Book recommendation – The Perfume Collector

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book, Eva d’Orsey, fragrance, Franziska Josteit, Grace Monroe, Harper Collins, In-Imitable, Kathleen Tessaro, London, New York, Paris, perfume, scent, The Perfume Collector

I got this book as a present and read it with pleasure! Actually, I didnt want to finish it and just put it back in the bookshelve!

The book is a remarkable novel about secrets, desire, memory, passion, and possibility.

Newlywed Grace Monroe doesn’t fit anyone’s expectations of a successful 1950s London socialite, least of all her own. When she receives an unexpected inheritance from a complete stranger, Madame Eva d’Orsey, Grace is drawn to uncover the identity of her mysterious benefactor.

Weaving through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London, the story Grace uncovers is that of an extraordinary women who inspired one of Paris’s greatest perfumers. Immortalized in three evocative perfumes, Eva d’Orsey’s history will transform Grace’s life forever, forcing her to choose between the woman she is expected to be and the person she really is.

The Perfume Collector explores the complex and obsessive love between muse and artist, and the tremendous power of memory and scent.

Kathleen Tessaro – Author

Enjoy reading! Yours, Fran

AROMAPOETRY – a book to be read with the nose

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Aromapoetry, Aromatherapy, artist, blog, book, Brazil, Eduardo Kac, In-Imitable, nanotechnology, perfume, poetry, scent

Eduardo Kac is a Brazilian artist that has always been ahead of his time. In his latest project called “Aromapoetry” he anticipated a new linguistic system.

By experimenting with chemical reactions he imagined “the first book ever written exclusively with smells” – made of 12 aromapoems. Varying the molecular compositions of each scent and placing them in specific places in each page allowed him to write without letters.

Aromapoetry is a new kind of poetry in which the compositional unit (the poem) is made up of smells. The poet “writes” the smells by conceiving the poem as an olfactory experience and then employing multiple chemical procedures to achieve his poetic goals. It goes without saying that, as in any kind of poetry, the reader is an active participant that interprets his or her own meanings to the poem beyond the writer’s original motivations.

Every poem in the book employs nanotechnology by binding an extremely thin layer of porous glass to every page, trapping the odorants (i.e. the volatile molecules) and releasing them very slowly. To ensure even greater longevity, a set of small bottles is integrated into the book, allowing the reader to recharge every individual page.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Yours, Franziska