0
PERFUME AND PAIN

PERFUME AND PAIN

A NOVEL

ANNA DORN

13,75 €
IVA included
Low stock
Publisher:
SIMON & SCHUSTER
Year of publication:
2024
Subject:
Contemporary fiction
ISBN:
978-1-6680-4717-0
Pages:
352
13,75 €
IVA included
Low stock
Add to favorites

“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.

Related Articles

  • ANYONE'S GHOST
    ANYONE'S GHOST
    AUGUST THOMPSON
    'This new novel is a real heart-squeezer' - Matt Berninger of The National 'Genuinely powerful' - The Irish Times 'Electric' - Vogue IT TOOK THREE CAR CRASHES TO KILL JAKE The first crash. New Hampshire. Teenagers Theron and Jake meet in the heat of the summer. Jake is everything Theron wants to be - hot, cool, interesting. Drunk in Jake's van on their last night together, th...
    Available

    12,50 €

  • NOSTALGIA
    NOSTALGIA
    AGNES ARNOLD-FORSTER
    'Absorbing' - The Guardian 'Illuminating' - Vogue 'Fascinating' - Pandora Sykes In Nostalgia, historian Agnes Arnold-Forster blends neuroscience and psychology with the history of medicine and emotions to explore the evolution of nostalgia from seventeenth-century Switzerland (when it was held to be an illness that could, quite literally, kill you) to the present day (when it ...
    Low stock

    13,75 €

  • THE KING'S MOTHER
    THE KING'S MOTHER
    ANNIE GARTHWAITE
    JULY 24 TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTHFrom the critically acclaimed author of CECILY comes an intimate and gripping novel perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel, Madeline Miller and Maggie O'Farrell. 'A triumph' The Times'Electrifying' Daily Mail'History at its most powerful' Jennifer Saint 1461. Through blood and battle Edward has gained England's throne - king by right and conquest - eig...
    Low stock

    12,50 €

  • FOUR SQUARES
    FOUR SQUARES
    BOBBY FINGER
    From the beloved author of The Old Place comes a tender, funny, and fresh novel about a gay writer in New York City whose life is irrevocably altered once in the '90s, and then again thirty years later.For Artie Anderson to truly live, he'll need to take a chance on himself. Again. In 1992, on his thirtieth birthday, Artie Anderson meets the man who will change his life. Artie...
    Low stock

    21,25 €

  • A LITTLE TRICKERIE
    A LITTLE TRICKERIE
    ROSANNA PIKE
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Striking, darkly funny and heartfelt ... Grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go' Ferdia Lennon, author of Glorious Exploits 'Crisp, transportive, uplifting ... I loved it!' Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry 'A bold, funny and imaginative journey through Tudor England ... A real treat' Joanna Quinn, author of The Whal...
    Low stock

    12,50 €

  • BAD HABIT
    BAD HABIT
    ALANA S. PORTERO
    'I urge you to read Bad Habit' PEDRO ALMODÓVAR 'Had me hooked from the first page ... Savour every word' DUA LIPA 'The book that everyone is reading' NEW YORK TIMES 'Sublime' ÉDOUARD LOUIS A SERVICE95 BOOK CLUB PICK Beautifully written and told in an irresistible voice, Bad Habit is a powerfully moving coming-of-age novel following a young trans woman in 1980s Madrid. An unna...
    Available

    12,50 €