Absolutely in love with this one. Dorn manages a story that is equal parts hilarious and messy, and so delightfully earnest. Astrid was unlikable in the best way, as I found myself so interested in her and her behavior. We love an overtly honest and witty lesbian! Give us more characters like Astrid, please!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

Perfume and Pain was a great read. I loved the historical element and the writing was well done and fun at times too.

Thank you Simon & Schuster for the copy! Books about messy lesbians are already overarching in quality by default but add in the crude humor and cultural satire from Anna Dorn and it might just be a perfect book.

Perfume and Pain centers Astrid in the wake of her cancellation due to a wry interview that's lightly torpedoed her writing career. She in turn finds solace in her fixations and intoxicants, both equally deleterious and all the more engrossing. Her more recent obsessions include the flirtatious grad student in her writing group as well as her new neighbor, who's of course an incredibly sexy older woman.

The chaos and complexity of Astrid is the true lifeline of this plot. Even with her toxicity and absurdity, she's so ridiculously compelling (especially when she makes the mistakes that she does). Her characterization alone, particularly her obsessive nature, allows for the book to immediately feel like an open invitation into someone's diary.

The narration is nothing short of witty and enthralling with all its romantic hangups and raw sensuality. Highly recommend listening to it on audiobook - 4.5 stars

Perfume and Pain was my first read from Anna Dorn and I truly enjoyed my time reading this. I loved the reading about the main character even when she was very unlikable times. Can’t wait to read more by the author.

thank you to netgalley and simon & schuster for the digital arc!!

i finished this book and said “that’s so dumb” out loud, so yeah…not a winner!! admittedly, this is partially my fault. my understanding of "pulp" novels was incorrect. when i googled "what is a pulp novel," i got this from wikipedia: "The pulps gave rise to the term pulp fiction in reference to run-of-the-mill, low-quality literature. Successors of pulps include paperback books, such as hardboiled detective stories and erotic fiction." guess which one i thought this would be!! lmao why did i think this was going to be a detective book!! it's sooo not hahahah

really, perfume and pain follows a lesbian author in los angeles trying to revive her writing career after a slight brush with cancel culture. also she is dating toxic women and is obsessed with perfume for some reason?

so obviously this didn't work for me. i found so many of the beats repetitive, in terms of writing and plot. oh, astrid relapses and crunches adderall between her molars. oh, astrid says something stupid. oh, one of the women astrid is obsessed with does something wild and/or destructive. we kept repeating the same patterns with no payoff or character growth. and it got boring! the chapters were short and easy to read, but i never wanted to keep reading. once i put the book down, it took so much effort to pick it back up again.

and then at the end, once we FINALLY think astrid has got it together, SIKE!! penelope is back and all character growth is once again out the window. so stupid. what was the point of any of this!!

so fine, maybe i just don't get it. but i also don't think it's fair to be like "no, i'm riffing on the pulp genre" as a way to cover up a poorly written book. (in the same way katy perry can't be like "no, it's satire" when she makes a music video sexualizing women that is somehow supposed to be a commentary on sexualizing women...does this comparison make sense to anyone LOL). just...you can't do a bad job at something and say "that was the point" and then expect me to like it. and maybe that makes me too dumb!! or maybe the book is just bad!! you decide!!

i just won't take anything positive from my reading experience here and that's the end of it. sorry!!

Perfume and Pain is NOT subtle and had me cringing the whole way through… in a *mostly* fun way. A gay as hell way to indulge in juicy gossipy, well, pulp. It didn’t change my life and it won’t stick with me long but I enjoyed my time reading it—it really kept me entertained! Will be liked more (I imagine) by readers better-versed in celebrity etc.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This book was so full of lesbian/queer culture, it felt like gossiping with a good queer friend. The narrator was so unlikable at times, yet I still found myself rooting for a good outcome for her. The story took some wild turns, and kept me engaged with both the plot twists and excellent character development. I loved it!

for starters, the main character is a messy, obsessive and controversial writer with a tendency to flirt with the wrong people. she also have a penchant for her secret cocktail, the Patricia Highsmit, a clever combination of alcohol and amphetamines (nothing less).

this book is both full of debauchery and of messy, unhinged characters who enter into fussily unbalanced (read toxic) relationships. we plunge into Astrid’s foibles, thoughts and doubts, and we’re on the verge of being sucked into this bobo, creative but above all sultry lesbian LA. everything is there to please us avid reader.

basically, if you weren’t already convinced, Perfume & Pain is an homage to the lesbian pulp fiction genre of the ‘50s, it’s also what I understood as autofiction, while being full of cultural references and very, very funny and page-turner. it’s an addictive read.

Anna Dorn, I love you!

This book has to be a contender for one of my favorites of 2024. It was witty and hilarious, and I found myself laughing out loud at some parts. I loved the interesting cast of characters and was invested in all of them. This was a good reminder that we don't need to take life so seriously. I only wish that this book was longer so I could know what happened next for Astrid.

4.5/5

Astrid, a controversial LA author attempts to revive her career by going back to her roots - attending the Zoom writer’s group she cofounded, Sapphic Scribes. After a bad publicity incident leaves her slightly canceled, she throws herself into the group - but more importantly into a few sexy distractions. Ivy, a grad student who’s a writer in Sapphic Scribes and researching 1950s lesbian pulp, urges Astrid into questionable situations and vices. And Penelope, her new neighbor who’s a painter living off Urban Outfitters settlement money immediately ingratiates herself in Astrid’s life. A satirical novel filled with lesbian melodrama, Southern California sultriness, and an insight into our internet and celebrity-obsessed world.

“Suddenly and without warning, I want to tell her I love her. This always happens to me. I have an intense urge to declare my love far before it’s appropriate. A lot of lesbians feel this way, and maybe there is an alchemical explanation, too much estrogen or something. Sometimes I can’t tell if I love someone or if I just want to up the stakes of the relationship or if there is a difference.”

This was such a fun and very binge-worthy read. Once I started it, Astrid’s character and Anna Dorn’s writing really sucked me in. I couldn’t get enough of Astrid’s relateability, but also her utter absurdity. This book is unapologetically feminine, hilarious, and rabid in terms of situations and relationships that the main character throws herself into. The humor was reminiscent of Big Swiss, and the messy relationships mixed with social commentary made me recall I’m a Fan. This is character-heavy with no big plot, so if that’s your vibe, then I would definitely recommend this for your next summer read. The character development in Astrid surprised me (in a good way) and added some depth to the story. She’s kind of an annoying narrator when you get started, but that just adds to her appeal, and towards the end, Astrid grows on you. Great book!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This book was so very much fun. Definitely an entry into the canon of “woman vs. the void” literature, it follows its protagonist as she deals with messy relationships and her rocky writing career after an interview gone awry.

The main character is an absolute disaster, but her journey is compelling and funny and inspires sympathy from the audience even when she is being terribly unlikable (which is most of the time). I read this while hunting down queer books set in LA that I already had copies of, and its sense of place was really delightful.

One star off because the main character sometimes felt like so much of a disaster that I couldn’t quite sympathize with or entirely understand her decisions and motivations, but a really good and startlingly sincere read overall.

"Perfume and Pain" has to be one of my favorite reads of this year. Anna Dorn did an extraordinary job crafting a character who, despite being deeply flawed and often unlikeable, felt so real and authentic that I couldn't help but love her. This novel is a masterclass in character development, capturing the complexities and contradictions that make us human.

The story is a rollercoaster of emotions—fun, crazy, and sad all at once. Dorn weaves an intricate narrative that seamlessly blends moments of dark humor with poignant reflections on pain and healing. Between Astrid's relationships with others and her career as a "cancelled" author, Astrid's journey through personal and professional turmoil is both heartbreaking, funny, and inspiring, making for a read that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

Astrid's relationship with Ivy, a wildly unpredictable and unstable student, is depicted with a mix of dark humor and stark realism. Ivy's erratic behavior and the chaos it brings into Astrid's life are both disturbing and oddly captivating, reflecting the complexities of toxic relationships. Dorn's portrayal of Ivy is unflinchingly honest, shedding light on the challenges and heartbreak of loving someone who is truly troubled.

The narrative takes a poignant turn when Astrid meets her neighbor, Penelope. Penelope's calm presence contrasts sharply with Ivy's instability, and as Astrid begins to know both of them she becomes more sporadic and becomes like her "old self" again.

Overall, this story was highly entertaining and still consisted of such deep thought and emotion towards what being lesbian and "cancelled" and in love really is like.

What makes Perfume and Pain so tough to get through is how aggressively unlikeable Astrid is. Without spoiling anything, there is some redemption, but to get there you have to suffer through bad decisions, hyper-current pop culture references, and gatekept queerness. Astrid isn't always wrong, but she is an asshole.

Sad sapphic girl did at its best. I don't know what else to say except I wish this book came with its own perfume sampler

Too much fun, perfect beach read. Pays homage to lesbian pulp while also doing its own unique thing. Feels relevant and online without ever getting cringe and weird (such an achievement). Flew through this by the pool in a few hours.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Perfume and Pain" by Anna Dorn is a gripping and evocative exploration of desire, obsession, and the intricacies of human connection.

Reading this felt messy and fun in the best way!!! I’m new to this author but I really enjoyed the witty writing style & ambiguous characters carefully planted along the narrative! Thank you, Netgalley, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 ⭐️

An author whose career is struggling finds love in this novel.

I wanted to like this more but I really struggled with Astrid’s voice. I just found her kind of annoying, which made it harder to enjoy.

If Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation was about a lesbian, it would be this novel. Depressing, disheartening, offputting, and super bingeable.

Perfume & Pain 👩🏼‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏽🍃🥀🌙🪐🔮💊📇📝❤️‍🩹
by Anna Dorn
4.6/5 ⭐️

What an amazingly fluid and beautiful dive into a gritty homage to lesbian pulp. Astrid was a FMC I found myself laughing out loud with more often than not. A true Aquarius, she is brutally honest and unapologetic about it (get it gurl 💅🏼). I love the acid wit she spews on everyone around her and she’s so observant about everything that’s going on. She is so relatable and incredibly compelling, and I couldn’t help but to inhale this every time I picked it up.

This was my first read by Dorn, but I will be back for more!! This was so sharp, but it begged you not to take it seriously and to have a good time. I felt like I was embraced in an L-Word (the original, you heathens) episode and I didn’t want it to end. Finding that feeling of queer camaraderie is scant anymore, so what a gift this title was - esp with our world where it is. If you enjoy manically messy and deeply intriguing lesbians that are drenched in a pulpy sepia tone, you must read Perfume & Pain!!

Thank you to Netgalley, Anna Dorn, and Simon & Schuster for gifting me an ARC of Perfume & Pain! ❤️‍🔥