I think you will find The Return worthwhile once you do get to it. Laferriere has a spareness to his writing that works very well in translation — I’d hazard a guess that he and his translator are virtually co-authors of his work since there is a regular pattern of the translations appearing the year after the original French language versions.

That doesn’t prevent it being a metaphor too once in the novel, but it does help remind that sometimes a briefcase is just a briefcase.

The style is very tempting. One for my TBR list I think and a good example of how literary prizes can shine light on authors who deserve it and might not otherwise get the attention they merit.

I am not a poetry reader either and when a scan of the book showed that about three-quarters was in verse (that’s by page, not word, count), I was somewhat concerned. But when I started to read it I fell into the rhythm of the verse immediately — and there is not a lot of imagery too it. From the start, it was apparent that Laferriere was using the form to illustrate the not-fully-formed scraps of memory and thought that taken together come to represent what we are thinking. I am generally not very keen on writers who experiment with form simply to do something different — Laferriere had a very good reason to do what he did because it is the most effective way of telling his story.