The Perfume Collector: A Novel

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro is a wonderful story. Set in multiple time periods that volley from the 1920s through the 1950s, the book traces the unlikely inheritance bestowed upon Grace Monroe. Grace is living in high style thanks to her marriage in London, but this lifestyle isn't what she dreamed of. She feels the need to pursue more purpose for herself than being a stay-at-home wife and mother. While she doesn't begrudge others this lifestyle, it simply isn't for her. Grace has even gone so far as to inquire about secretary school, a big "no-no" amongst the married elite.

In a unique turn of events, Grace receives a surprise inheritance from a French woman she has never met. The instructions are clear - come to Paris, come alone. Her journey is paid for and in the true sense of adventure to include an escape from the confines of her life, Grade takes the journey to Paris. Her guide is a curious lawyer and through a lot of questioning and truly horrible French spoken by Grace, she finds herself in an abandoned perfume shop meeting an elderly woman that regales the life-story of Eva d’Orsey, a perfumer’s muse in the 1920s. Slowly but surely, Eva’s past and Grace’s future converge giving Grace the choice between the life she's "supposed" to live and the life she wants..."Le droit de choisir."

I enjoyed the plot of this novel along with the dual setting of London and Paris. Tessaro creates likable characters and comfortable relationships - Grace Munroe is every woman that's been trapped by the expectations of society. The freedom she finds in having a choice makes the novel compelling and interesting - the reader questions "What would I do?" Her supporting cast of characters, from the late Eva d'Orsey to the whimsical romance of her curious lawyer are inviting. The novel has an easy romance quality to it sure to capture a reader's attention - it's light, it's refreshing, it's sweet.

I highly recommend.