Perfume and Pain By Anna Dorn
Perfume and painwheel
A controversial Los Angeles 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 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 Perfume and Pain
Anna Dorn is the author of PERFUME PAIN EXALTED BAD LAWYER and VAGABLONDE She was a Lambda Literary Fellow and EXALTED was a finalist for the L. Book perfume and paint colors Okay stick with me here the best way I can think to describe this absolute ride of a book is if you crossed Nora Ephron s Heartburn with Bojack Horseman I realize this makes no sense but that s my opinion and I m standing by it I do currently have COVID and I might be slightly brainfogged but that s neither here nor there This book is a lot like Heartburn in that it s about a kind of unlikeable but incredibly specific character one who is privileged and petty but understandably upset and frustrated with the way her life is going It s like Bojack Horseman because you get that same feeling of watching a train wreck hoping it gets better wondering if it gets better It s a similar style of satire. Perfume and painos Oh and also this book is a homage to classic 60s lesbian pulp specifically to Patricia Highsmith s The Price of Salt I kind of have no idea how Perfume and Pain works as well as it does since it s doing all these things at once but it absolutely works Thanks to the publisher for an ARC This was the perfect distraction from my COVID suffering 9781797181097 This book was a ROLLER COASTER I ve never read any other Anna Dorn books though I see I ve had one on my TBR for a while now and went in totally blind All I knew is that it was going to be super gay so obviously I was on board Astrid isn t meant to be a particularly likable character and there were times when I was like Eh this is veering a bit too close to cliche for me sardonic depressed young woman who copes via drugs and alcohol addiction but then there were little touches that made me LOL and go I mean she ain t wrong that made me forget my skepticism and I loved her anyway The perfume obsession hit me since it s an obsession of mine too I m impressionable so I immediately went and ordered a decant of Reine de Nuit Leave me alone. Perfume and painmate Dorn really captured a lot of thoughts that have run through my brain re queer culture and delivered them in such a way that I kinda felt violated that she was inside my brain like that To see some of these observations on the page was oddly hilarious but also kinda validating so I loved that This is definitely a book that s very Of Its Time in the sense that there are loads of pop culture references that make it feel very current and will likely feel nostalgic in the future but I loved it Fast paced f ked up starring out since I don t know if my foul mouth is permitted on Goodreads and a whole lot of fun Thanks to NetGalley as usual for the ARC 9781797181097 Have I read it yet No Do I know that it will be a 5 star when I do Yes. Perfume and paino roofing Update just finished it and I was correct 9781797181097 Anna Dorn s Exalted is one of my all time faves and the same witty voice is present in this book about a self sabotaging writer However Perfume and Pain is definitely a lot grounded and less outlandish I had a great time reading this one too but I think I prefer the author s unhinged work That said Anna Dorn is the queen of writing characters who are very likeably unlikable and this book is definitely worth your time 9781797181097 perfume and pain is for the messy unbothered girlies i read this one a couple of weeks ago and i m still thinking about it anna dorn became a favourite after i read vagablonde and then exalted which was a fav of last year. The perfumist of paris in kindle perfume and pain is messy and unapologetic with an unlikeable main character astrid whom you somehow also can t help but like because she is who she is and she doesn t try to hide it. Book perfume and painter astrid is essentially a self centered lesbian on a self destructive path as she continues to avoid the responsibilities in her life through her self destruction she is also painfully aware of what she s doing which i think makes her such a unique and compelling character perfume and pain is the perfect blend of unhinged self destruction and humour that is as realistic as it is shocking anna dorn is a force in the literary world right now and perfume and pain will be a book i know i revisit again if you re looking for something unhinged chaotic and queer perfume and pain is it it will likely be a fav of the year. Perfume and pain book pdf PP is out may 21 9781797181097 a book that dares to ask what if bojack horseman was a human lesbian 9781797181097 I think I can keep the hysteria at a distance that it won t affect me that I can take the good the mania the spontaneity the laughs without the bad the neediness the aggression the cruelty And maybe people put up with me for the same reason Incredibly sharp yet begging the reader to not take it too seriously this messy satirical homage to 60s lesbian pulp fiction is a wild ride as we follow our than a little unlikeable narrator with some asinine takes as she continually is unable to keep her mouth shut and makes horrendous decisions while she is trying to get sober and make better decisions it s hard It s an incredibly fun time as we watch Astrid Dahl as she is the worst person she s ever been and probably ever will be and still somehow root for her to make it out on the other side changed and okay I really do love the unlikeable messy narrator and haven t read a lesbian one before this so this was an incredibly fun time and it was fun to hate and somehow grow to love Astrid Dahl I never thought I d be one of these people threatened by the blank page I used to love the blank page Pristine and uncorrupted and filled with possibilities But now all the possibilities seem certain to end in one way with me embarrassing myself Published author who is trying to write and is in the middle of discussions for a movie deal Astrid Dahl s worst enemy is herself She verifiably cancellable doesn t know how to keep her mouth shut and her biggest vice is the Patti Highsmith Adderall alcohol sativa and cigarettes which she is currently off of because of previous problematic things she has said and done while on it She must be completely clean and take a break from the media in order to secure this deal and continue her deal The issue She can t write without the Patti Highsmith and she is pretty shit at keeping her mouth shut Self described a being like Kanye West eugh Astrid kind of sucks right now and everyone is just tolerating her no matter what she tries As she tries to stay clean her older nosy neighbor Penelope and the 27 year old newbie in her old writing group once dubbed the Lez Brat Pack now Sapphic Scribes Ivy as well as the stresses that are coming from being in the spotlight as an author are combining to make healing nearly impossible As Astrid begins to succumb to her vices things start going and downhill as she begins to lose herself and This is harmful for Astrid notes This is the hard part of being a writer for me that idea that people can google me that they might have a preconceived notion of me based on the things I type or say when I m extremely caffeinated or very fucked up creating a bit of an endless cycle as being talked about is so hard for her so she gets messed up then the things she says when she s messed up get her even talked about While I started this despising Astrid and her views she has some incredibly bad takes this downward spiral started to make me root for her I started wanting so badly for her to get help and start succeeding and become a better person which was honestly really nice for such a train wreck of a book In some ways she is just a relatable messy brutally honest character which mixes really well with the parts of her that are quite awful Even small moments like I put down Jeanette Winterson and my phone and open the door when she was reading all day made me warm to her a bit making sure she wasn t a complete hateable menace I ve ordered a bunch of perfume sampler sets because I can t commit to one scent which is probably a metaphor but anyway As a perfume girlie who also has a completely normal amount of perfumes samples see image below I have to give a moment for the perfume mentions the tons of samples that Astrid goes through her ability to detect notes and the perfumes that people are wearing and just the way perfume is used throughout the book While it isn t a huge part of the book it is such a fun little addition especially as it as Astrid says used a bit metaphorically showing how she feels towards people and her own transition in life I also now have notes on some of the perfumes mentioned that I absolutely need to try which I love I finally understand why people don t black out Sometimes life is worth catching It s pulpy it s satirical it s a trainwreck but what makes this book work so well for me really is the ending This is the end of a messy person s messiest time and we follow her as she really does start to learn a bit It takes a while but there is a relief at the end and a knowledge that maybe just maybe everything will be okay While it is really fun to watch Astrid falling in a downward spiral there is something really compelling about slowly growing attached to this privileged white girl who continually fucks up and seeing her begin to grow into someone who not only the reader but Astrid herself can love and be at peace with Exiting the freeway I experience a brief moment of gratitude that I m a lesbian That I don t have to get Botox or filler or a ponytail facelift because to do so would invite the male gaze and it s the female gaze I m after and we just want compelling which is energetic and cannot be reduced to a visual How a year ago I was so crushed to be thirty five I thought it indicated that my youth was over that my life was over that I d aged out of being a party twink and therefore had nothing to look forward to But now I realize my life is just starting I ve stopped being a dumb little provocateur I keep my rude thoughts to myself I ve just written a love story and men have finally stopped looking at me I never believed Dan Savage when he said It gets better but maybe I just hadn t waited long enough 4 5 9781797181097 Girlfailure literature but make it lesbian satirical and deliciously pulpy. Perfume and painwheel Perfume Pain is paying homage to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction with all its drama and raunchy fuckery It s in active conversation with The Price of Salt or Carol by Patricia Highsmith and the titular Perfume And Pain by Kimberly Kemp Anywho main character Astrid s a struggling writer whose career prospects look about as promising as her failed sobriety Her heart s desire juggles between two women in the backdrop of contemporary LA with all its pop culture shroom infused algorithmically artificial haze Astrid s uncalibrated personality is melodramatic and borderline feral and I couldn t help but feel gripped watching my fellow sister in peril be a walking disaster seeing a problematic privileged white woman dig a hole for herself will probably always be entertaining to me She s very much so unlikeable but even when she s being scathing or didactic it all coalesces to form her biting charm You know at least she s mostly self aware though I think someone needs to tell her about her raging mommy issues. Le parfum du pain She s erratically funny in a say what now way that borders on being deadpan The book embodies that feeling of loopy contentment after scarfing down hard seltzer in a dingy motel room which I guess is redolent of Astrid s signature self destructive bender named the Patricia Highsmith a concoction of alcohol sativa Adderall and cigarettes If you have a name for your intoxication routine you ve probably got a problem Frankly the Patricia Highsmith was a supporting character in this book. Book perfume and painter This was very much so a story that was actually written for queer folks instead of masquerading as a queer lesbian story which is in reality written to be palatable for straight people and it s especially written for lesbian and sapphic women which made it so scrumptious A sapphic book with a messy problematic lesbian doing messy problematic lesbian things with just the right amount of mania Who would have thought that this pulpy romp would match my freak I wouldn t widely recommend this though it s for a very specific type of modern sapphic reader who loves polarizing characters and social commentary that is very pertinent to the contemporary queer zeitgeist but make it a bit ridiculous in a pulpy satirical self aware way rating 5 stars 9781797181097 A fluid but oblique and inventive literary homage to lesbian pulp the title s taken from Kimberley Kemp s aka Gilbert Fox 1960s novel Dorn s narrative centres on flailing writer Astrid who s living in LA and teetering on the edge of a personal abyss Outspoken Astrid s on the verge of being cancelled after an incident during a recent book tour and she s torn between two women the oddly alluring but erratic Ivy a PhD student who s analysing lesbian pulp fiction and older outwardly self assured artist Penelope Astrid s drifting trying to overcome an on and off addiction to recreational drugs and an equally damaging tendency towards relationships centred on sex drama and toxic romance dynamics that mirror lesbian pulp themes Astrid s spiky openly scathing about everything and everyone around her and irreverent in a way that often borders on offensive but she s also acidly witty and shrewdly observant when it comes to LA s creative lesbian communities Her struggles her dating experiences her thoughts about literature from Patricia Highsmith to Donna Tartt her diatribes on her writing group Sapphic Scribes on LA s lesbian culture and her attempts to find a way to ditch the messier aspects of her existence were weirdly compelling I was gripped throughout Dorn s style reminded me a little of authors like Halle Butler mixed with than a dash of Emily M Danforth her story s packed with wry pithy commentaries on contemporary American society and despite Astrid s less likeable qualities I couldn t help rooting for her Thanks to Edelweiss and publisher Simon and Schuster for an ARC 9781797181097 i ve always felt comfortable with a new lover than an old friend 9781797181097
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