Lost Paradise

by Cees Nooteboom

Translated from the original Dutch by Susan Massotty

Alma and Almut share a fascination for Australia and its ancient peoples; their ceremonies, sand drawings and body paintings. After Alma suffers a traumatic attack, they board a cheap flight from São Paulo to Sydney, and together begin their journey across their secret continent. Alma slowly recovers through a brief love affair with an Aboriginal artist, and both women become involved with the Angel Project in Perth, where actors dressed as angels are concealed around the city for the public to discover.

In a seemingly unconnected story, a man staying at a remote Alpine spa unexpectedly meets a woman he encountered years before and with whom he shared a single night. It was in a faraway city and she was dressed as an angel.

(From Publisher).

Cees Nooteboom was born in the Hague in 1933. He is a poet and the author of prize-winning fiction and travel books. In 1993 he won the Aristeion European Literature Prize for his novel The Following Story. His books have been translated into many languages.

Modern novel about a woman who travels around the world after a traumatic experience. She plays a role as an angel in street theatre in Australia. A spectator falls in love with her.