{"product_id":"the-return-tilo-plziger-de-zjzagznnza-9798278704478","title":"The Return: The À\u0026#7778;\u0026#7864; Portraits","description":"\u003cb\u003eTHE RETURN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA novel about coming back to the same place until time demands its price.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAcross twenty years, one woman keeps coming back to the same transit landmark: \u003c\/b\u003e a station platform, a tree, a corner the city refuses to leave unchanged. \u003cb\u003eEach visit looks almost the same\u003c\/b\u003e-timetables, taped notices, rerouted access, a single ring-stain on the concrete-\u003cb\u003ebut the meaning has shifted: \u003c\/b\u003e first arrival, postponed departure, anniversaries, delayed goodbyes, a life that seemed temporary and then was not. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eStructured as a series of \"Returns\" (Year 0, Year 1-2, Year 3, ... Year 20), \u003cb\u003eTHE RETURN reads like time spiralling through its own mistakes. \u003c\/b\u003eRenovations are half-finished, routes rerouted, an ERROR message on the departures screen flashes for one second and then disappears. The city changes just enough to make each visit feel like both repetition and betrayal. \u003cb\u003eThe question is not whether she will leave, but what time wants back for letting her stay.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eReaders familiar with Yoruba \/ Orisha and Ifá traditions - especially the \u003cb\u003eOdù Òfún and the tree-rooted teachings of Ìrókò, guardian of long time and standing places \u003c\/b\u003e- will recognise the pressure that runs through this book, but you do not need that vocabulary to feel it: here àṣẹ is time's invoice, the quiet insistence that every delay, every reroute, every refusal to leave will be answered later. White \u003cb\u003eXs show up as tape on notices, chalk on concrete, corrections on printed schedules - never explained, always accumulating weight.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerfect for readers who appreciate: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cb\u003eAli Smith-style\u003c\/b\u003e play with seasons, error, and recurrence, resonant for readers of \u003cb\u003eJenny Erpenbeck\u003c\/b\u003e or \u003cb\u003eKate Atkinson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cb\u003eTime-layered novels\u003c\/b\u003e that revisit one place across many years\u003cbr\u003e- Subtle, observational prose where the \u003cb\u003ecity's changes carry the plot\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cb\u003eSpiritual questions smuggled\u003c\/b\u003e into station signage and scaffolding \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE RETURN\u003c\/b\u003e is \u003cb\u003eBook 16\u003c\/b\u003e of \u003cb\u003eTHE ÀṢẸ PORTRAITS\u003c\/b\u003e - a stand-alone novel that also closes the cycle, \u003cb\u003easking what remains, what the city takes, and how every comeback is also a reckoning.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Tilo Plöger de Àjàgùnnà\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798278704478\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/14\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 118\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.34lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.30d","brand":"Tilo Plöger de Àjàgùnnà","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49171227934975,"sku":"9798278704478","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-return-tilo-plziger-de-zjzagznnza-9798278704478","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}