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The Enigma of the Return
The Enigma of the Return | Dany Laferrière
2 posts | 1 read | 2 to read
Windsor Laferrière is an exiled Haitian writer, forced to flee his homeland as a political dissident. He has lived in Montreal for thirty-three years and now suffers from writer's block. His father of the same name has just died in New York, where he himself lived as an émigré for the fifty years. Windsor decides to travel to Haiti via New York to attend the funeral and inform his mother of the death. Leaving behind the freezing winter of Montreal-something he has never gotten used to-for the wet heat of Haiti, Windsor is faced with the grim truth of life in his homeland-the endemic poverty and starvation, the thwarted ambitions and broken dreams. But only here can he become a writer again.
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Josee.lit.a.lu.et.lira
The Enigma of the Return | Dany Laferrière
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Bookclub 7 years ago. I remember it being a very touching story about family links, memories and reality checks.
#CLdesCopines #2013JLU #jelisbleu #auteurquebecois
#BlackVoices @ShyBookOwl

@Jaimelire si tu souhaites participer 🙂

Jaimelire J‘aime beaucoup les livres de Toni Morrisonâ¤ï¸ 4y
brilliantglow Fantastic world building and characters. ⤠4y
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BookishFeminist
The Enigma of the Return | Dany Laferrière
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Fun Photo Friday, Pt. 3: I can't stop bc Francophone lit *is* my wheelhouse. Thomas King (Half Cherokee), Richard Wagamese (Ojibwe), Kim Thúy (Vietnamese), Dany Laferrière (Haitian), Kamal Al-Solayee (Yemeni), Marina Nemat (Russian-Iranian), Carmen Aguirre (Chilean), Joël des Rosiers (Haitian). ??

BookishFeminist Note: Some of these titles may actually be easier to find in French, but I tried to find ones in translation. Some are written in English though, so there's Canadian fun for everyone. :) 8y
CherylDeFranceschi So fantastic! Thank you for all the great titles! 8y
brendanmleonard ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘🤘ðŸ‘👠8y
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shawnmooney Unbelievably delicious array of titles! 8y
TheWellReadOwl Awesome! 8y
Bookbeez Oh I will have to share these with my husband. He's a French speaker and he's in a bit of a reading rut. He's always looking for new Francophone lit. 8y
BookishFeminist @Bookbeez Yes! The Haitian authors I mentioned mainly write in French. I'm unsure about the others. If you need recs let me know; I've got a degree in French lit & specialized in Francophone lit. :) 8y
BookishFeminist @CherylDeFranceschi You're welcome! I hope you enjoy some of them. :) 8y
BookishFeminist @shawnmooney Yes! There's so much awesome Canadian lit. I loved your recs today too--I hadn't heard of any of the authors you mentioned! 8y
Lauracastle I adore Kim Thuy's writing style, ridiculously good. I haven't read Medicine Walk but was a sobbing mess by the end of Indian Horse. And I have so much Thomas King to catch up with, but I loved his last novel. So so much great CanLit. 8y
Bookbeez I will def let him know about the Haitian authors. He's looking for more literature outside of France too, so any North African, Haitian/Caribbean , québécois lit recs would make his day. We are going back to northern France (Lille) in September and plan to get books for our toddler and him. 8y
BookishFeminist @Lauracastle Kim Thúy is wonderful! I need to finish Mãn. I haven't read Indian Horse. I need to read more by these authors for sure--these are the books I've dabbled in. :) there is so much great CanLit that I think folks haven't even heard of! 8y
BookishFeminist @Bookbeez Oo I have tons of ideas for North African & Caribbean lit since those were my focus areas--I wrote a thesis on Algeria & Haiti colonization--random, I know. Let me look through my stuff & check the authors & books I'm thinking of and I'll let you know. Jealous you're headed to Lille soon! 8y
BookishFeminist @Bookbeez What types of stuff does your husband typically enjoy reading? 8y
Bookbeez Yay! What an awesome thesis! His favorite French author is Marguerite Duras. He's very much into social justice and existential why are we here sorts of books. 8y
BookishFeminist @Bookbeez Score! I have a feeling your husband & I would get along well. :) Has he read Maryse Condé? I love her. She's Haitian. Mariama Bâ is great, as is Léopold Sédar Senghor (poet & politician but he's amazing)- both from Senegal. Lots more where this comes from. 8y
BookishFeminist I misspoke- Maryse Condé is from Guadeloupe! But Dany Laferrière & Joël des Rosiers from this post are both Haitian so they had me confused, lol. 8y
BookishFeminist @Bookbeez Edwidge Danticat is one of my faves- she is from Haiti & I believe writes in English but has a lot published in French. 8y
Bookbeez @BookishFeminist thank you so much! 8y
BookishFeminist @Bookbeez Anytime! I will likely post more when I get around to it. :) If you run out, let me know! 8y
Spiderfelt Great list. I admit to not recognizing any of the names, despite growing up in Vancouver, attending college in Montreal and living in Haiti for 18 months. I've read lots of Danticat, but consider her Haitian-American. I look forward to exploring these authors. 8y
BookishFeminist @Spiderfelt Thanks! That's totally okay- many are more "obscure" & that's why I made this list. That's publishing's fault, not ours! A lot are super obscure since Caribbean lit is my jam & many Haitians moved to Québec in the diaspora. Looking forward to seeing what you think! Danticat is a fave. 8y
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