bells by 16th-century Caribbeans trying to salvage treasure from sunken Spanish ships; in this novel, unfortunately, he stretches credulity in suggesting how. On an island paradise off the Yucatan Peninsula, young Culca stubbornly insists that she wants to be a pearl diver like her brother Tulone, though diving is traditionally men's work. She falls in with a friar who teaches her Spanish, religion, and mathematics, then finds Leonardo's sketch of a diving bell in one of his books. On a visit to the mainland, Culca sees a big bell outside the cathedral. After Tulone and others are kidnapped by the Spanish to recover gold from a galleon sunk in deep water, she persuades the bishop and governor to try her Leonardo- inspired idea of using the bell to save her brother. The author plays up both Culca's independence and Spanish treachery; though a kind sailor helps Culca and her brother escape, the conquerors are seen mostly as relentlessly greedy and cruel—even the friar dies from their abuse. In the end, Culca gets her wish, since her village has been decimated and needs divers: a wan triumph. A contrived but topical story, with an intriguing picture of several native cultures in transition. (Fiction. 11-13)