{"product_id":"as-flies-to-whatless-boys-9781617751554","title":"As Flies to Whatless Boys","description":"\u003cp\u003e--Winner of the 2014 OCM Bocas Prize\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A bittersweet coming-of-age tale of tragedy, chicanery, high ideals, harsh realities, and the hard choice between love and family duty, \u003cem\u003eAs Flies to Whatless Boys\u003c\/em\u003e is highly recommended.\" --\u003cem\u003eMidwest Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1845 London, an engineer, philosopher, philanthropist, and bold-faced charlatan, John Adolphus Etzler, has invented machines \"powered by the immense forces of Mother Nature\" 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmong his recruits is a young boy (and the book's narrator) named Willy. As TES begins its overseas voyage to Trinidad, Etzler recedes quickly to the backdrop, and Willy's tale takes precedence--in particular his head-over-heels fall for the enthralling and wise Marguerite Whitechurch. Coming from the gentry, Marguerite is a world away from Willy's laboring class. Speech also divides them, as Marguerite lacks vocal cords--she communicates with Willy in writing. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen they arrive at Port of Spain, Willy must part from Marguerite and travel with the men of TES to build the society's future home--in a remote swamp, only accessible by boat, called Chaguabarriga. Far from realizing their leader's dreams of a tropical paradise, the pioneers never even get a chance to unpack their Satellite, Etzler's \"self-powered\" machine that will mow down the rainforest and plant their first crops. Within weeks the majority of them are stricken with the \"Black Vomit.\" And now they're trapped, without a boat to return to civilization . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilly and his father--together with their helpmate, an African named John--make a last-ditch attempt to refurbish a schooner that has washed up. But before the ship can be launched Willy's father contracts the dreaded disease, moving the story towards its heroic, tragic conclusion: Willy's account of transporting his father out of the jungle on a makeshift stretcher carried by himself, John, and two Warrahoon Indians. For a day and a night they haul him over the mountains of the Northern Range, across the breadth of Trinidad, back to Port of Spain and his family, only to spend his final few hours with them. This epic trek also brings fifteen-year-old Willy to the most trying decision of his life--whether to return to England with Marguerite, or become the head of his family in their new home. Antoni's tragic historical novel, accented with West Indian cadence and captivating humor, provides an unforgettable glimpse into nineteenth-century Trinidad \u0026amp; Tobago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Akashic Books, Ltd.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/03\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781617751554\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 338\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 5.90w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/24\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2013 pg. 95\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Robert Antoni","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52051665354933,"sku":"9781617751554","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_d4d5e788-18f3-4ae7-b264-3eb8f47d8c6a.jpg?v=1764047596","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/as-flies-to-whatless-boys-9781617751554","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}