Toronto, I Love You

Translation of the novel Toronto, je t’aime by Didier Leclair
Mawenzi House, Toronto, 2022
Winner of the Prix Trillium in the year 2000

One summer, Raymond Dossougbé flees the misery of his home town in Benin and makes his way to Toronto. He is immediately captivated by this orderly city of freedom and light. But as he comes to know Toronto, the contradictions begin to appear. He realizes that his Afro-Caribbean roommates look like him, but are not his brothers. He discovers a free community that is mentally shackled, an underground network that is stuck in the past, immigrants who cannot adapt to life in North America or return to their homelands. As he tries to get his bearings in this strange world, he gains a better understanding of himself and the colourful characters around him.