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As Flies to Whatless Boys
In 1845 London, an engineer, philosopher, philanthropist, and bold-faced charlatan, John Adolphus Etzler, has invented machines that he thinks will transform the division of labor and free all men. He forms a collective called the Tropical Emigration Society (TES), and recruits a variety of London citizens to take his machines and his misguided ideas to form a proto-socialist, utopian community in the British colony of Trinidad.
Among his recruits is a young boy (and the book's narrator) named Willy, who falls head-over-heels for the enthralling and wise Marguerite Whitechurch. Coming from the gentry, Marguerite is a world away from Willy's laboring class. As the voyage continues, and their love for one another strengthens, Willy and Marguerite prove themselves to be true socialists, their actions and adventures standing in stark contrast to Etzler's disconnected theories.
Robert Antoni's tragic historical novel, accented with West Indian cadence and captivating humor, provides an unforgettable glimpse into nineteenth-century Trinidad & Tobago.
Among his recruits is a young boy (and the book's narrator) named Willy, who falls head-over-heels for the enthralling and wise Marguerite Whitechurch. Coming from the gentry, Marguerite is a world away from Willy's laboring class. As the voyage continues, and their love for one another strengthens, Willy and Marguerite prove themselves to be true socialists, their actions and adventures standing in stark contrast to Etzler's disconnected theories.
Robert Antoni's tragic historical novel, accented with West Indian cadence and captivating humor, provides an unforgettable glimpse into nineteenth-century Trinidad & Tobago.
332 pages, Paperback
First published August 12, 2013
13 people are currently reading
412 people want to read
About the author
Robert Antoni
15 books13 followersRobert Antoni was born in the United States in 1958, and he carries three passports: US, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas. His fictional world is the island of Corpus Christi, and to create it he draws upon his two hundred years or family history In Trinidad and Tobago and his upbringing in the Bahamas. His first novel, Divina Trace, was published in 1991 by the Overlook Press in New York1 and by Quartet in London. It received the Commonwealth Writers Prize, an NEA, James Michener and Orowitz fellowships. His second novel, Blessed is the Fruit, was published by Henry Holt in 1997 and in London by Faber & Faber. His story collection, My Grandmother’s Erotic Folktales was published in London by Faber & Faber in 20OO and in New York by Grove/Atlantic in 2001. My Grandmother’s Erotic Folktales appeared in French translation (Du Rocher)-, and it has been translated into Finnish (LIKE) Spanish (Anagrama). His most recent novel, Carnival, was published in New York by Grove/Atlantic (Black Cat) in 2OO5 and it has appeared in French translation (Denoel) and in Finnish (LIKEO). Carnival will appear in Spanish (Anagrama) and it will be published in London by Faber g Faber to coincide a reprinting of Divina
Trace in 2006. Carnival was short—listed for the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2006. Antoni’s short fiction has appeared in Conjunctions, The Paris Review, Ploughshares and other periodicals and it was included in the Editors Choice for 1985, The Oxford Book or Caribbean Short Stories in as well as other anthologies. He was awarded the Aga Khan prize for Fiction in 1999 by the Paris Review, where he is a Contributing Editor. He is also a Senior Editor or Conjunctions where he was co-editor, along with Bradford Morrow, of an Anthology or Caribbean writing titled Archipelago (Conjunctions 27). Antoni has given upwards or a hundred readings around the United States and the Caribbean, in addition to the ICA in London and the Harbourfront in Toronto. He holds an MA from Johns Hopkins University, an MFA and a PhD from the Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa. He is a former Associate Professor or creative writing and Caribbean 1iterature at the university or Miami where he taught for nine years until flay 2001. While at the university of Miami he acted as Associate Director of their Caribbean Writers Summer Institute. He presently 1ives in New York and he teaches Fiction Writing at Columbia University.
Trace in 2006. Carnival was short—listed for the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2006. Antoni’s short fiction has appeared in Conjunctions, The Paris Review, Ploughshares and other periodicals and it was included in the Editors Choice for 1985, The Oxford Book or Caribbean Short Stories in as well as other anthologies. He was awarded the Aga Khan prize for Fiction in 1999 by the Paris Review, where he is a Contributing Editor. He is also a Senior Editor or Conjunctions where he was co-editor, along with Bradford Morrow, of an Anthology or Caribbean writing titled Archipelago (Conjunctions 27). Antoni has given upwards or a hundred readings around the United States and the Caribbean, in addition to the ICA in London and the Harbourfront in Toronto. He holds an MA from Johns Hopkins University, an MFA and a PhD from the Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa. He is a former Associate Professor or creative writing and Caribbean 1iterature at the university or Miami where he taught for nine years until flay 2001. While at the university of Miami he acted as Associate Director of their Caribbean Writers Summer Institute. He presently 1ives in New York and he teaches Fiction Writing at Columbia University.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 7, 2025
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: In 1845 London, an engineer, philosopher, philanthropist, and bold-faced charlatan, John Adolphus Etzler, has invented machines that he thinks will transform the division of labor and free all men. He forms a collective called the Tropical Emigration Society (TES), and recruits a variety of London citizens to take his machines and his misguided ideas to form a proto-socialist, utopian community in the British colony of Trinidad.
Among his recruits is a young boy (and the book's narrator) named Willy, who falls head-over-heels for the enthralling and wise Marguerite Whitechurch. Coming from the gentry, Marguerite is a world away from Willy's laboring class. As the voyage continues, and their love for one another strengthens, Willy and Marguerite prove themselves to be true socialists, their actions and adventures standing in stark contrast to Etzler's disconnected theories.
Robert Antoni's tragic historical novel, accented with West Indian cadence and captivating humor, provides an unforgettable glimpse into nineteenth-century Trinidad & Tobago.
My Review:
Catnip. This book was catnip for me, pure uncut catnip of the finest grade. Robert Antoni teaches master's degree fiction-writing classes at the New School. Lucky men and women who take the classes, to hear him tell his stories!
At its heart, this is a simple tale of greed, passion, and the lifelong effects of believing in a dream. Chicanery is always a worry for the True Believer, because the promise of a dream come true is ever the best bait to lure them into disaster, personal and financial and, not infrequently, mortal. Something dies when a person's True Belief is taken from them, or lost, or simply abandoned (as if this abandonment is ever simple). Many times, I suspect, the pain of it is unendurable and the bereft believer sees no reason to go on...disease or despair carry him off.
Others, like our narrator Willy, live on and make life, actual life, work for them without dreams, but with some weird, warped hopes left, hopes that don't see much daylight as the ex-dreamer isn't likely to chat them about. Willy doesn't really want to have hopes. He wants to find his dreams. I think all of us know that quest's end. But the novel, well, a novel is a place to work out the truths of endings and the frailties of beginnings. This novel's truth is in the ending, and it stings the soft places of a tender soul. It also rings perfectly true and wistfully beautiful. A family, once created, is a hard thing to leave, to destroy; even death doesn't do the job.
But most families have invisible members. Some have more than others. Willy...Mr. Tucker, as he becomes...carried the invisible members of his family until, exhausted, he lost the eternal battle with gravity. How, and why, and what he made, these are all the subject of the novel, and the meat of life as we all live it.
Only most of us don't have beautiful words to wrap our truth in. Fortune smiled on William Tucker. His truth comes enrobed in lovely, lovely language, satisfyingly musical in the inward ear.
A pleasure of a read. A lovely artifact of a book. A delight on many levels, and a deeply felt, deeply moving novel.
The Publisher Says: In 1845 London, an engineer, philosopher, philanthropist, and bold-faced charlatan, John Adolphus Etzler, has invented machines that he thinks will transform the division of labor and free all men. He forms a collective called the Tropical Emigration Society (TES), and recruits a variety of London citizens to take his machines and his misguided ideas to form a proto-socialist, utopian community in the British colony of Trinidad.
Among his recruits is a young boy (and the book's narrator) named Willy, who falls head-over-heels for the enthralling and wise Marguerite Whitechurch. Coming from the gentry, Marguerite is a world away from Willy's laboring class. As the voyage continues, and their love for one another strengthens, Willy and Marguerite prove themselves to be true socialists, their actions and adventures standing in stark contrast to Etzler's disconnected theories.
Robert Antoni's tragic historical novel, accented with West Indian cadence and captivating humor, provides an unforgettable glimpse into nineteenth-century Trinidad & Tobago.
My Review:
We sat in silence, exhausted, filled-up. We didn't move. We couldn't have moved--not a muscle--because we didn't exist yet. Neither me nor him. Only the story existed, during those few final moments of silence after my father's voice had come to a halt.
Catnip. This book was catnip for me, pure uncut catnip of the finest grade. Robert Antoni teaches master's degree fiction-writing classes at the New School. Lucky men and women who take the classes, to hear him tell his stories!
At its heart, this is a simple tale of greed, passion, and the lifelong effects of believing in a dream. Chicanery is always a worry for the True Believer, because the promise of a dream come true is ever the best bait to lure them into disaster, personal and financial and, not infrequently, mortal. Something dies when a person's True Belief is taken from them, or lost, or simply abandoned (as if this abandonment is ever simple). Many times, I suspect, the pain of it is unendurable and the bereft believer sees no reason to go on...disease or despair carry him off.
Others, like our narrator Willy, live on and make life, actual life, work for them without dreams, but with some weird, warped hopes left, hopes that don't see much daylight as the ex-dreamer isn't likely to chat them about. Willy doesn't really want to have hopes. He wants to find his dreams. I think all of us know that quest's end. But the novel, well, a novel is a place to work out the truths of endings and the frailties of beginnings. This novel's truth is in the ending, and it stings the soft places of a tender soul. It also rings perfectly true and wistfully beautiful. A family, once created, is a hard thing to leave, to destroy; even death doesn't do the job.
But most families have invisible members. Some have more than others. Willy...Mr. Tucker, as he becomes...carried the invisible members of his family until, exhausted, he lost the eternal battle with gravity. How, and why, and what he made, these are all the subject of the novel, and the meat of life as we all live it.
Only most of us don't have beautiful words to wrap our truth in. Fortune smiled on William Tucker. His truth comes enrobed in lovely, lovely language, satisfyingly musical in the inward ear.
A pleasure of a read. A lovely artifact of a book. A delight on many levels, and a deeply felt, deeply moving novel.
July 15, 2014
I thought this book was pretty great and not just because it included an archivist who would totally have sex with a patron but WOULD NOT let him make unauthorized copies no matter how good the sex was. The book includes "documents" -- sketches, newspaper articles, correspondence, as well as a series of video and textual appendices that you access online. That sounds like the gimmicky kind of thing that I usually wouldn't like, but it really works here. There is a consistency and a heart to the narrative that transcends all the jumping around in time and gimmicks and makes them work with it instead of as a distraction from it. Ambitious and successful.
September 6, 2023
Very virtuosic (if that’s a word), maybe to a fault. Antoni uses lots of formats and several narrators to tell his story. It is an interesting side note of Trinidadian history that he found out his ancestors were part of. The instigator of the adventures, who is not a real big character in the novel, is a con artist with amazing connections to historical characters in several countries. The main character, the main narrator, is a 15 year old English boy forced to make lots of life-changing decisions under dire conditions. He acquits himself admirably. Antoni should be proud of his accomplishment here.
August 6, 2019
Didn’t read. Boring.
January 21, 2020
I gave up partway into the sea voyage. Just couldn’t keep my interest.
August 22, 2013
I was so excited to read "As Flies to Whatless Boys." A historical romance told through a collection of narratives, letters, newspaper articles, even emails - it sounded like the type of novel that I would immediately find engaging. However, what I forgot about was the story and even a brilliant format can't make boring, and sometimes ridiculously indulgent content, worthwhile.
Here's an example from the book:
... be tasting if you don't, & lil buddah say, look here mr robot, u want to cool out u photocopies in de archives? u say us plenty plenty more photocopies u needs to copy out in de archives? well we offering u a lil suggestion of how u could do it, as much photocopies as u could ever WISH to copy, & lil buddah say let me tell u something else mr robot: u think dat u could find anything so sweet as lil sis in amerika? all dem forceripe hardback women's dey got in amerika, & so stingy 2?
Seriously? This goes on for two entire pages and is repeated several times throughout the book. And while I understand the importance of sometimes utilizing hard to understand regional dialect and colloquialisms, I highly suspect that the author also included several made up words (at least, I wasn't able to find definitions for them and I DID look). The combination made any attempt to pull the story out of this confusing jumble of words very frustrating and disengaging.
I am willing to work to unravel a good story. Sometimes, doing that work is part of what makes the story so good. I read Virginia Woolf's "Between the Acts" at least a half-dozen times because I so wanted to understand the placement and purpose of every word in the story. Perhaps I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate the layered nuances of "As Flies To Whatless Boys. Whatever the case, I can't recommend it.
I received an ARC of this book as part of Goodreads Early Reviewers Program. That did not in any way affect my review.
Here's an example from the book:
... be tasting if you don't, & lil buddah say, look here mr robot, u want to cool out u photocopies in de archives? u say us plenty plenty more photocopies u needs to copy out in de archives? well we offering u a lil suggestion of how u could do it, as much photocopies as u could ever WISH to copy, & lil buddah say let me tell u something else mr robot: u think dat u could find anything so sweet as lil sis in amerika? all dem forceripe hardback women's dey got in amerika, & so stingy 2?
Seriously? This goes on for two entire pages and is repeated several times throughout the book. And while I understand the importance of sometimes utilizing hard to understand regional dialect and colloquialisms, I highly suspect that the author also included several made up words (at least, I wasn't able to find definitions for them and I DID look). The combination made any attempt to pull the story out of this confusing jumble of words very frustrating and disengaging.
I am willing to work to unravel a good story. Sometimes, doing that work is part of what makes the story so good. I read Virginia Woolf's "Between the Acts" at least a half-dozen times because I so wanted to understand the placement and purpose of every word in the story. Perhaps I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate the layered nuances of "As Flies To Whatless Boys. Whatever the case, I can't recommend it.
I received an ARC of this book as part of Goodreads Early Reviewers Program. That did not in any way affect my review.
September 17, 2013
As Flies to Whatless Boys is a multilayered tale of dreams and hope and what can happen when they go awry. Because of the multi-storylines there is something here for everyone but also this means that not everything is for one person, and that is the case with me. I most enjoyed the storyline of Willie as a boy migrating with his family and others to Trinidad in the nineteenth century. His coming-of-age and his handling of the curves balls through at him makes this a heartwarming tale.
While I was less interested in Etzler’s inventions and the technical explanations this did not distract from my reading as I wondered how the characters were going to fare once they realized that their promises were not going to be realized. The author did an excellent job of weaving the storylines and time periods together and the supplementing them with the newspaper articles providing the reader with a fuller experience of the times and customs.
Overall, the imaginative tale, the beauty and hardship of nature and the fragility of the human spirit made this a tender yet eccentric read for me.
While I was less interested in Etzler’s inventions and the technical explanations this did not distract from my reading as I wondered how the characters were going to fare once they realized that their promises were not going to be realized. The author did an excellent job of weaving the storylines and time periods together and the supplementing them with the newspaper articles providing the reader with a fuller experience of the times and customs.
Overall, the imaginative tale, the beauty and hardship of nature and the fragility of the human spirit made this a tender yet eccentric read for me.
August 19, 2013
Not many writers can write a story occurring in 4 different times told by three different narrators, but Antoni makes this difficult feat look so easy that you forget we're jumping far enough in time to make your skin ripple. Instead, the reader slides deep into the story, deep into the romance of Willy and Marguerite, the satiric comedy of Etzler's crazy inventions, and most importantly the mystery of Chaguabarriga. We don't feel the ripples of the story; we see them echoing and spreading through the ages up to the present day in a delicate, but fascinating manner, reminiscent of the hummingbirds that fascinate Willy.
My only suggestion is to include a brief guide to the Trinidad slang, as I had no clue what most of them signified. However, they didn't detract from the story, and reenforced that all the narrators spent at least the majority of their life in Trinidad. Perhaps it's time we made our reading more active and looked up definitions ourselves!
My only suggestion is to include a brief guide to the Trinidad slang, as I had no clue what most of them signified. However, they didn't detract from the story, and reenforced that all the narrators spent at least the majority of their life in Trinidad. Perhaps it's time we made our reading more active and looked up definitions ourselves!
August 27, 2014
Even though I had a hard time reading this novel in more than fits and spurts, I admired the use of language, especially the Trinidad vernacular. I also had a whole new appreciation for settlement in remote lands and the kind of people who were willing to invest and to travel there. There are layers of history, laid one upon the other, explicated by supposed documents in a library in Trinidad, released in hilarious dribbles to the "author" of this novel, And then there is the story a father tells his son, and the memories of the son. Apparently, John Aldophus Etzler was an (actual) inventor, admired by transcendentalists like Thoreau, whose machines (provided in an online appendix) were designed to create a Utopia where slave labor was no longer necessary. The appendix also provides links to some poetic videos that add visuals to the narrative. It takes awhile to get this all straight. "...dat is how dis story bound 2 be call, & mr robot u cant turn u back pon dat.."
September 14, 2014
Robert Antoni’s As Flies to Whatless Boys is based on the true story of John Adolphus Etzler and his Tropical Emigration Society which in the midst of tragedy led to the establishment of several well-known families in Trinidad, including the author’s. Antoni tells the story of the failed utopian experiment and the love story between Willy and Marguerete, who was born without vocal cords and must communicate with Willy in notes. He also parallels it with the modern romance between Mr. Robot—the modern day writer telling the tale—and Miss Ramsol, the Director of the Trinidad National Archives, whose relationship is documented in emails. Antoni captures the feel of West Indian vernacular. The title alludes to King Lear “As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods. They kill us for their sport, ” so in that Shakespearean tradition, there’s tragedy, comedy and romance.
November 9, 2013
Hmmm... this book was incredibly hard for me to get into to begin with. It bounces around in a way that is reminiscent of Cloud Atlas, but it isn't as well balanced or well done as Cloud Atlas. There are parts that are incredibly heart-wrenching, parts that are beautiful, and parts that are incredibly endearing. However, there are also parts that are forced, over-indulgent, and seemingly pointless and not at all connected to the plot.
At times, I really did enjoy the book, and at other times, I just knew that I would never possibly be able to get through the rest of the book. However, at the end of it, I realized that I liked it overall.
At times, I really did enjoy the book, and at other times, I just knew that I would never possibly be able to get through the rest of the book. However, at the end of it, I realized that I liked it overall.
December 20, 2013
Masie Cochran (Associate Editor, Tin House Books): It’s hard to pick a favorite novel of 2013—there were so many greats. One that stands out, though, is As Flies to Whatless Boys by Robert Antoni (Akashic Books, September 2013). The breadth of Antoni’s imagination is inspiring. There were times I had to put the book down and catch my breath. After reading, I went out and picked up two more copies as Christmas presents. It’s just too good of a story not to share.
November 6, 2014
The pace of this book was slow in the beginning but don't put it down. Once I got into this book, I invested the time that should be spent sleeping. I just had to know what was on the next page. I laughed until I cried and then I caught myself thinking about what I was laughing about. An enjoyable read.
January 18, 2015
A lively, sprawling, inventive novel about a 19c century English expedition to Trinidad, including also a sub-plot about 20c researchers on the island. Structurally and stylistically very inventive, and great fun to parse out the nested plotlines. The Lear intertext isn't overpowering, though it does make for a great title.
October 22, 2013
Magical, mystical, melodic...a don't miss. Listen to my interview with Robert Antoni tomorrow, Wednesday, October 23, 3 pm ET on The Halli Casser-Jayne Show, Talk Radio for Fine Minds. Listen live online @ http://bit.ly/U4EEMd.
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December 11, 2013Very entertaining. The movement of time and dialect was interesting.
October 28, 2021
Interesting premise of a story but does not quite work for me as charecters are not really believable
tragically-abandoned
April 8, 2024(Trinidad)
November 14, 2013
A wonderful book. A BIT hard to follow at times, but a wonderful treat. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews