Book Club - L'Énigme du retour by Dany Laferrière

L'énigme du retour is a poignant and introspective novel by Haitian-Canadian writer and Académicien Dany Laferrière. Published in 2009, the book blends poetry and prose to explore themes of exile, identity, and the search for belonging.

The novel follows the journey of a writer who, upon learning of his father’s death, returns to Haiti after years of self-imposed exile in Canada. Through lyrical and evocative language, Laferrière reflects on his homeland’s changes, the weight of memory, and the emotional complexity of returning to a place that feels both familiar and distant. Inspired by Aimé Césaire’s Cahier d’un retour au pays natal, the narrative weaves personal experience with broader reflections on displacement and the immigrant experience.

Winner of the Prix Médicis, L'énigme du retour stands as a major work in Francophone literature, showcasing Laferrière’s signature blend of autobiography and poetic storytelling while offering a deeply moving meditation on homecoming and loss.