As Flies to Whatless Boys (Audible Audio Edition) Robert Antoni Audible Studios Books
Download As PDF : As Flies to Whatless Boys (Audible Audio Edition) Robert Antoni Audible Studios Books
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 protosocialist, utopian community in the British colony of Trinidad.
Among his recruits is a teenage boy (and the audiobook's narrator) named Willy Tucker, 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 the true socialists aboard ship, their actions and adventures standing in stark contrast to Etzler's disconnected theories."
Robert Antoni's tragic historical novel, accented with West Indian cadences and captivating humor, provides an unforgettable glimpse into nineteenth-century Trinidad & Tobago.
As Flies to Whatless Boys (Audible Audio Edition) Robert Antoni Audible Studios Books
If you've read Antoni before, then you know that injecting his writing with a plethora of voices is his bread and butter. He lays it on thick, but satisfying, in this strange, spiraling tale. Not only do you get the narrators island-influenced voice, but there are, at every turn, distinct and interesting characters whose distinct ways of speaking (German and Scottish accents, and even perfectly written English [a rarity in this piece]) that blend together into a rich tapestry that will sweep you up if you let it. Highly recommended!Product details
|
Tags : Amazon.com: As Flies to Whatless Boys (Audible Audio Edition): Robert Antoni, Audible Studios: Books, ,Robert Antoni, Audible Studios,As Flies to Whatless Boys,Audible Studios,B00TXPC8SU
People also read other books :
- Circe Recruits Hale A Multiple Partner Shifter Book edition by Marie Harte Literature Fiction eBooks
- Submissive Training A Complete Guide BDSM Submissive How to Become submissive Sub edition by Valeria Love Literature Fiction eBooks
- The Making of a Chief CMSgt Bob Bien Ret 9781523781508 Books
- LOOK AWAY The Art of Todd Francis Seb Carayol Todd Francis Winston Tseng 9780615971612 Books
- 2014 Railroading Tidemark 9781594909399 Books
As Flies to Whatless Boys (Audible Audio Edition) Robert Antoni Audible Studios Books Reviews
From the first page I was hooked. I love Caribbean literature, the relationships (both current and historical) the islands have with colonial and post colonial powers, also how the ocean between them irrevocably shaped lives. The voices in this book seem so true, and despite other reviews, were not difficult to read in the slightest. I didn't find them nearly as challenging as other Caribbean novels I have read. I enjoyed the playfulness of this book, its maps, its metatextuality (if that is a word), its jokes, its wild characters. But it is also a novel that seems very psychologically true, a novel about love, about family, something that will remain with me for a long time.
As Flies to Whatless Boys takes readers on deck and deep into the bowels of the Rosalind across the Atlantic and into the West Indies’ colonial culture of the 1840s. Through Willy who journeys to Trinidad with his family from England, in part on a quest to lead/follow his first love Marguerite, Antoni’s unique book follows a remarkable story of exploration, love, geography and, like all first-rate fiction, the human condition. In the course of a touching romance, filled with mystery and intrigue, As Flies to Whatless Boys probes the ways colonial expeditions work from the ground up. The satirical portrayal of Eztler, who organizes the venture, provides remarkable insight into “leaders” of such colonial schemes. But the heart of the novel inhabits the space of conversations between father and son, between young lovers, between fiction and history, between a researcher and a sensual guardian of historical artifacts.
One aspect of the story’s power lies in the ways it pulls together the tales of the many the people who organized the voyage, ways they financed and recruited passengers via the Tropical Emigration Society (TES), from servants to helpers to middle-class families to venture capitalists. All are given voice, and Antoni manages to qualify the complexities of voice in fresh ways. The layered stories take place at three different points in history (1840, 1880, 2010), simultaneously. Fascinatingly, the novel is also multimodal, employing dreams captured in film and even an essay by Emerson via links noted in the text and provided by associated websites. In many ways, it is a remarkable feat, a novel teaming with characters from such varied perspectives. As Flies to Whatless Boys is nuanced, heart-warming, satirical and sexy. It leaves readers rejuvenated and mystified.
Named after a line from Shakespeare’s Glouchester in King Lear, As Flies to Whatless Boys also evokes images from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (a narrator sitting on dark deck of ship waiting for its departure) as well as Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea (also set in Caribbean, and with an intrigue for hummingbirds), two essential works that moved fiction and some say western consciousness, so that we might better understand the multi-faceted ways colonialism plays into the hearts and minds of Europeans and Americans, at levels seldom acknowledged yet profoundly important.
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!
I thoroughly recommend "As Flies to Whatless Boys" to anyone looking for a challenging, yet thoroughly engaging read.
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.
I don't have time for wasted reads like this. I cared not for the characters nor the adventure. Who said this was a good book ? Must have been the publisher. Antoni's agent deserves the highest honor reserved for publishing house agents. For she/he has accomplished a miracle; getting As Flies To Whatless Boys concentrated publicity in many prestigious published pages with this seemingly unedited book. Now, back to earth don't waste your time with this one.
Loved it!!!
Full of surprises, but of the bizarre kind rather than the intriguing and clever kind. I wanted to like this book, but alas.
If you've read Antoni before, then you know that injecting his writing with a plethora of voices is his bread and butter. He lays it on thick, but satisfying, in this strange, spiraling tale. Not only do you get the narrators island-influenced voice, but there are, at every turn, distinct and interesting characters whose distinct ways of speaking (German and Scottish accents, and even perfectly written English [a rarity in this piece]) that blend together into a rich tapestry that will sweep you up if you let it. Highly recommended!
0 Response to "≡ PDF Free As Flies to Whatless Boys (Audible Audio Edition) Robert Antoni Audible Studios Books"
Post a Comment