The crumbling marble angel is Vega’s most ambitious restoration project yet, but she thinks she can manage it, if she could just find somewhere to house the statue while she works. Her father, Vince, has the solution: the abandoned Seafarers’ Hotel, which sits alone at the end of a winding coastal road, offers both the space and the quiet Vega craves.
The hotel also holds other surprises, however. The chandeliers are home to dive-bombing canaries, the ballroom occasionally hosts a troupe of tango-dancing farmers, and one of the bedrooms is occupied by an inept handyman who might be even more broken than Vega.
As Vega restores the fragile angel to its former glory, can she also find a way to pick up the pieces of her life and begin anew?
andThe Wingmaker
‘Radiant, enchanting—The Wingmaker is a joy to read. I adore Mette Jakobsen’s writing.’
‘Mette Jakobsen’s first novel is a gossamer web, a work of fragile beauty.’
‘A wonderful story told with a voice that I wanted to listen to. A voice that will stay with me for a long time.’
‘A delectable delight, a fetching fable that is both heartbreaking in its poignancy and breathtaking in its delicacy.’
‘Jakobsen has written a very special book, a tender and considered exploration of how we love and how we cope with loss.’
‘Mette Jakobsen is an expert in creating images…Jakobsen describes the sights and sounds of inner-city Newtown as lovingly as she details the bush in the Blue Mountains.’
‘A novel replete with Jakobsen’s characteristic delicacy and enchantment.’
‘Readers of Mette Jakobsen will have come to admire the impressive poise of her writing…[In The Wingmaker], her sharp internal landscapes are balanced by the flamboyant whimsy of life pressing on, regardless of trauma or the weight of the past.’
‘Jakobsen handles her material with a light touch, imbuing her elegant prose with a contemplative air that’s complemented by playful flights of fancy…and an appealingly wry narrative voice.’
‘Charming…Jakobsen is an expert at creating jewel-like moments that often feel filmic…There’s a lot to like about The Wingmaker.’
