The Perfumist of Paris: A novel from the bestselling author of The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy, 3)

A great continuation of the family that you grow to love almost like your own throughout the series. Truly a journey through the lives of the first found family introduced, where people will come into and out of each other's lives as they all grow until you find the peace that lasts with the people that love you wholeheartedly and with every mistake you have made that created you. Radha's trauma from the first book being explored was phenomenal and a great look at acceptance, perspective, and blended families at the beginning of their public acceptance in the 20th century.

I really was so excited to read this book because of how
much I loved the first two books…sadly it fell very short. The details about scents became very mundane. It finally got interesting at about 3/4 of the way through the book.

The third and final installment of Alka Joshi's Jaipur Trilogy is titled The Perfumist of Paris. The life of Radha, who leaves her past behind to live in Paris and pursue her dream of becoming a master perfumer, is chronicled in this novel. Radha has two daughters and a husband. However, a significant project given to her forces her to return to her origins and face her son, who she left behind in India, endangering her marital life. With her exquisite storyline and gorgeous writing, Alka Joshi succeeds once more. The rich tastes and aromas of India, including the Mitti attar and the essence of Paris, were expertly portrayed in this book. I appreciated how the author gave each character their own attention in each book in this series. This book, like the other two, had strong female characters. Even Radha's daughters Asha and Shanti displayed strong female traits. I found it interesting to read about how smells were formed, which made me ponder what ingredients and what kind of name I would give my own scent. It is made simple to remember all the characters by the author's provision of a lexicon of those from the first two volumes. Additionally, I appreciate the book's recipes. The book's sole flaw, in my opinion, was that the first half featured very extensive chapters whereas the second half seemed a little hurried. The book was overall enjoyable to read, just like the first two books in the series, and is one that is suggested to wrap up this trilogy.

“Perfume. The very word conjures an image of Cleopatra seducing Mark Antony in a bathtub filled with rose petals.” Roses aren’t just an important ingredient in fragrances. In India, “the crazy quilt of business hustle, larger-than-life celebrations and the fiery cuisine,” cooks use roses in food, especially desserts. I included roses on my Insta photo as a tribute to the rose petal jam Gulkand from the Hindi word for rose that Alka Joshi‘s mother made. Alka Joshi’s The Perfumist of Paris brought me back to the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul where thousands of attars, vials of oud and fragrant incense intoxicated my senses. “My memories were rich with scent. And so were my secrets.” Radha was “born of fragrance. It’s in your blood, bones, hair, breath. You eat fragrance in your food. You wear it from the inside out…When you smell your lover, you’re consuming their essence. You want to absorb some part of them. That’s what I create. Fragrances that make people want to consume some part of their wearer.” “My work with fragrances is important to me. It transports me. Excites me. Takes me to places I've never been. I need it. And it makes me feel needed in this world...makes me curious and keeps me wondering. What will this scent do to the wearer? How will it change the way she–or he–moves in this world? What memories will it conjure? Will they be happy ones or sad? Will the fragrance open new possibilities for that person’s future? Those things matter to me.” “My agenda has always been clear–to create the best parfum in Paris. The formulas we create must be both critically successful and commercially viable.” But are white men the only figures to be immortalized in history? Is perfume only the domain of people who look like Radha’s affluent French colleagues or is there room for an Indian woman like her? “Betrayal has a smell. Burnt rubber, ginger, dandelion leaves.” When an insider attempts to subvert Radha’s good work, she must believe fragrance will set her free. “The measure of us isn’t in the day-to-day. And it’s not in our past or our future. It’s in the fundamental changes we make within ourselves over a lifetime.”