What Can I Do When Everything's On Fire?: A Novel Review

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What Can I Do When Everything's On Fire: A Novel ReviewIs this book really a threnody, as some claim, a song of lamentation for Antunes' characters? I'm not satisfied with this metaphor though I can agree there are plenty of sorrows in his book, set in "...the steamy world of Lisbon's demimonde" with drag queens and their entertainment amid sexual and drug abuse. The inside cover tries to give a road map of what the book is about, trying to smooth out some of the turbulent seas of ambiguity of the text itself. Each reader who actually reads the text, it seems to me, will have to constructed his or her own raft of imagination to get through. Otherwise, the reader's interest and concentration will be drowned. Different rafts; different book. As a poet, my raft was a place to absorb Antunes' poetic riches and inspiration for my own work. I was undisturbed by my inability to know for certain which character or mind was expressing itself or that I would lose the thread of the story frequently. I was astonished I could read extended pages somewhat lost as to what action was happening and yet know the feelings Antunes was communicating, probes into what it was like to be Carlos/Soraia, Judite, Gabriella, Dona Amelia. Paulo, who some see as the principal character, I saw as more or less a foil rather than a protagonist. However, my raft floated quite well with minimum concern for plot or closure. In fact I thought the ending, which I will not disclose, was too novel-like compared with the trip I was completing. I was beached.
I doubt there will ever be a final consensus about What Can I Do When Everything's on Fire? I think Antunes has taken his title most seriously, and each reader is on his or her own. But even if you conclude it "caters to confusion and instability," if you are a poet, it is a treasure chest to be pillaged and plundered.
Don't read this book first if you have not read other works of Antunes. His Fat Man and Infinity is the best place to start. Then read one of his other novels, say, Knowledge of Hell, especially if you have worked or been in a state run mental institution. Then take on the Fire.What Can I Do When Everything's On Fire: A Novel Overview

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