What a delight this book was. Astrid is a semi-cancelled writer living in Los Angeles who is trying to resucitate her career while battling a mild drug addiction. She also happens to be lesbian and prone to develop crushes that get pretty close to obsession. This book is narrated by Astrid with her funny and cynical voice, I had so much fun reading I almost didn't want to ever finish it. Perfect cure for a reading slump, I kept thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it.

I feel like this book will be polarizing - the people who get it, get it, and the ones who don't, won't. I enjoyed the writing style, and the main character, while quite terrible, was well-fleshed out. I think that the best word to describe this novel is 'messy' (in a great way!).

I think what held me back from a full 5 star is that the main character was so terribly unlikeable, and just never got that redemption arc for me to still root for her.

Overall, I still highly recommend Perfume & Pain. The writing was enjoyable, the cover is gorgeous, and it left me wanting to read the other books mentioned throughout the story.

This book was full of twists and turns that leave you wanting to know more and more about the main characters insane love life.

There is something almost therapeutic and entertaining reading about someone who is privileged and problematic get taken down a notch. It is hard to like someone like the main character, Astrid, but it is hard to look away as she spirals.
The way Dorn write this character's story has the reader feeling the side affects of the crazy drinking , smoking, and drugs that Astrid is taking throughout parts of the book (but like in a good way?).

All in all, I did really enjoy this read. It is different than what I usually go for, but I think that is what drew me to it.

This is one of those "messy girl" books. Anna Dorn's writing is beautiful here, but I feel like this is something I've read before again and again. A chaotic main character going through some sort of crisis and just moving in place.
While I wasn't obsessed with this book, it was not an unpleasant read and a fun homage to lesbian pulp.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Perfume and Pain is about Astrid Dahl, a semi-successful lesbian novel writer in her mid-thirties living in Los Angeles. She is acerbic, narcissistic, and falls in love too easily. Astrid’s poor decisions and behavior are finally catching up with her and her life is a bit of a mess. She has recently found herself in hot water for a flippant comment captured at her book reading. She regularly imbibes a specific cocktail of alcohol and drugs she has dubbed “the Patricia Highsmith," after her favorite author. Astrid uses it to help her socialize and write prolifically, but also blacks out while on it.

The writing is absolutely fantastic and immediately drew me in. Astrid’s perspective and the commentary is hilarious. I do have mixed feelings as her antics are a bit tiring at times and I had no idea where the story would go. Will she change? Will she get a happy ending? Does she deserve a happy ending? Astrid isn’t a likeable character, but her wit is entertaining. The women she falls in love with tend to be very dramatic and bad for her. I’d recommend if you’re looking for a well-written, chaotic romp through Hollywood.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Did I just find my new favorite ‘weird girl’ book? I think so!! I was hooked from the start and tore through this bad boy so fast with its short chapters and addictive writing. I could have stayed in this messy little world fever. I wasn’t very familiar with Lesbian Pulp before this but now Iv fallen down the rabbit hole and I’ll be picking up a copy of The Price of Salt ASAP. I’ll also be reading my way through Anna’s backlog of books after this because she might be my new favorite author. Thank you so much to NetGally and the publishers for an advanced digital copy for review.

This messy lesbian story was exactly what I didn't know I needed.

Astrid’s toxic behavior is super relatable, especially the way she wrecks her own success because she feels like she doesn't belong in the industry. The book also nails the struggle with addiction and using drugs to numb the pain when all you really want is to be seen.

Heads up, there's a lot of lesbian slang in this book. If you haven't seen "The L Word," you might miss some of the references.

Still, I had an amazing time reading it, and Anna Dorn is going on my must-read list.

I LOVED Exalted by Anna Dorn when I read it a few years back, so I when I read the premise for Perfume and Pain I knew it would be another great read. And I was not disappointed! This book was chaotic and funny, with a captivating (and at times unlikeable) main character in Astrid Dahl. Astrid is a moderately successful author who is struggling with her next book. She is briefly “cancelled” after an incident at a Barnes & Noble event, so in addition to writer’s block she is dealing with the fallout from that. Throw in the temptation of Patricia Highsmith, her perfect drug/alcohol concoction and an obsession with her new neighbor, and Astrid’s life is soon off the rails.

I loved how unapologetically messy Astrid is. At one point she is literally counting the red flags while waiting for her current infatuation to text her back. Dorn’s writing is so clever and funny, and had me guffawing and wondering what the hell I just read more than once. I just had so much fun reading this book.

If you like books by Melissa Broder and Emily R. Austin definitely check out Anna Dorn, especially Perfume and Pain!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shusted for a review copy.

"Perfume and Pain" by Anna Dorn is a fluid, inventive homage to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction, centering on the tumultuous life of Astrid, a flailing writer in LA. Teetering on the edge of personal and professional collapse, Astrid navigates relationships with two contrasting women: the erratic Ivy, a PhD student analyzing lesbian pulp fiction, and the self-assured artist Penelope.

Struggling with addiction and a tendency towards toxic, drama-filled relationships, Astrid’s spiky, often offensive wit provides a sharp commentary on LA’s creative, lesbian communities. Despite her unlikeable qualities, Astrid's self-awareness and biting humor make her a compelling character. Dorn's style, reminiscent of Halle Butler and Emily M. Danforth, offers a captivating blend of unhinged self-destruction and dark humor that is both shocking and realistic, making this a must-read for those who enjoy messy, unapologetic, queer narratives.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC!

In Perfume & Pain, Astrid Dahl is a writer struggling to work on her next book, navigate her myriad relationships, and "get healthy," or rather, steer clear of her favorite cocktail of drugs she calls "The Patricia Highsmith." This book is an homage to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction and has elements implicitly and explicitly incorporated throughout.

Who knew lesbian pulp fiction was a thing? I'm a sucker for metafiction of any variety and this one was well done with richly developed characters and nods to iconic female and lesbian authors of the past. It's not a plot-driven novel, so readers looking for much more than intra-personal relationships may be disappointed, but I'm not one of those readers, so I enjoyed it quite a bit. Be sure to read this great interview with the author to learn more about her process in writing the novel: https://dirt.fyi/article/2024/05/perfume-and-pain.

I LOVED this book! as a lesbian... its so relatable, lesbians are unhinged, theyre funny, theyre silly, and they fall in love and do weird things, and sometimes there is even a crumb of hope for them!

queer, messy, unfiltered and completely unhinged. that’s exactly the type of literature I wanna see and vibe with!!

Reading this book felt like being on a bender. And god damn I love adrenalizing.

A semi-autofictional romp, the story follows writer "Astrid Dahl" who struggles to write, to work, to exist?? post-publication of her latest novel... about an online astrologist. The book is being adapted into a TV show, she's dealing with the fallout of being slightly canceled on literary Twitter, she gets entangled in some MESSY romantic endeavors, she blacks out when she shouldn't- basically all of the makings of a novel I will absolutely eat up. And I did.

At one point, the main character describes her writing as cerebral in the sense that it's very interior and often lacks physicality. And while I don't know that I 100% agree with that in regards to the Real Person Anna Dorn's writing, I realized that I actually might love her books for that very reason. I always get so swept up in being inside her characters' brains that I forget to be in my own obsessive compulsive one for a while. And selfishly, it's a really nice break. Anna Dorn is also one of the funniest writers I've read. I'm a big believer that you have to be smart to be funny, and Dorn just has a way of writing spot-on observational humor that feels very of-the-moment. And the autofictional elements and sassy quips about her previous writing in this book all made me giggle, too. Having read her other novels, I felt like I was in on the jokes.

But then around the 75-80% mark, the tone shifts into something more serious and more earnest, which I wasn't expecting but genuinely really enjoyed. The beginning of the book is a wild, adderal-powered romp, but the ending feels more like a love letter to the process of writing and the community that supports it. Which is lovely and wholesome and nice.

As a whole, Perfume & Pain is a similar flavor to Dorn's other novels, this one felt elevated in a way that I can't put my finger on. Maybe it's the academic conversations infused within the plot, maybe it's just Anna Dorn growing and maturing as a writer and a person. Either way, it's really fun to follow an author get better and better throughout their career.

You should read this if you like the Netflix shows Love (starring Gillian Jacobs) or Bojack Horseman!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of Perfume & Pain in exchange for an honest review! I also listened to a portion of this book on audio through my personal Everand account. Perfume & Pain is out now!

i wanted to like this more than i did... the author truly gets modern lesbianism but i just felt like i wanted more from the story. so proud of the author but i just felt myself not wanting to come back to the story.

I picked up this book for two reasons: 1. The gorgeous cover! 2. All the sparkling reviews that claimed this is one of the funniest books of the year. Personally, I found this book to lean more on the side of humorous/witty than laugh-out-loud funny but that's fine by me because I overall really enjoyed this book. It fits firmly into one of my favorite genres which is that of the messy, unhinged woman who is "Not Doing Well." Dorn does a great job at creating an unliakable heroine you nevertheless root for, building an eerie, just-off-kilter atmosphere, and grounding it all in relatable career, family, and romantic struggles. There were times I felt like this book was absolutely not written for me as a straight person (and it wasn't! and that's ok!) so some of the language felt foreign in my head, but I got over that pretty quickly and just let the story wash over me. Very sharp writing, filled with carefully considered insights even though the plot is total madness--a fun combination! Will be very interested to read anything this author brings out in the future.

I really enjoyed Anna’s writing in Perfume and Pain. It was immersive and I felt like I was intruding in Astrid’s brain. Her likes and dislikes, quips and inner monologue were a treat to read. The way her brain would spitfire and land on random pop culture moments and her recent reads and movies was so fun to read. Overall, this book was a master at what it set out to do, which is create an unlikeable but real character and story that left me laughing and thoughtful. I really enjoyed Anna’s writing in this. This is my first from hers and I hope to read more.

This novel is so messy 😂.

The main character makes so many bad decisions and is so unbothered. I was not expecting the route the story took with Ivy, and then later with Penelope. Kat Gold is ridiculous, but also hilarious.

I’ve never read any 1950’s lesbian pulp fiction, but this was a wild time. The novel is well written and funny.

If you love a novel with messy characters, I’d recommend picking this one up!

Thank you to Net Galley and The Publishers for an arc of this book.
This book is fantastic. the humor the satire the vibe of it. i loved everything about this book it brought me back to how i felt when i first read my year of rest and relaxation... anna dorn is my new auto buy author, the writing is reltable it had me wondering whether or not i had cameras hidden in my house well done and perfectly executed.

Absolutely loved this! It was messy and sharp and had me totally hooked from page one. I couldn't put this book down. Astrid was insufferable in the best way possible, I couldn't help but root for her. I loved all of the references to Lesbian Pulp Fiction especially given how they were portrayed as I am not very well versed, and the other references to modern pop fiction were tasteful. overall I really enjoyed this.

This book was so fun! I'm glad that it is being published around the summer time because it is the perfect summer read. If this were a real perfume it'd have the following notes:
Top note - Citrus, beach water, white musk
Base note - Sandalwood, incense, desire

Desire is the underlying theme here. I haven't read a story that captures the experience of WLW quite like this one. While some may find it heavy-handed, I found it genuine and raw. I found that desire in this story is portrayed in an almost animalistic way-- not necessarily that WLW relationships itself are animalistic, but the feelings experienced in such relationships can be. I think Dorn handled that aspect masterfully.