Get It Now The Return Brought To You By Dany Laferrière Accessible Via Text

his last day in Montreal, the "cold white city where I've known the strongest passions" and his "home" for several decades, Wilbert reflects on exile and loss:
"Exile in time is more pitiless / Than exile in space.

I miss / My childhood more intensely / than my country, "

What must it feel like to return to the country of your birth and childhood that you have not visited and experienced in more than thirty years And, that you had to leave in the dead of night after friends and associates disappeared or where found dead.
. . Why go back at all, what will it mean Told in the first person, Dany Laferrière has written this outstanding and strangely absorbing novel that appears to be an amalgam of imaginative fiction and subtly disguised real life memoir, set against his poetically evoked country of birth and youth: Haiti.


Surprisingly, the book opens with a long poem, introducing the reader from the outset to the author's inventive way of telling his story: alternating throughout between poetry and prose.
I must admit that, not being a great fan of poetry, I was initially reluctant to immerse myself in THE ENIGMA OF THE RETURN L'Enigme du retour when I first held the French original in my hands.
Yet, once I started, I became very quickly and totally immersed in Laferrière's ways of writing with its mix of prose, relating encounters and events and poetry, evoking surroundings or reflecting on observations or emotions.
The narrative flows seamlessly between the two styles, each with its own rhythms and different tone and 'feel' of language, yet harmoniously combined so that after a while you are no longer conscious of the poetry or prose sections.


Why go back A phone call in the night brings the news that his father, who spend most of the son's life in exile, has died in New York.
It is only the son who can bring the devastating news to the mother, left behind in her village, Wilbert embarks on the journey that takes him on a meandering path via New York to Haiti, cautiously rediscovering what he remembers of his childhood days, making connections first with strangers, exploring the city, Port au Prince, staying away from family and friends.
Slowly, he connects again with his nephew and then his sister and, after reaching a certain comfort level, does he feel strong enough emotionally to visit his mother and, even later, search for his father's village and people.
Both parents and their stories come alive in his memories and his poems,

The title conveys an important aspect of the novel: the "enigma" of returning, The evocation of mystery is prominent and the Wilbert's journey is as much into the known past as into the unknown present and future.
In physical terms it is expressed through recognizing changed landscapes, changed circumstances of the people he knew, Yet, for me even captivating is the psychological level where the middle aged man has to confront his childhood longings, how he may be able to bring the past and the present into some form of balance and ultimately, who he is and where he should be.
Where is home Doux mélange de poésie et de roman qui nous fait voyager avec l'auteur, Deux amis m'auront suggéré ce roman, deux amis en "exil", Le premier me l'aura prêté il y a de celaouans et l'autre m'aura rappelé son existence il y a quelques semaines.
Ressorti de la tablette où il dormait, j'ai eu droit à une écriture colorée qui mérite souvent d'être lue à haute voix même seule.
"Tu auras envie de souligner les passages savoureux, mais tu vas vite te rendre compte que tu en souligneras trop".
C'est vrai. J'ai réfléchi. J'ai ri. Parfois fort. Si on revient au point de départ
cela voudratil dire
que le voyage est terminé
On ne meurt pas tant quon bouge.

Mais ceux qui nont jamais franchi
la barrière de leur village
attendent le retour du voyageur
pour estimer si cela valait
la peine de partir.
sitelinkMakenzy Orcel si vous ne savez pas qui c'est renseignezvous ! : avait dit en interview que tout écrivain haitien était avant tout un poète je ne peux que valider cette assertion qui se vérifie au cours de mes pérégrinations dans la littérature haitienne.

Lire ce récit c'est comme voyager le long d'un fleuve au cours d'une chaude journée d'été.
Cette vision peut être très surprenante quand on sait que ce récit fait référence à la mort d'un être "cher" de l'auteur/narrateur et que suite à cet évenement il va entreprendre un long voyage initiatique pour aller à la rencontre de ce pays qu'il a fui depuis de nombreuses années et de ce père qu'il n'a pas connu.

On y fait référence à la longue traversée du désert de ce peuple haitien pendant la dictature avec toutes les exactions afférentes, de la douleur d'un peuple et du narrateur mais jamais sans tomber dans le pathos !
car Dany Laferrière avec un regard très juste et perspicace sait conter.
. .
Lecture vivement recommandée, A novel told in a combination of verse and prose, The narrator also named Dany hears of his fathers death in exile, and returns from exile himself, It deals with exile and family and identity, and the aftermath of Haitis dictatorships, I was annoyed a few times at blatant sexism, and in one case a rape joke of sorts, But it also had fantastic passages like this one:

“For threequarters of the people on this planet
only one type of travel is possible
and thats to find themselves without papers
in a country whose language and customs
they know nothing of.
” CE LIVRE ! MAIS WOW!! Cest la deuxième œuvre que je lis de Dany Laferrière , la première étant Pays sans chapeau et comment vous expliquer que jai tout simplement adoré ce livre.
Il était à la fois concret et touchant, Ce recueil de poésie était un harmonieux mélange entre les deux cultures dont a fréquenté Dany : Montréal et Portauprince.
Tout au long de ma lecture jai senti que je voyageais dans un pays où je nai même pas mis les pieds Haïti, cest à ce point que le roman était fort.
Je vous recommande fortement de mettre la main dessus , croyezmoi vous ne le regretterez pas, GrosloveDany sitelinkYou can't go home again, Quel magnifique livre!
Chaque phrase nous amène ailleurs, . avec des odeurs, couleurs, sensations merveilleuses, . J'adore. Ca fait du bien à lire, Pas un récit traditionnel, mais poétique et original dans sa facon de faire vivre Haiti au lecteur, لدينا دائما ما نروي في بلد أصبح الحديث فيه الأمر الوحيد الذي يمكن تقاسمه مع الآخر.
غريبة هذه الرواية من حيث السرد ربما يراها البعض عادية ولكن هي ترنيمة للمنفى والهوية لقد عشت تفاصيلها لبلد اجهل الكثير عنه الا وهو هايتي هي إحدى بلدان البحر الكاريبي وتعد أقدم جمهورية من أصل أفريقي في العالم. ويعني اسمها أرض الجبال العالية. كتب لافريير معاناة سكان ذلك البلد حيث الدكتاتورية والظلم والاضطهاد والفقر والهجرة بحثا عن حياة تليق بالإنسان. هي قصة الكاتب نفسه حيث غادر بلده الى كندا هناك وصل وحيدا معدما لا مال ولا أهل ولا اصدقاء لا يوجد امامه خيار الا العمل حتى ساعات الفجر من اجل أن يأكل بكرامة.
تبدأ الرواية بقصيدة تخبره أن أباه الذي هاجر إلى امريكا مات هناك وحيدا تبدأ هواجس لافريير بالعودة إلى الوطن أنها بلد الذي تركها وهو مجبرا بسبب الدكتاتور الذي يحكم تلك البلاد سيعود إليها مجددا ليحدثنا عن واقع الحياة في هايتي ومعاناة سكانها وذكريات طفولته ينتقل بنا من قرية الى اخر. إنها الرواية التي تستحق أن تقرأ. C'est le premier livre en francais que je complete depuis bien longtemps,

Il se lit tres bien, Son style est tres different prose et haiku mais ca fonctionne bien,

C'est plutot un livre 'literature' vs les livres de fictions que je lit d'habitude,

Avec Haiti dans les nouvelles, ce livre m'a donne une autre perspective, C'est un pays difficile avec une population tres fiere et positive si seulement, il pourrait exporter leurs comediens, sera un passage memorable pour moi.


L'histoire de l'exile deans a Montreal pour echapper la mort a Haiti, Le retour a Haiti apres la mort de son pere en exile a New York, Il voit sa mere pour la premiere fois depuisans, Ils visite differente places et amis de son pere, pour lui porter un dernier honneure, From the Prix Médicis winner comes a haunting meditation on the nature of identity,

Dany Laferrières most celebrated book since How to Make Love to a Negro, The Return is a bestseller in France and Quebec and the winner of many awards, including the prestigious Prix Médicis and the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal.


At age, the narrator, Dany, hurriedly left behind the stifling heat of PortauPrince for the unending winter of Montreal.
It was, and Baby Doc Duvaliers regime had just killed one of his journalist colleagues, Thirtythree years later, a telephone call informs Dany of his fathers death in New York, Windsor Laferrière had fled Haiti in thes, fearing persecution for his political activities, After the funeral, Dany plans to return his father to Baradères, the village in Haiti where he was born.
It is not the body he will take, but the spirit,

How does one return from exile In acutely observed details, Dany reveals his affection for his father and for the land of his birth.
Translated by twotime Governor Generals Awardwinner David Homel, The Return blends the gritty reality of daily life with the lush sensuality and ecstatic mystery that underlie Haitian culture.
It is the novel of a great writer, À lire absolument, un chef dœuvre, What must it feel like to return to the country of your birth and childhood that you have not visited and experienced in more than thirty years And, that you had to leave in the dead of night after friends and associates disappeared or where found dead.
. . Why go back at all, what will it mean Told in the first person, Dany Laferrière has written this outstanding and strangely absorbing novel that appears to be an amalgam of imaginative fiction and subtly disguised real life memoir, set against his poetically evoked country of birth and youth: Haiti.


Surprisingly, the book opens with a long poem, introducing the reader from the outset to the author's inventive way of telling his story: alternating throughout between poetry and prose.
I must admit that, not being a great fan of poetry, I was initially reluctant to immerse myself in The Return L'Enigme de retour when I first

held the French original in my hands.
Yet, once I started, I became very quickly and totally immersed in Laferriere's ways of writing with its mix of prose, relating encounters and events and poetry, evoking surroundings or reflecting on observations or emotions.
The narrative flows seamlessly between the two styles, each with its own rhythms and different tone and 'feel' of language, yet harmoniously combined so that after a while you are no longer conscious of the poetry or prose sections.
The novel has been exquisitely translated by David Homel,

Why go back A phone call in the night brings the news that his father, who spend most of the son's life in exile, has died in New York.
It is only the son who can bring the devastating news to the mother, left behind in her village, Wilbert embarks on the journey that takes him on a meandering path via New York to Haiti, cautiously rediscovering what he remembers of his childhood days, making connections first with strangers, exploring the city, Port au Prince, staying away from family and friends.
Slowly, he connects again with his nephew and then his sister and, after reaching a certain comfort level, does he feel strong enough emotionally to visit his mother and, even later, search for his father's village and people.
Both parents and their stories come alive in his memories and his poems,

The title of the French original conveys an important aspect of the novel that the English translation cannot: the "enigma" of returning.
The evocation of mystery is prominent and the Wilbert's journey is as much into the known past as into the unknown present and future.
In physical terms it is expressed through recognizing changed landscapes, changed circumstances of the people he knew, Yet, for me even captivating is the psychological level where the middle aged man has to confront his childhood longings, how he may be able to bring the past and the present into some form of balance and ultimately, who he is and where he should be.
Where is home Un livre surprenant qui se lit à petites doses pour absorber toutes ses saveurs, Laferrière is one the most famous Haitian writers and a new member of the Académie Française,
As he was only, he and his family had to escape the brutal dictatorship of Papa Doc Duvalier in thes because of his father's political views.


The narrator who now lives in Montreal and is well into his fifties decides to come back to his native Haiti more thanyears after having left it.
The language is vivid and lyrical, A mustread for all those who like me have left their tropical homeland for better prospects in the Northern hemisphere.
It is a brilliant evocation of exile when you get that strange feeling of not belonging anywhere, The book is fascinating. What caught my attention from the beginning was its form, I am not sure it's truly a "novel" "roman", I thought it was more of a long poetic essay, The combination of free verse and prose is enchanting, The subject was also very new for me, as I know so little about Haiti, And as any good book would do, this book made that previously obscure to me country somewhat closer, What made this book especially captivating were the common points I have with the author, The narrator's complex relationship with his own past, national identity and time in general are all issues that I can relate to.
As the book was ending I realized that I will definitely read more of Laferrière, because I am very curious about his world and the ways he deals with it.


Some quotes I marked:

", . . on n'st pas forcément du pays où l'on est né, Il y a des grains que le vent aime semer ailleurs, " p.

"Quand on ne connaît pas le lieu où l'on va tous les chemins sont bons, " p.

"A force de vivre parmi les tableux elle est devenue un personnage de roman, " p.
.