Astrid Dahl is trying to "get healthy" and revive her lightly canceled writing career, but pesky toxic lesbians keep proving to be oh-so-sexy distractions. In her new bungalow in the hills of LA, Astrid gets sucked back into the world of lesbian pulp fiction (IRL), aided by her favorite vice—a lethal combo of amphetamines, alcohol and cigarettes called the Patricia Highsmith—and the bad behavior she tried so hard to kick only gets worse.

Perfume and Pain is propulsive, funny and highly engaging. The pages practically turned themselves as I watched Astrid fall to rock bottom, then slowly piece herself back together again. Astrid's voice leaps off the page from the very start, and her character is amazingly well-developed. She's problematic, witty, hilarious and chock-full of bad decisions, but I couldn't help but root for her the entire time. There are several laugh-out-loud funny moments, many more where I wanted to shake some sense into her, and others where I solemnly related to her bleak outlook.

Side characters like Astrid's friends, Otto and Zev, and the objects of her lusty affection, Ivy and Penelope, were less fleshed out. The latter made more sense than the former, and I wish we had a bit more of those friendships that Astrid's behavior threatened throughout the book.

The novel is also an ode to '50s and '60s lesbian pulp, a genre many lack familiarity with. There are tons of references to this body of work, and those unfamiliar like myself might miss some of them, on top of the parallels Dorn draws between her characters and the characters of works like "The Price of Salt" toward the end. There might have been bigger messages there as the novel wrapped up, but if there were, they went over my head.

Similarly, there are tons of modern-day pop culture references throughout. It might be a me thing, but I don't love this in novels—I find it dates fiction very quickly, making it a good book for today, but not for tomorrow.

Overall, though, this book was a fun, queer, messy-as-hell romp that fans of problematic lesbians will positively eat up.

<B>The Publisher Says: A controversial Los Angeles author attempts to revive her career and finally find true love in this hilarious nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction.</B>

Having recently moved both herself and her formidable perfume bottle collection into a tiny bungalow in Los Angeles, mid-list author Astrid Dahl finds herself back in the Zoom writer’s group she cofounded, Sapphic Scribes, after an incident that leaves her and her career lightly canceled. But she temporarily forgets all that by throwing herself into a few sexy distractions—like Ivy, a grad student who smells like metallic orchids and is researching 1950s lesbian pulp, or her new neighbor, Penelope, who smells like patchouli.

Penelope, a painter living off Urban Outfitters settlement money, immediately ingratiates herself in Astrid’s life, bonding with her best friends and family, just as Astrid and Ivy begin to date in person. Astrid feels judged and threatened by Penelope, a responsible older vegan, but also finds her irresistibly sexy.

When Astrid receives an unexpected call from her agent with the news that actress and influencer Kat Gold wants to adapt her previous novel for TV, Astrid finally has a chance to resurrect her waning career. But the pressure causes Astrid’s worst vice to rear its head—the Patricia Highsmith, a blend of Adderall, alcohol, and cigarettes—and results in blackouts and a disturbing series of events.

Unapologetically feminine yet ribald, steamy yet hilarious, Anna Dorn has crafted an exquisite homage to the lesbian pulp of yore, reclaiming it for our internet- and celebrity-obsessed world.

<B>I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review</B>: Have you read Highsmith's <I>Carol </I>(aka <I>The Price of Salt</I>)? This has that particular kind of "Questa o Quella?" <I>Rigoletto</I>-but-sapphic-romance aura. And, follow-up concept, are you aware that Highsmith was a cruel, nasty piece of work? This has that same mean-creative story aura.

Having now hooked a few, driven a few off, and confused most, let's talk about lesbians. I'm the gay brother of a spiky, difficult lesbian. (She said so before I did! But, to be scrupulously fair, our entire family is/was spiky and difficult.) Astrid's 'tude is nowhere near as unkind as the reviews led me to believe it would be, by my own family's standards. What she is, that seems to surprise and unnerve the people around her in the story, is what I think interesting people usually are: Opinionated. I note without pleasure that opinionated women get miles of stick from persons of all genders and orientations. Just ask Hillary Clinton if you doubt me. It shows also in the readers' reviews I've seen around and about. Lots of people, even the ones who liked the story fine, commented on how abrasive Astrid was. Well, yeah. She's smarter than a solid 95% of the people around her. She's in a highly stressed passage in her life. She's abrasive because she's rubbed raw by her life.

Her happy place is perfume. Think about what that means. She collects something that is designed to hide and to enhance a person's most intimate quality, their smell. She doesn't even collect the stuff itself! She collects the containers...the carefully designed vessels that seduce the eyes but in and of themselves provide nothing but a space to be filled! The capitalist/consumer seductions carefully designed to increase your (largely female, as these are perfume bottles) cultural anxiety about your fundamental attractor or repeller of intimacy, smell!

This Anna Dorn, she knows her onions. Show me, please, another author whose depth of character development includes these intense sociopolitical shades whose prose isn't clunking, juddering, jelly-like didacticism. Author Dorn's got little enough competition in the witty-banter segment. She's sui generis in the segment of the Venn diagram where that overlaps anti-capitalist/feminist discourse.

Happily so. I'm glad Simon & Schuster offered me this DRC because, old gay man that I am, I hadn't heard of Author Dorn before. Now it's me for Vagablonde.

I see a few raised eyebrows contemplating an expected fifth star, after that gush. I wanted to put a fifth star on, I promise! I couldn't because Astrid being wishy-washy about Ivy-vs-Penelope was overplayed. I think will-they-won't-they is an easy trope to allow to outstay its actual usefulness. My perception is that this is what happened here. I'm also a wee bit wary of things like cancel culture/getting canceled being enshrined in stories that say bigger, more trenchant things about inclusion and cultural norms. It feels more like an add-on to use Astrid's canceling for her unguarded comments than an actual feature of the entire conversation the rest of the story is having about the greater issues abovementioned.

So okay, I didn't find myself sitting slackjawed, wondering how this author faceted this sparkling thousand-carat diamond. (That experience is what I call six-stars-of-five storytelling.) But make no mistake, this wordsmith will be on my readar as I wait for her to do just that.

It seems very likely to happen.

To be honest, I enjoyed it. Loved it. Could do without the pop culture references, but I guess when it's a millennial coming-of-age novel about women in LA, why not? All in all, I really did enjoy it. I liked it. I loved it. 9/10 would recommend.

I absolutely loved reading this book! Although it had some things I didn't like per se, I really enjoyed Perfume & Pain. The book follows the main character, Astrid, as she navigates the world of writing, manages relationships with multiple lovers, and seeks comfort in her vices to avoid confronting the challenges in her life and career. However, each character added a unique and refreshing element to the story, and I found myself fully engaged in their individual journeys as well.

The pacing was great, and the captivating writing style kept me eagerly turning pages. I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon for the ARC.

Genre: LitFic
Subgenres: Women vs. the void, unlikeable/morally gray FMC, lgbtq
Format: Print & digital
Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up

Read if you: like LOTS of pop culture references, are into astrology, enjoy “all thoughts no plots”, can relate to unhealthy coping mechanisms or seeking external validation, have a habit of putting your foot in your mouth

In this story we follow Astrid, a recently semi cancelled lesbian author with bad habits including putting her foot in her mouth and seeking a dopamine rush in any way possible. Throughout the story we watch as she attempts (and sometimes fails) to get mentally and physically healthy.

This was my first read from @___adorn but it won’t be my last. First, I was obsessed with the writing style. Astrid had a sardonic brand of humor that really worked for me. She is very outspoken, judgmental, and self centered, often to her own detriment, and is really discovering herself in her early thirties throughout the story. She eventually begins to realize that her preconceived notions about others or herself may not not always be correct and that there is more to a person than how they make you feel about yourself or what they can do for you. Astrid basically reaches the inevitable milestone of the early thirties where she finally asks herself, “Am I the toxic one?” IYKYK 😂. This story is VERY character driven so if you don’t prefer that, you may want to steer clear. However, if you do enjoy “thoughts not plots”, then you will love this one.

perfume & pain really captures the feelings of inadequacy and an inflated ego. knowing you are not enough while being too much. honestly, we all have a bit of Astrid in us. it's so hard not to be selfish sometimes, but I love how Astrid turned those feelings into being selfish to be better to herself. I truly feel that she needed the last bender to finally complete the change in herself. I felt proud of her. she was no longer vapid and cringey but confident and content.

the Rollercoaster this book was kept me throughly entertained. we love an unhinged girl, but we love when she finally becomes the better version of herself because of it.

Anna Dorn’s novels hook me in with their enticing summaries and descriptions of “messy lesbians behaving badly,” and Perfume and Pain was just as good as it promised to be. Like with Exalted, I was on the edge of my seat and shocked with every page turn. The main characters always speak their minds and would be deemed “unlikeable” for their behavior, yet I was rooting for them the entire time.

As a writer, I love reading books about writers and hearing them struggle with the writing process. Astrid is a great example of that and overall a great multi-layered character. She’s witty, snarky, and sensitive, and like a lot of us — desperate to be chosen. This book felt so realistic and I was entertained and invested the entire time.

I’ve also never read a novel that spoke so much about lesbians lol. Everything under the sun is mentioned in this novel and I absolutely loved it. I had no knowledge of lesbian pulp going into this book, yet Dorn explained the genre so well that I left having an understanding and interest in it.

If you’re looking for messy, problematic queer girl (woman, whatever) representation, I would highly recommend this novel.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.

Female rage with a butch bite, this is if Celine Sciamma cinema’d out of Silverlake.

Durn has written the greatest lesbian litfic romp since Pham’s Fantasian. Or even, as mentioned in the text, Highsmith’s The Price of Salt, or Carol.

Yearning. So much of it. With very LA dialogue. With so much wit. On perfect imperfect people and imperfect perfect people. On cancel culture. On how to move on yet squabbled with the wishy-washy daisy petals of does-she-like-me-or-like-me-not trope. It’s fun. It’s sexy. It’s the hot girl read of the summer. For my Lana girlies. For my Bret Easton Ellis fags. And the fag hags too.

Durn said HAGS in the yearbook of a life full of wanting outside of needing.

*wish the hysteria mixed with perfume was stronger in the middle, but faults to rush at the end. meanders in the middle, but it’s the very experience of yearning that I think works better here than perhaps in the middle of an Awad book.

Despite what I felt was a slow beginning, “Perfume and Pain” really got me invested towards the end. It mixes themes from classic lesbian pulp of the 50’s and 60’s while also commenting on lesbian culture in LA.

Astrid is a solidly successful writer living in LA, in the process of getting her novel adapted for the screen. She becomes infatuated with Ivy, a PhD student in her writing group Sapphic Scribes, who is writing a thesis on lesbian pulp– and confusedly becomes more and more obsessed with her neighbor Penelope, who she hated. As Astrid tries to navigate her relationships that are often filled with sex and toxicity, she begins to take a deeper look at herself and finds passion that she thought was gone.

To be honest, this novel was a learning experience for me. As someone who had never read lesbian pulp, I didn’t get a lot of the references, so I ended up having to do some Googling. It introduced me to this whole other culture within literature and kept me entertained through the end.

I felt like there was less of a “plot” per say, and more focusing on how Astrid is growing through different situations. The quips were funny and the characters quirky. It certainly was unique!

Astrid is so unlikable, especially at the beginning, but I found myself beginning to root for her? That’s how you know an author is skilled… when you begin to cheer on the unlikable characters. You begin to understand that she has an addiction to recreational drugs and rarely stays sober. She also finds herself in extremely toxic situations, and I believe finds it hard to maintain something healthy. She’s quick to anger, but that begins to fade towards the end. She starts to really take charge of her life and find herself in better and better situations.

Ivy was interesting because she’s an absolute TRAINWRECK of a person. Hot and cold and jealous and not–she’s kind of a nightmare, but that’s why she’s really entertaining. At first, I thought ‘aw having a relationship would be good for Astrid’. NO. NOT WITH IVY.

My favorite character of the entire novel was Kat Gold. She’s a super famous movie star wanting to play the lead in the film being adapted for Astrid’s novel. She’s extremely self-involved and constantly brings up her queerness. She really only cares for herself, and the way she’s written is honestly so hilarious.

If you’re into lesbian pulp fiction, then absolutely yes read this. Like I said, I have not read any prior to this, and felt like I was missing some of the plot. Of course, I recommend even if you’re just looking for something new this summer. It’s and definitely speeds up towards the end!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for lending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is the vibe of every LA, lit-fic-cool-girl summer and I am living for it!

Astrid is objectively an unlikable MC - self-centered, self-destructive, but... self aware (and sick of it). She oscillates between desiring what she thinks every thirty-something wants/should have: youth and health, career success, and a passionate steady love; yet she cannot help but slip back into old cyclical patterns of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, aaaaand toxic relationships. It's the perfect concoction of messy, hilarious, compelling, and nonchalance that I just couldn't get enough of.

I loved Dorn's representation of queer and femme lesbian culture, both the cliches and the nuances. I just couldn't help but really rooting for Astrid to get it together and get through it. Where was I left? Craving a cappuccino, a beer, a new perfume, and Anna Dorn's entire backlist. 5 Stars.

Perfume and Pain is a tongue-in-cheek romp through the pulpiest, most self-loathing and self-destructive lesbian experience. If you can imagine the Price of Salt meets Fleabag meets the L Word on a helluva lot of amphetamines, you'll have the perfect recipe for Perfume and Pain.

Astrid Dahl (no relation to Roald) knows she's abraisive, off-putting, maybe even unlikeable, like Patricia Highsmith author and undercover lesbian pulp writer. Which is why Astrid takes a cocktail of drugs she calls the Patricia Highsmith to be the opposite of those things: smooth, charming, adorable.

And she is, mostly, until an inebriated rant at Barnes and Noble gets her "cancelled." Astrid is determined to get healthy--swapping her addictions to the Particia Highsmith, astrology, and microwave dinners for her addiction to serial relationships.

She falls hard for Ivy, a member of her writing group 'Sapphic Scribes' (a name she hates) while trying to get healthy in her LA bungalow without her pills and the intervention of her Rachel Weisz-esque artist neighbor Penelope.

But as Astrid's relationship with Ivy encourages her absolute worst impulses, she starts to develop feelings for her neighbor with big Carol energy, and Kat Gold, the actress adapting her book, is using her for paparazzi clout, Astrid needs to make some big changes before she becomes another doomed lesbian.

Written in first person from Astrid's wretched and wonderful point of view, Perfume and Pain is a deft satire--smart and self-referential to Anna Dorn's career, but it's also a love letter to lesbian media: the good, the bad, and the so bad it's good.

Perfume and Pain is a fluid and inventive literary homage to lesbian pulp, a genre I knew little about going in, but still enjoyed the homage immensely. The narrative centers on Astrid, a flailing writer living in LA finding that her destructive habits are less charming the further she gets from thirty. Dorn masterfully weaves a story packed with wry, pithy commentaries on contemporary American society, making it both thought-provoking and darkly humorous.

I instantly fell in love with Astrid, a messy and unapologetic character, who embodies self-destruction and raw honesty. Perfume and Pain is the perfect blend of self-destruction and humor, making it a compelling read. It's an inventive narrative that, while messy at times, remains unapologetic and true to its core.

Anna Dorn has done it again! Just like with Exhalted, Perfume and Pain is a hilarious book with lesbian leads who create a world around everyone’s favorite subject - cancel culture. This book continues my trend of unlikeable/women spiraling characters. Can’t wait to tell everyone I know about this one. Thank you Simon Books for this advanced copy!

This was a really fun, pulpy, sapphic number. I always love a look into the lives of writers and creatives and, in general, She’s Not Doing Well At All books. The characters were perfect for the story. I think this will do well among fans of Kristen Arnett, Carmen Maria Machado, Melissa Broder, Emma Cline, and the like.

Overview: Astrid Dahl dropped out of law school to be a novelist, and her career leap of faith has paid off ever since. She's published multiple books, had them optioned to become movies, and managed to make an adulthood solely supported by literary pursuits. But Astrid is also battling addiction issues and an inability to skirt putting her foot in her mouth in public. She's been minorly cancelled more times than she can count both publicly online and in her own writing group. Astrid wants to get her life together; she wants to be a better person. But she's not entirely sure how to do that. Overall: 4

Characters: 4 Astrid is that perfect archetype of the "unlikable" character. She says and does plenty of things that are objectively not great. She doesn't care all that much about who she hurts with what she says, and she's incredibly self-centered. But she's not irredeemable by any means. There is something that I at least found very compelling about Astrid's tries and fails at figuring out her life. If we're being super honest, I relate a certain amount to Astrid's accidental abrasiveness as she navigates her relationships. I found her compelling throughout the book, and I wanted to see her ultimately succeed.

The other characters that fill out Astrid's world are detailed and interesting, but I feel like they're better experienced through reading the book yourself than me trying to describe them.

Plot: 4 This is a pretty slice of life oriented story with some larger-than-life LA characters that give the book a propulsive energy. It also has great pacing, so even though we're only charting Astrid's progress to become more of the person she wants to be, the book is a fast read. Despite my life being super busy as I was reading this book, I tried to make time most days to read a few pages and that usually turned into a few chapters going late into the night because I was so enthralled, particularly by Astrid's voice and way of viewing the world.

The book is vivid and full of energy. My only negative comment when it comes to the story arc is that there's a chapter around 88% of the way through the book that would've been the perfect ending, but then the book goes on for quite a few more chapters and starts to drag for the first time. It felt like the author was over-explaining the ending and didn't quite trust the reader enough. She crafted the perfect, slightly ambiguous but satisfying ending and then decided to steamroll right through that to give a much more explicit finale.

Writing: 4 Perfume and Pain is making me want to read all of Anna Dorn's other books. The characters are so rich and interesting. She does a good job of writing about a writer, which can sometimes be difficult to pull off. I also appreciate how certain themes and ideas are woven through the entirety of the novel like how Astrid's obsession with lesbian pulp novels manifests in the story in a number of surprising and interesting ways. The little callbacks throughout the book made it feel perfectly tied together and thematically aware of itself.

Writing a good book about a writer who is trying to write a book is a difficult, yet much attempted, feat. I feel like Perfume and Pain strikes a perfect balance of self awareness, detail on an insider look at publishing, and external story to make the book work.

What a funny, weird, interesting book! This novel is unlike anything I've read in recent memory. It's quickly paced, almost frenetic at times, which I found deeply engaging from page one. Every character was buckwild in their own way, and I often found myself pulling the "one more chapter" after someone made a particularly unbelievable choice. I will admit here that I have approximately zero knowledge of 1950s lesbian pulp fiction, so I'm sure folks who do have that background would find some deeper layers and references in this book than I did, but I still had a good time and would recommend this for a quick beach or vacation read.

Astrid Dahl is an accomplished author with three published books about fame to her credit. After an unfortunate incident at a Barnes & Noble, and without the crutch of the “Patricia Highsmith,” a cocktail of alcohol, Adderall and cigarettes, she hasn’t been able to write. Fearing that her agent, “Agent Allison,” would rather spend her energy on clients who make her more money and have a better attitude, and seeking inspiration before she becomes a “godforsaken paralegal,” Astrid returns to an on-line writing group that she had founded 10 years ago “with some dykes I met on Tumblr.” There she meets Ivy, a PhD candidate at UCSB, with a taste for butch women. Although Ivy reciprocates Astrid’s interest, it is clear to Astrid that Ivy “is the precise situation that I’ve committed myself to avoiding.”

Astrid is supported by her college friends, Zev, an “esoteric nerd who manages a bookstore and “never seems to care when I lash out at him, which makes him an ideal friend,” and Otto, a “bitchy party boy,” who works in public relations. Enter Penelope, Astrid’s older neighbor who lives in the adjacent bungalow, and is “still very pretty.” Astrid initially writes Penelope off as a nosy, self righteous dyke, but all of her friends are quickly under Penelope’s spell, and Astrid becomes attracted to Penelope, too. In addition, Astrid is feted by Kat Gold, a movie star who “preys on tragic dykes all the time” and has optioned one of Astrid’s books.

Dorn has crafted a fun beach read with lots of witticisms from Astrid about the craft of writing: “Writing is just typing, and typing is much easier than most things.” “I don’t write because I’m brave; I write because I’m afraid of leaving my house.” Astrid also has a lot to say about lesbians. In discussing her former girlfriend who was a lot of fun until she got scary, Astrid reasons that “Lesbians have trouble letting go.” She also posits that “Lesbians don’t hate men; straight women hate men. Lesbians are indifferent to men, which everyone else hates.” Thank you Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for this entertaining and smart romp through cancel culture, writing and lesbian culture.

Messy, unlikable, and a little unhinged FMC who can't be bothered by what people think? She literally referenced My Year of Rest and Relaxation AND RHONY Scary Island within the first 30% of the book. Sold. This is going to be a favorite book of mine...possibly of all time.

This is for my weird girlies who love unlikable and spiraling FMC! Read this book!

Thank you S&S and NG for the ARC!

This messy, yet fluid literary lesbian pulp fiction, is the type of book we all need in our lives. Though the beginning felt a little slow as we take a dive into Astrid’s world, words keep flowing and the desire to put this book down becomes nonexistent. I craved the problematic tension and tendencies laced in the pages, having you begging the characters to change their choices while simultaneously devouring the mess written before you. It is funny, it is moving, and it shows the complex queer relationships that are often overlooked in the literary world. If you have this on your list to read, move it up to the top!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Perfume and Pain follows author Astrid Dahl as she distracts herself from trying to save her writing career with two different women and a whole host of substances.

This book is messy, and crazy, and maybe even a little problematic, but above all it is funny and it is fun. Astrid Dahl is not a likable character, but really neither is anyone else in this book, so her faults are excusable. The nods to 50s lesbian pulp are immaculate, and the self awareness of our character and the narrative are beautifully compelling even in their ridiculousness.

I don't know if this book is for everyone, mostly because, whoo, what a rollercoaster, but I do think it is a really interesting, entertaining, and thought-provoking read, and I love that it accomplishes all of that without feeling boring or alienating like litfic can sometimes be.