Lost Paradise

by Cees Nooteboom

Book Overview

Cees Nooteboom, hailed by A. S. Byatt as "one of the greatest modern novelists," is one of Holland's most important authors. In Lost Paradise , Nooteboom's most ambitious book yet, he sets out to uncover the connections between two seemingly unrelated travelers: a beautiful stranger aboard a Berlin-bound flight and a haggard-looking man on a Holland train platform. With his fleeting impressions of these encounters, Nooteboom builds a complex, haunting...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802118550
• ISBN13: 9780802118554
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

`All kinds of things were sacred but nothing had been preserved in a book.'

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