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Lively, historically rich romp through America’s daredevil era.

Roberts’s debut fictionalizes the story of flagpole sitter Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly, orphaned and rescued from the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen by Captain Thomas Arnold Jacobi in the early 1900s. Grateful for the fresh start, Alvin works hard and earns the coveted title of Jacobi’s “trusted mate,” sailing with him on the Helene—where he meets and falls in love with Vivian Steele and survives, at just 16 years old, when the Helene is shipwrecked. After returning to New York City—following a stint on the R.M.S. Carpathia as one of the crew members tasked with retrieving the Titanic’s survivors—Alvin is befriended by Joseph Emmerling, a journalist eager to turn his story into a book.

Roberts contextualizes Alvin’s life against the early 20th century’s propensity for daredevil feats like plunging over Niagara Falls in a barrel or partaking in death-defying aviation stunts. Amidst these people and their eccentric obsessions, Alvin comes across as simple and straightforward, with a limitless desire to excel and be adored. Eventually, he turns to flagpole sitting, becoming a popular figure towering above the skyline, with Joseph serving as his manager. He also runs into Vivian once again, marrying her and raising a son together—though their relationship is often troubled by the enduring attachment between Alvin and Joseph.

To avoid narrative lulls during Alvin’s extended performances, Roberts uses historical language and vivid snapshots of this lost art: Alvin's many attempts to pass hours of time spent perched on a 36” by 36” lumber square; the weather conditions of “living in the sky”; the ebb and swell of the crowd’s adulation; Vivian’s petty crime attempts to rake in extra cash on the ground. As the Machine Age takes hold and World War II approaches, Alvin teeters toward oblivion, along with several of his colleagues, heralding the end of a glittering, madcap era in America’s history.

The Luckiest Fool on Earth is a "bittersweet indie gem about love, loss, and the absurd beauty of starting over." - tertulia.com