Perfume and Pain
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Description
“It’s this author’s best work yet. A Sapphic roller-coaster ride.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A controversial Los Angeles-based author attempts to revive her career and finally find true love in this hilarious nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction and Hollywood satire.
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.
Book Information
Posts
340 Seiten Lesbian Drama
English below Das war mega unterhaltsam! Das war mein erstes Buch auf Englisch und ich hatte wirklich viel Spaß, super leicht zu verstehen, auch wenn es glaub ich lyrisch jetzt nicht unanspruchsvoll ist. Eine wirklich spannende Geschichte über eine ziemlich psychisch instabile Person und ihre toxischen Beziehungen zu vielen Frauen. Astrid ist eine junge, lesbische Schriftstellerin mit einem Amphetamin- und Bindungsproblem. Sie versucht durch Drogen und Frauen sich selbst zu spüren oder auch teilweise sich nicht zu spüren. Sie ist verzweifelt auf der Suche nach Bestätigung und findet sich wiederholt in toxischen Beziehungen wieder, bei denen sie sowohl Täterin, als auch Opfer ist. Sie ist extrem selbstbezogen und ne ganz schöne Mackerin und mir ehrlich gesagt total unsympathisch, aber ich fand’s trotzdem einfach total unterhaltsam, lustig, komplett irre und einfach guter lesbian gossip :) That was incredibly entertaining! It was my first book in English and I really enjoyed it. It was super easy to understand, even if I think it's not exactly easy to read lyrically. A truly gripping story about a rather psychologically unstable person and her toxic relationships with many women. Astrid is a young, lesbian writer with an amphetamine and commitment issues. She tries to feel something through drugs and women, or sometimes to numb herself. She's desperately searching for validation and repeatedly finds herself in toxic relationships where she's both the perpetrator and the victim. She's extremely self-absorbed and quite the womanizer, and honestly, I found her totally unlikeable, but I still found it incredibly entertaining, funny, completely crazy, and just good lesbian gossip :)
Es war sooo funny und relatable, aber wirkte auch als hätte ein boomer sich an einem woke-kritisches werk versucht — its still amazing
Einfach so unglaublich lustig, so viele Einblicke in dunkle Momente, die man versteht, wenn man.. da war haha Ich liebe astrid, obwohl sie edgy und ein bisschen nervig und ein bisschen unlikeable ist. Mehr will ich nicht sagen, gönnt euch
i'm back from my trip to la and the reality if my own life starts hitting me. maybe i'm thankful for having my own life back with less patricia highsmith and drama but i can tell i already miss astrid. the last days i spend sitting next to astrid and planing to go perfume shopping or typing another intense text to my situationship. well, maybe i am not back - i won't be for a while. this book opened a whole new rabbit hole for me (perfums + lesbian pulp fiction??) and i love it. i love this book and i can recommend it to anyone who loves drama, pain, healing journeys and weird rabbit holes.
Perfume & Pain was easy to read and get into. It naturally fell into the category of novel with "unhinged queer protagonists" that I frequent but in the end, it didn't quite meet my tastes. Astrid was a tad too self-aware at all times, but especially towards the ending, which in turn felt a bit too much like the author taking you by the hand. The narrative didn't need it imo, although it wasn't badly written or anything. I just like my protagonists to spiral and never get up again lol, that's a "me-problem". I didn't actually like any character either, and normally I'm fine with that. It's a skill to write good unlikable characters, but Anna Dorn didn't really achieve that. Plus, it didn't really take Zev AND this other character whose name I forget because they're kind of the same person and they never really appear for long. I loved her obsession with perfume and liked that it keeps running like a golden threat through the story. At some points I would have wished for even more input, I loved her little visit to that perfume boutique. That might just be my own obsession talking tho. I also liked the nods toward lesbian culture and lesbian pulp, those bits were very entertaining. All in all, an easy summer read but nothing to write home about.
I feel like I shouldn’t‘t have enjoyed this as much as I did
The main character Astrid is sooooo problematic in so many ways. It was of course intentional, but I did cringe often when reading about Astrids opinions. Nonetheless this book was highly entertaining, incredibly funny and a bit fucked up. I gotta admit I really liked it a lot, specifically all the references to lesbian pulp, Price of Salt and (of course) all the perfume scents described.
Description
“It’s this author’s best work yet. A Sapphic roller-coaster ride.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A controversial Los Angeles-based author attempts to revive her career and finally find true love in this hilarious nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction and Hollywood satire.
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.
Book Information
Posts
340 Seiten Lesbian Drama
English below Das war mega unterhaltsam! Das war mein erstes Buch auf Englisch und ich hatte wirklich viel Spaß, super leicht zu verstehen, auch wenn es glaub ich lyrisch jetzt nicht unanspruchsvoll ist. Eine wirklich spannende Geschichte über eine ziemlich psychisch instabile Person und ihre toxischen Beziehungen zu vielen Frauen. Astrid ist eine junge, lesbische Schriftstellerin mit einem Amphetamin- und Bindungsproblem. Sie versucht durch Drogen und Frauen sich selbst zu spüren oder auch teilweise sich nicht zu spüren. Sie ist verzweifelt auf der Suche nach Bestätigung und findet sich wiederholt in toxischen Beziehungen wieder, bei denen sie sowohl Täterin, als auch Opfer ist. Sie ist extrem selbstbezogen und ne ganz schöne Mackerin und mir ehrlich gesagt total unsympathisch, aber ich fand’s trotzdem einfach total unterhaltsam, lustig, komplett irre und einfach guter lesbian gossip :) That was incredibly entertaining! It was my first book in English and I really enjoyed it. It was super easy to understand, even if I think it's not exactly easy to read lyrically. A truly gripping story about a rather psychologically unstable person and her toxic relationships with many women. Astrid is a young, lesbian writer with an amphetamine and commitment issues. She tries to feel something through drugs and women, or sometimes to numb herself. She's desperately searching for validation and repeatedly finds herself in toxic relationships where she's both the perpetrator and the victim. She's extremely self-absorbed and quite the womanizer, and honestly, I found her totally unlikeable, but I still found it incredibly entertaining, funny, completely crazy, and just good lesbian gossip :)
Es war sooo funny und relatable, aber wirkte auch als hätte ein boomer sich an einem woke-kritisches werk versucht — its still amazing
Einfach so unglaublich lustig, so viele Einblicke in dunkle Momente, die man versteht, wenn man.. da war haha Ich liebe astrid, obwohl sie edgy und ein bisschen nervig und ein bisschen unlikeable ist. Mehr will ich nicht sagen, gönnt euch
i'm back from my trip to la and the reality if my own life starts hitting me. maybe i'm thankful for having my own life back with less patricia highsmith and drama but i can tell i already miss astrid. the last days i spend sitting next to astrid and planing to go perfume shopping or typing another intense text to my situationship. well, maybe i am not back - i won't be for a while. this book opened a whole new rabbit hole for me (perfums + lesbian pulp fiction??) and i love it. i love this book and i can recommend it to anyone who loves drama, pain, healing journeys and weird rabbit holes.
Perfume & Pain was easy to read and get into. It naturally fell into the category of novel with "unhinged queer protagonists" that I frequent but in the end, it didn't quite meet my tastes. Astrid was a tad too self-aware at all times, but especially towards the ending, which in turn felt a bit too much like the author taking you by the hand. The narrative didn't need it imo, although it wasn't badly written or anything. I just like my protagonists to spiral and never get up again lol, that's a "me-problem". I didn't actually like any character either, and normally I'm fine with that. It's a skill to write good unlikable characters, but Anna Dorn didn't really achieve that. Plus, it didn't really take Zev AND this other character whose name I forget because they're kind of the same person and they never really appear for long. I loved her obsession with perfume and liked that it keeps running like a golden threat through the story. At some points I would have wished for even more input, I loved her little visit to that perfume boutique. That might just be my own obsession talking tho. I also liked the nods toward lesbian culture and lesbian pulp, those bits were very entertaining. All in all, an easy summer read but nothing to write home about.
I feel like I shouldn’t‘t have enjoyed this as much as I did
The main character Astrid is sooooo problematic in so many ways. It was of course intentional, but I did cringe often when reading about Astrids opinions. Nonetheless this book was highly entertaining, incredibly funny and a bit fucked up. I gotta admit I really liked it a lot, specifically all the references to lesbian pulp, Price of Salt and (of course) all the perfume scents described.