Scan barcode
A review by theresidentbookworm
The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro
5.0
If there is a time-era I truly can't stand, it is the 1950s. All of it makes me want to cringe: the etiquette, the fashion, the gender roles... Whenever I think of a 1950s housewife, my mind immediately flashes to an image of Donna Reed perfectly down up and in high heel with a shackle around her ankle chaining her to the stove. Need I say more? With this being said, I was shocked that I loved The Perfume Collector as much as I did.
Perhaps my disdain of the book's time era was nullified by Grace's own zest for life outside of the strict social circles of 1950s England. I truly adore Grace. To me, she is the embodiment of what I imagine so many of those housewives were like: lonely, unhappy, smart and vivacious in their own right but unable to expression that. Grace was a woman who could take the world by storm, but her world wasn't a place where she could do that. Until, that is, Eva D'Orsay's inheritance arrives.
Eva and Grace's stories were interwoven seamlessly, and though they were set in completely different time eras, they both dealt with the same issues: relationships, independence, happiness... I could not tell you which story I enjoyed more. I enjoyed being by Grace's side as she discovered Paris and hunted for answers about Eva, but I also relished in being by Eva's side as a maid in the '20s or as a hustler in the casino at Monte Carlo or even as a muse and partner to a famous perfumer. I might have guessed at the connection a while before it was actually revealed, but the mystery wasn't what made the novel interesting to me. These two women were.
The detail put into every decade indicts very good research on Tessaro's part, and I tip my hat off to her. The descriptions alone are gorgeous but not odious (see Atonement by Ian McEwan if you're wondering what I'm talking about). It was thrilling to step into so many glamorous places if only for a moment. I could practically smell the perfumes being described, and this has made me especially excited for my upcoming Paris trip! *dance of happiness*
My only true problem with The Perfume Collector is that, like any reader, I want more. I wanted to see where Grace was heading with her life: what would she do with the perfume recipes, the potential romance in the cards for her, etc. An epilogue a year or two in the future would be nice. Otherwise, a five star read all the way! Definitely recommended!
Perhaps my disdain of the book's time era was nullified by Grace's own zest for life outside of the strict social circles of 1950s England. I truly adore Grace. To me, she is the embodiment of what I imagine so many of those housewives were like: lonely, unhappy, smart and vivacious in their own right but unable to expression that. Grace was a woman who could take the world by storm, but her world wasn't a place where she could do that. Until, that is, Eva D'Orsay's inheritance arrives.
Eva and Grace's stories were interwoven seamlessly, and though they were set in completely different time eras, they both dealt with the same issues: relationships, independence, happiness... I could not tell you which story I enjoyed more. I enjoyed being by Grace's side as she discovered Paris and hunted for answers about Eva, but I also relished in being by Eva's side as a maid in the '20s or as a hustler in the casino at Monte Carlo or even as a muse and partner to a famous perfumer. I might have guessed at the connection a while before it was actually revealed, but the mystery wasn't what made the novel interesting to me. These two women were.
The detail put into every decade indicts very good research on Tessaro's part, and I tip my hat off to her. The descriptions alone are gorgeous but not odious (see Atonement by Ian McEwan if you're wondering what I'm talking about). It was thrilling to step into so many glamorous places if only for a moment. I could practically smell the perfumes being described, and this has made me especially excited for my upcoming Paris trip! *dance of happiness*
My only true problem with The Perfume Collector is that, like any reader, I want more. I wanted to see where Grace was heading with her life: what would she do with the perfume recipes, the potential romance in the cards for her, etc. An epilogue a year or two in the future would be nice. Otherwise, a five star read all the way! Definitely recommended!