Almut and Alma, two young Brazilian women, set out from Sao Paulo and wind up in Australia. Alma is recovering from a traumatic attack. She has always loved the art of the Renaissance. Specifically, she is captivated by angels - the way they fly, their stillness, what they might sound like, how they are represented. But what the women share is a fascination for Australia and its ancient peoples; their ceremonies, sand drawings and body paintings. Here, Alma begins an affair with an Aboriginal man, an artist, though he tells her that it can only last a week. He must shortly return to his people. The women become involved with the Angel Project in Perth, where actors dressed as angels are concealed around the city for the public to track down. The angels must remain still and silent, whatever response they provoke in the viewer. 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. "Lost Paradise" is a tale of great charm and brilliance from one of Europe's greatest writers.
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From Publishers Weekly
Eminent Dutch novelist Nooteboom (All Soul's Day) weaves an imaginative tale of redemption from the intersecting lives of travelers. After surviving a gang rape in São Paulo, a young, affluent Brazilian woman, Alma, takes off for Australia with her best friend, Almut: the two plan to train as masseuses. Nooteboom then cuts to an embittered middle-aged critic, Erik Zondag, who is cast out of his home in Amsterdam by his fed-up younger girlfriend and sent to an Alpine spa in order to dry out and become a different man. The first part of the novel tracks the two Brazilians as they travel though Australia with hope of stopping at the legendary Aboriginal Sickness Dreaming Place. Their Australian adventures take a turn involving the Angel Project, a multisite piece of participatory art in Perth. For the second part, Eric endures a punishingly ascetic stay at the Alpine spa, where he recognizes his masseuse. Framed by masterful reflections on misunderstandings in life and literature, Nooteboom's short work, at once delicate and chiseled, achieves a dreamlike suspension of time and place. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
"The world is a never-ending cross reference," claims one of Nooteboom's narrators in a previous work. Here, a chance encounter between a melancholic young Brazilian woman, Alma, and a rut-stuck middle-aged Dutch literary critic, Erik, in Perth, Australia, provides the ibid for an exploration of longing for spirituality and connection. Alma, obsessed with angels, has come to Australia to "exorcise a demon" (she was gang-raped in a São Paulo favela); Erik has been lured by a free ticket to a literary conference. Both thoughtful and playful, this metafiction sometimes feels more like an essay than a novel, even spelling out the conclusion. But while Nooteboom's observations about those who want to make themselves whole by borrowing wisdom from other cultures are canny, some readers may wish he'd explore another issue, too: Alma is raped by a "black cloud" (after finding the favela's danger "irresistible") and then seeks solace in the arms of an inscrutable Aborigine—yet the significance of an earthy longing for the Other is ignored in favor of sublime desires. Fans of J. M. Coetzee should try Nooteboom, a major writer in Holland. Graff, Keir
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Flippy
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Reading this book, I was reminded of the works of the Italian neo-realist author, Italo Calvino. Nooteboom, like Calvino, paces his novel with the same detached and playful rhythm as chapter follows chapter and yet the picture of the whole is only teasingly revealed. The two authors share an economy of prose and details. The mythical and the real lean into each other and a dream-like aura seemingly surrounds everything.
Here, in Lost Paradise (Paradis verloren) the reader is thrown into an intense world of dreaming and fate and before anything makes sense, where you feel as if the characters have been fully revealed, the scenery changes. The book is divided into two: we have in the first section, the Brazilian girls and their exploration of Australia and then, in the latter part, we have the cynical Dutch journalist in Austria for his spa treatment week. Alma, the one who most needs to escape is emotionally wounded from a terrible night in Sao Paolo and her friend carries her along, keeping her friend in check. While in Perth, they get involved in an Angel Project wherein actors pose as angels in various places throughout the city.
When we read the second half that focus on Erik, we learn the older man and the young Alma have met before. Why is she now in Austria?
The book is fun and light despite the heavier themes. It is brisk and certainly inspires a second reading. In some way I would say the book flirts with the reader. The reader is like a foolish man at a bar. He buys the woman (the book) a drink and in conversation, the attractive woman hints at taking their encounter further. The hopeful but foolish man can't wait. She says she needs to freshen up and then disappears. And the reader, alone at the end, is trying to put it all together.
If you read this book be prepared for its atypical stylings. I wouldn't say I loved it but it is definitely memorable and leaves an impression. If anything, it will motivate you to read more from this modern Dutch master of prose and storytelling.
Here, in Lost Paradise (Paradis verloren) the reader is thrown into an intense world of dreaming and fate and before anything makes sense, where you feel as if the characters have been fully revealed, the scenery changes. The book is divided into two: we have in the first section, the Brazilian girls and their exploration of Australia and then, in the latter part, we have the cynical Dutch journalist in Austria for his spa treatment week. Alma, the one who most needs to escape is emotionally wounded from a terrible night in Sao Paolo and her friend carries her along, keeping her friend in check. While in Perth, they get involved in an Angel Project wherein actors pose as angels in various places throughout the city.
When we read the second half that focus on Erik, we learn the older man and the young Alma have met before. Why is she now in Austria?
The book is fun and light despite the heavier themes. It is brisk and certainly inspires a second reading. In some way I would say the book flirts with the reader. The reader is like a foolish man at a bar. He buys the woman (the book) a drink and in conversation, the attractive woman hints at taking their encounter further. The hopeful but foolish man can't wait. She says she needs to freshen up and then disappears. And the reader, alone at the end, is trying to put it all together.
If you read this book be prepared for its atypical stylings. I wouldn't say I loved it but it is definitely memorable and leaves an impression. If anything, it will motivate you to read more from this modern Dutch master of prose and storytelling.
5.0 out of 5 stars
`All kinds of things were sacred but nothing had been preserved in a book.'
Mar 28 2008
By J. Cameron-Smith
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
The intersecting journeys of travellers and their reasons for travel, reflections on life, literature and cultural difference are some of the themes explored in this novel.
What do Alma and Erik, whose first encounter is in Australia, have in common? From what are they each escaping, and what impact will their journeys and destinations have on their futures?
`Angels do not exist and yet they are divided into orders much like the hierarchy in an army.'
This compact, beautifully written novel demonstrates how it is possible to write effectively and economically while exploring complex themes. This is a book to treasure. It is also the first book of Mr Nooteboom's I have read and I will be looking for English translations of his other works.
I recommend this novel highly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
What do Alma and Erik, whose first encounter is in Australia, have in common? From what are they each escaping, and what impact will their journeys and destinations have on their futures?
`Angels do not exist and yet they are divided into orders much like the hierarchy in an army.'
This compact, beautifully written novel demonstrates how it is possible to write effectively and economically while exploring complex themes. This is a book to treasure. It is also the first book of Mr Nooteboom's I have read and I will be looking for English translations of his other works.
I recommend this novel highly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
`All kinds of things were sacred but nothing had been preserved in a book.'
Mar 28 2008
By J. Cameron-Smith
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The intersecting journeys of travellers and their reasons for travel, reflections on life, literature and cultural difference are some of the themes explored in this novel.
What do Alma and Erik, whose first encounter is in Australia, have in common? From what are they each escaping, and what impact will their journeys and destinations have on their futures?
`Angels do not exist and yet they are divided into orders much like the hierarchy in an army.'
This compact, beautifully written novel demonstrates how it is possible to write effectively and economically while exploring complex themes. This is a book to treasure. It is also the first book of Mr Nooteboom's I have read and I will be looking for English translations of his other works.
I recommend this novel highly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
What do Alma and Erik, whose first encounter is in Australia, have in common? From what are they each escaping, and what impact will their journeys and destinations have on their futures?
`Angels do not exist and yet they are divided into orders much like the hierarchy in an army.'
This compact, beautifully written novel demonstrates how it is possible to write effectively and economically while exploring complex themes. This is a book to treasure. It is also the first book of Mr Nooteboom's I have read and I will be looking for English translations of his other works.
I recommend this novel highly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Curious gem of a novel
Mar 5 2013
By Flippy
- Published on Amazon.com
Reading this book, I was reminded of the works of the Italian neo-realist author, Italo Calvino. Nooteboom, like Calvino, paces his novel with the same detached and playful rhythm as chapter follows chapter and yet the picture of the whole is only teasingly revealed. The two authors share an economy of prose and details. The mythical and the real lean into each other and a dream-like aura seemingly surrounds everything.
Here, in Lost Paradise (Paradis verloren) the reader is thrown into an intense world of dreaming and fate and before anything makes sense, where you feel as if the characters have been fully revealed, the scenery changes. The book is divided into two: we have in the first section, the Brazilian girls and their exploration of Australia and then, in the latter part, we have the cynical Dutch journalist in Austria for his spa treatment week. Alma, the one who most needs to escape is emotionally wounded from a terrible night in Sao Paolo and her friend carries her along, keeping her friend in check. While in Perth, they get involved in an Angel Project wherein actors pose as angels in various places throughout the city.
When we read the second half that focus on Erik, we learn the older man and the young Alma have met before. Why is she now in Austria?
The book is fun and light despite the heavier themes. It is brisk and certainly inspires a second reading. In some way I would say the book flirts with the reader. The reader is like a foolish man at a bar. He buys the woman (the book) a drink and in conversation, the attractive woman hints at taking their encounter further. The hopeful but foolish man can't wait. She says she needs to freshen up and then disappears. And the reader, alone at the end, is trying to put it all together.
If you read this book be prepared for its atypical stylings. I wouldn't say I loved it but it is definitely memorable and leaves an impression. If anything, it will motivate you to read more from this modern Dutch master of prose and storytelling.
Here, in Lost Paradise (Paradis verloren) the reader is thrown into an intense world of dreaming and fate and before anything makes sense, where you feel as if the characters have been fully revealed, the scenery changes. The book is divided into two: we have in the first section, the Brazilian girls and their exploration of Australia and then, in the latter part, we have the cynical Dutch journalist in Austria for his spa treatment week. Alma, the one who most needs to escape is emotionally wounded from a terrible night in Sao Paolo and her friend carries her along, keeping her friend in check. While in Perth, they get involved in an Angel Project wherein actors pose as angels in various places throughout the city.
When we read the second half that focus on Erik, we learn the older man and the young Alma have met before. Why is she now in Austria?
The book is fun and light despite the heavier themes. It is brisk and certainly inspires a second reading. In some way I would say the book flirts with the reader. The reader is like a foolish man at a bar. He buys the woman (the book) a drink and in conversation, the attractive woman hints at taking their encounter further. The hopeful but foolish man can't wait. She says she needs to freshen up and then disappears. And the reader, alone at the end, is trying to put it all together.
If you read this book be prepared for its atypical stylings. I wouldn't say I loved it but it is definitely memorable and leaves an impression. If anything, it will motivate you to read more from this modern Dutch master of prose and storytelling.
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Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
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