Robert Antoni's New Novel AS FLIES TO WHATLESS BOYS Receives Glowing Reviews

Robert Antoni's new novel, As Flies to Whatless Boys, has been receiving sensational reviews.

As Flies to Whatless Boys
by Robert Antoni

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY | June 24, 2013

Trinidad is the sultry backdrop for an intricately imagined historical novel from Antoni (Carnival) about voyages of discovery undertaken generations apart. In 1881, William Tucker, soon to return to London, tells his son the story of why their family left England in 1845. William's father had fallen in with the bombastic German inventor J.A. Etzler, who claimed his Satellite machine could "save the labouring-masses" and revolutionize agriculture-that is, if he could test it at a new-world colony. Only after sailing to Trinidad aboard the Rosalind did Etzler's colonists discover the full extent of his "boldface bamboozlement." Still, the transatlantic pilgrimage nurtured William's first love, with mute, beautiful Marguerite. The mystery of what happened to Etzler's colony and to Marguerite incites the present-tense storyline, consisting of e-mails Antoni receives from Trinidad archivist Miss Ramsol, whom he "subjuices" (her word) while researching his Tucker ancestry during a visit. Her bawdily funny, patois-heavy missives showcase Antoni's superlative ear for the intricacies of language, Caribbean rhythms in particular. And William's account of young love attests to Antoni's fluency in the poetry of nostalgia. In words as vibrant as the personalities he creates, Antoni deftly captures unconquered territories and the risks we're willing to take exploring them.

BOOKLIST | August 9, 2013

Aboard ship in the Port-of-Spain harbor in Trinidad, on a long September night in 1881, William "Billy" Sanger Tucker, speaking in a rustic vernacular, tells of his picaresque voyage to Trinidad in 1845 as a 15-year-old. He is traveling third class with his sisters and parents, while his lover, Marguerite, is traveling with her family in first class. She was born "cordless"-without vocal cords-so much of the lovers' communication is wordless. They are members of the Tropical Emigration Society (TES), the (hare)-brainchild of the charlatan Etzler, inventor of a sort of perpetual-motion apparatus for farming. Upon their arrival in Trinidad, reality takes the form of hardship and illness. The historical narrative is punctuated by bawdy e-mails from the director of an archive where the erstwhile "novelist" is studying material related to the journey. Did the "novelist" seduce ("subjuice" in the local argot) the archive's director for increased access? Antoni, winner of a Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Divina Trace (1992), has written a novel epic in scope that, while curiously bloodless, is driven by outbursts of fine writing.

KIRKUS REVIEWS | August 1, 2013

Antoni (Carnival, 2005, etc.) offers up a novel set in 19th-century and modern-day Trinidad.

Some believe that John Adolphus Etzler is a con artist, but the charismatic inventor asserts that his new nature-powered machine, the Satellite, will free men from all forms of labor. Although his claims may be a bit too good to be true-in fact, the machine's public unveiling and demonstration isn't exactly stellar-British citizens of all classes are willing to fill Etzler's coffers and invest in his newly founded Tropical Emigration Society. Their dream: to establish a Utopian society in Trinidad using Etzler's apparatus. Among the emigrants is the Tucker family, including 15-year-old Willy, who narrates the story. While onboard the Rosalind, Willy contrives to spend his time with socially prominent 18-year-old Marguerite Whitechurch, who communicates through writing because she lacks vocal cords. They fall deeply in love and find creative ways to spend time together-at first furtively and then more openly as few appear to notice or care. Following the long voyage, Etzler (who spent a couple of days tied to the mast for an outrageous claim), absconds to South America and leaves the investors to travel by schooner from Port au Prince to Chaguabarriga, the site of their future community. To the men's dismay, Etzler's machine ends up stuck in the water, the schooner is damaged, and they discover that the plot they purchased is little more than swampland. The men try to salvage what they can, but more misery strikes-this time in the form of Black Vomit (yellow fever)-and Willy must wrestle with decisions that will impact the future. Although wearisome at times, the emotional influence of Willy's narrative-his loving descriptions of the people who surround him-is profoundly effective. Some may be discouraged by the characters' use of dialect, which initially is difficult to comprehend, but it's a crucial element of the story. It's the modern-day correspondence from T&T National Archives Director Miss Ramsol to writer "Robot" that provides many laugh-out-loud moments and endears Antoni (who pokes fun at himself) to the reader.
Strikes strong emotional chords.

Robert Antoni is the author of the landmark novel Divina Trace, for which he received a Commonwealth Writers' Prize and an NEA grant. His other books include Blessed Is the Fruit, My Grandmother's Erotic Folktales, and Carnival. He was a 2010 Guggenheim Fellow (for his work on As Flies to Whatless Boys), and recently received the NALIS Lifetime Literary Award from the Trinidad & Tobago National Library. He now lives in Manhattan and teaches in the graduate writing program at the New School University.

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