Perfume and Pain

A Novel

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Pub Date May 21 2024 | Archive Date May 21 2024

Description

“Perceptive and witty—like a Sally Rooney novel set in Southern California.” Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“It’s this author’s best work yet. A Sapphic roller-coaster ride.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A controversial LA author attempts to revive her career and finally find true love in this hilarious nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction.

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 researching 1950s lesbian pulp who smells like metallic orchids, 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. With notes of Southern California citrus and sultry smokiness, Perfume and Pain is a satirical romp through Hollywood and lesbian melodrama.
“Perceptive and witty—like a Sally Rooney novel set in Southern California.” Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“It’s this author’s best work yet. A Sapphic roller-coaster ride.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred...

Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781668047187
PRICE CA$13.99 (CAD)
PAGES 352

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Average rating from 23 members


Featured Reviews

Thank you Simon & Schuester Canada and Net Galley for my ARC of this book.

I honestly wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I started this novel. I was excited to read something different than the genre I usually read and boy, was I in for a treat.

Perfume & Pain is at times uncomfortable in a way that makes you pause, think for a while, then go back wanting to devour it. Honestly similar to how Astrid feels on the Patricia Highsmith. Astrid’s relationships with both Ivy and Penelope satisfy both aspects of her personality: the one that’s ruled by addiction and the one that craves the ability to pull away from everything around her and just be.

The use of perfume is also vital to the storytelling. At first it almost felt trivial, a way of explaining her addiction. Then you see how the perfume is a metaphor for her trying to find herself. The scents that Astrid describes can help the reader navigate her emotions.

In the end, this novel captures beautifully how messy life can be. How stressors can pile up and cause us to self harm in ways that we can try to excuse; and that coming down from this can also be beautiful.

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