Robert Antoni – författare

Spanning from Victorian England to the West Indies, this is a prize-winning novel of adventure, love, comedy, and tragedy.   In 1845 London, 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, 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 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. But as the voyage continues, and their love for one another strengthens, Willy and Marguerite may prove themselves to be the true idealists—in this “rollicking” tale that was named a Favorite Novel of the Year by Tin House and one of Edwidge Danticat’s Best Books of the Year in the New Yorker (Library Journal).   “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.” —Publishers Weekly   “The emotional influence of Willy’s narrative—his loving descriptions of the people who surround him—is profoundly effective . . . Strikes strong emotional chords.” —Kirkus Reviews

“To travel through the 19 works of poetry and prose in this remarkable anthology is to experience Trinidad and Tobago through a kaleidoscopic lens.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review   Two of Trinidad’s top writers masterfully curate this literary retrospective of the nation’s best writing over the past century from authors who were largely part of the literary wave that swept in with Trinidadian Independence in 1962. Though Trinidad Noir: The Classics encompasses a variety of moods and themes, it winds up capturing the uniquely Trinidadian character. Influenced by the waning days of the colonial world—an era rife with crime, violence, enslavement, and indentureship—the selections highlight the often heroic individuals of the underclass.   In this anthology, you’ll find reprints of classic stories and poems by C.L.R. James, Derek Walcott, Samuel Selvon, Eric Roach, V.S. Naipaul, Harold Sonny Ladoo, Michael Anthony, Willi Chen, Earl Lovelace, Robert Antoni, Elizabeth Nunez, Ismith Khan, Lawrence Scott, Wayne Brown, Jennifer Rahim, Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, Sharon Millar, Barbara Jenkins, and Shani Mootoo.   “Lovelace and Antoni offer a ‘subversive’ take on island culture . . . Whether history repeats itself or progress is stalled by people’s infinite capacity to get in their own ways, these 19 reprinted tales offer a bittersweet perspective on the cussedness of human nature.” —Kirkus Reviews   “Holds strong appeal for fans of noir and literary writing.” —Library Journal