The Return (20 page)

Claude Arnaud,
Le Point

“Carried along by a voice of seductive melancholy, this little poetic gem justly evokes the eternal drama of solitary travelers, those condemned to remain strangers from their own land.”

Julien Bisson,
Lire

“A long autobiographical poem dedicated to the death of his father, Laferrière's The Return is also a beautiful meditation on exile.”

Serge Sanchez,
Le magazine littéraire

“What is it about this long and seductive autobiographical novel that most draws us in? Is it the daring, the color, the rhythms and tones of the language, a mix of free verse and prose? Is it the idea of disenchanted politics on an island—Haiti—quickly destroyed and too quickly forgotten? Or the fine, melancholic reflection on exile, the loving quest for his father, the sensuality of his stunning scenes etched in the warm weight of the moment? The answer is all of these . . .”

Fabienne Pascaud,
Télérama