Jan Dean is a poet always on the lookout for angels, both 'wondrous' and 'wicked'. She has a gift for sliding sideways with her words, making every aspect of her engagement with the world magical. With its impressive range of people, places and experiences - from dramatic re-imaginings of a Spanish couple building a castle in the North Queensland rainforest to tender, intensely vivid recreations of her own family history (and so much more along the way ) - this is a collection with surprises and delights on every page. It is witty, poignant, gloriously visual and daringly original. Even if the angels are only 'intermittent', this is a wondrous account of an intensely experienced earth-bound life. Jean Kent
