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Perfume Collector, The

Tessaro, Kathleen

  16 Reviews

The first time young Englishwoman Grace Munroe comes across the name Eva d'Orsay is in 1955 when she finds herself the beneficiary of her substantial fortune. Grace's quest to discover why she is to receive such an inheritance not only changes the course of her own life but reveals Eva's surprising and upwardly mobile story: from 1920s New York as a hotel maid, to Monte Carlo with all of its glitz and glamour, and on to the seductive realm of French perfumeries.

With a multilayered plot and strong female characters this book delivers a heady story of satisfying emotional intensity amidst an intoxicating world of style and high fashion. [Larger font]

Comments from Groups

This was a great read, and we all loved this book. Lots of twists and turns and a good ending. Omarama 001

We all loved this book. It was intriguing and humorous in parts. and it was interesting the way the story unfolded. It's nicely written, and an easy read that held our interest all the way through. Otorohanga 003

Generally, everyone really enjoyed this book. Dubbing it a good airplane or beach read, we decided it was a 'lighter than typical book group book', and 'a guilty little pleasure' Mapua 001

Quite a divisive book as far as our group was concerned - we either loved it or hated it with no midground. Just the thing to spark a good discussion. Wanganui 008

All of the group enjoyed this book; the writing style, the intrigue of the story, and the information gained regarding the making of perfume - the ingredients (both physical and non-physical) that go together with the gift of the artist. Hamilton 026

We generally enjoyed the book,although felt the characters were a little 'wooden'. We felt that the 'gift' of the book was learning about perfume and its complexities. Auckland 353

Lovely story. Although most, if not all, of us realised fairly early on where the book was heading, we enjoyed the journey...Auckland 009

Pages
456
Year
2013

Reviews

TAUP 012
17-04-2024
This book was a nice easy read. It inspired one member to purchase a really good perfume. It was enjoyed by all.
GORE 007
22-02-2024
Enjoyed by all, a great story.
NELS 011
20-09-2023
We enjoyed the Paris connections!
CHCH 523
06-03-2023
Very well received by the group. Intriguing information about the perfume industry, a pretty good mystery but relatively easy to predict the outcome.
THAM 008
10-10-2022
Gripping - within a week of receiving, it was finished... an interesting insight to perfume and its history.
WHAKA 011
30-06-2022
Overall we enjoyed this book - it wasn't the 'Chick Lit' we originally thought. Interesting writing with cameos of characters gradually linked through the passage of time. One of our group wrote of tendrils reaching from one space to another. Interesting insight into perfume making. All felt we wanted to know how Grace continued her journey.
WHANG 017
30-06-2022
Everyone liked this book but didn't love it. We thought a lot more could have been made of a great story, and that was a little disappointing.
KATIK 001
07-03-2022
An easy read, well-written, showcasing character development as individuals found themselves in differing circumstances and time. Lively discussions followed as to who wore perfume and why, and how did the fact add to or distract from the persona!
AUCK 307
08-03-2019
The whole group enjoyed the descriptions of perfume development and the enhancement of the sense of smell. Most also thought the development of the story and the characters was good for three quarters of the book, but found the latter part was much less developed and wound up quickly. Generally though, a good read with excellent descriptions and a novel theme.
TAUR 028
08-03-2019
Okay. A bit predictable and a light read, bordering on "chick-lit", but some members really enjoyed it.
WANG 013
08-03-2019
Everyone agreed that this was a firm favourite - so engaging and readable.
KAUKA 002
08-03-2019
We all loved this book. A great story, and lots of interesting discussion arose.
UPHU 001
08-03-2019
Most of the group enjoyed this easy read. We had a lively discussion about how we would react to an unexpected inheritance. The perfume connection was interesting to some but not to others.
DUNED 006
08-03-2019
We all LOVED the book.
WAIKA 010
08-03-2019
Most of us really enjoyed this book and were fascinated by the "perfume content", and now need to go to Grasse to be involved. We thought the character of Eva was well developed and intriguing, and we loved the Paris ambience - it brought back lots of wonderful memories for some of us. Overall a good book and one to be recommended.
CHCH 378
10-12-2018
The whole group loved this book. They felt this was one of the best reads so far.