Anna Dorn's "Perfume and Pain" felt very relatable and was a fun, messy read. A woman on a "Patricia Highsmith", or as I like to call it "Judy Garland-ing" bender, destroying everything that she's worked for in life by letting your worst impulses play out. Let the cards fall where they may! Except it almost always works out for unreliable narrators like Astrid Dahl.

So hot. So sapphic. So good.

Astrid is a 35 year old novelist going through the motions. She copes with her failing love life and being “cancelled” by drinking, taking drugs, ordering perfume, and getting herself into relationships with toxic women. She is just unlikeable and self aware enough that I absolutely loved her and was rooting for her the entire time. She knows she’s privileged and entitled and owns it even in her lowest of lows.
Astrid ends up moving into this little bungalow that shares a yard with her neighbor, Penelope. At first, Astrid hates Penelope, but then she softens when Penelope starts befriending Astrid’s friends and brother. They all hang out together, throw gay banter, etc. I can’t spoil anything, but omg I loved loved loved Penelope and Astrid’s strange and mutually horny encounters.
There are so many pop culture references - some I understood and some I didn’t - and it’s incredibly fast paced. I can’t say enough good things about this book. Just so fun. (And hot. Did I mention that already?) Astrid is on a journey of self discovery, disappointment, heartache, aging *gasp*, and cancel culture.
After reading this, I’m determined to get my hands on some smutty lesbian pulp.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a lesbian and a perfume lover this book was calling to me before I even started it and left me ordering samples of Moonmilk perfume. The book is written first person style by essentially a manic author and her journey to continue writing and get healthy. Despite the extreme red flags, the main character, Astrid Dahl, exhibits I still found her oddly relatable, which maybe says more about me then it should. Astrid Dahl is a blunt but humorous character, and you get to see the ins and outs of her manic thoughts, struggles with addiction, and the reality of dating in the lesbian community. Anna Dorn has an addictive writing style that makes reading this book feels as fast paced and intense as Astrid Dahl's manic thoughts. Anna Dorn also brings up important lesbian history by utilizing lesbian pulp fiction to add to her story, this aspect made me add some lesbian pulp fiction to my TBR. I have previously never read an Anna Dorn book but after reading this book I will be going back to read her others.

it’s giving yellowface but ✨gay✨ thank you netgalley for providing this arc! at first i was a lil turned off by the constant mention of tiktoks but the constant mentions of the l word was givingggg. the main character was so unlikeable, but i enjoyed reading about her messy career and love life. this book isn’t what i expected but i was pleasantly surprised with how much i liked it once i reached into the 40% mark. i’m always down to read more lesbian rep and for my first anna dorn book, i’m content with it! 3.5 stars so round up to 4 :)

I didn’t realize how anxiety-inducing and chaotic this book would be before diving into it. But it's perfect for me: it’s bitter, witty, sarcastic, dark, and breaks my heart a little.

As a Taurus, I felt offended right from the very first page (stubborn, slow, cocky for no good reason?). Yet, as a masochist, I couldn't put it down and finished it in just a few sittings. Now, I'm officially obsessed with it. It's fitting that this is a book about obsession.

Now, I'm eager to move to Eagle Rock, reread 'The Price of Salt,' and write a story about my version of a self-indulgent woman doing self-indulgent things.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC, and I can't wait to read this book again in paperback when it is officially released. *obsession*

We are living through the corporatization of queerness. Big box stores whose profits were once spent funding the campaigns of bigots now turn into one-stop-shops for Pride attire each June. Academic institutions that once scorned students for expressing same-sex love now offer degrees to study the subjugation they perpetrated. This irony exists at the core of pulp fiction. Cheap pages bearing lurid stories worth more than the crap they're printed on. It's all so...camp. And back in the day, before everyone was out, queer stories flourished on these pages. Since then, pride has taken on a new meaning. More people are out, less ashamed of their identities. But these stories, which played a role in both positively normalizing lesbian relationships and negatively etching their stereotypes in the literary canon, now must reckon with themselves. How can queer stories be subversive if everyone is queer? Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn bravely takes a stab at this conundrum, expertly crafting a lesbian pulp drama about a gaggle of girls and gays enmeshed in the political academia of lesbian pulp fiction. From The Price of Salt, or Carol to a drug-cocktail named after that very book's author (Patricia Highsmith), this novel did its homework on gay history and demonstrates how a story can alter a relic from the past, morphing it into just the novel our current society needs.
Today, lesbianism exists in an uncomfortable reality. Being gay and out has never been more common. There are mainstream memes that reference once niche aspects of queer culture. But many of these jokes center around the assimilation of gay men into a place of prominence in the cultural zeitgeist. Women who love women are often forgotten or, worse yet, purposefully omitted from the queer spaces they once helped build. They are rendered sexless and misunderstood in their broader cultural depiction. And I rarely read love stories with lesbian characters that feels true to my own experiences.
Enter Perfume and Pain! This novel is brilliant. Protagonist Astrid Dahl, a Swedish-American lesbian writer who is not related to Roald, has been on and off a bender for years, one that supported her publishing three successful books, albeit with some bad PR trails. After finally securing an apartment she believes will be the sanctuary where she finally becomes a better person, she has to move next door to an older woman who smells like a jam band and won't leave her alone. As Astrid's romance blossoms with a younger woman (who smells like Victoria's Secret perfume) who studies lesbian pulp novels, she wonders if she's not a character in this other woman's literary re-enactment.
With all the dry queer hilarity of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead and the uncanny terror of a woman who isn't to be trusted (a la Ottessa Moshfegh), Anna Dorn's latest novel belongs in the lesbian literary hall of fame. I can't wait to go back and read more of her work!

Thank you to Anna Dorn, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Was so scared for this bc Exalted is one of my fav books everrr but anna dorn is a fucking star ofc!! Love the cover love the prose love the references Love how she writes characters Love the meta! This is also the perfect balance of being online without being unbearable and that is so rare.

4.5 Stars! Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc!

Devoured this voraciously and loved mostly every second of it. I loved loved this tale of our unhinged lesbian narrator, her struggles with creativity and sex, romance, and addiction. I was also so here for the pop culture commentary (because why am I looking at Carol differently now...) and the perfume descriptions (Jeremy Fragrance has nothing on Astrid). I will be purchasing this immediately and recommending it to all of my fellow fans of unhinged women and lesbian litfic. Anna Dorn slayed.

Anna Dorn is such a great storyteller. Her writing is honest, funny, and endearing. I especially enjoy how she writes women, mixing humor and perspective to highlight the inner turmoil of the female experience. Perfume and Pain is another piece of excellent writing from Dorn and as always, I look forward to what’s coming next.

Perfume & Pain by Anna Dorn follows controversial author, Astrid Dahl, navigating being 30, being canceled, and being in love with all the wrong people. Astrid is impulsive, toxic, downright disagreeable, and makes wrong decision after wrong decision. Still, I was partial to her and grew to root for her more and more as the book went on. She felt less like an annoying character in a book and more like a friend who has their flaws. While problematic, she was entertaining and although unhinged, her rants were sprinkled with truths.

Dorn touches on topics ranging from celebrity culture to substance abuse to internet discourse, specifically in the queer community, in such sharp and insightful ways. She captures obsession, desire, ego, vanity, and pays homage to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction.

Unhinged, hilarious, & above all, compelling. This is my easily my favorite book that I have read this year. I simply could not put it down.

Perfume & Pain comes out May 21st, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Anna Dorn is the queen of messy woman lit fic. I’m obsessed with Astrid in all of her self-centered, unlikable, self-medicating glory on her lil journey of self-discovery. It was quippy and fast-paced and deeply readable.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

I was so so excited to receive an ARC for this book! Reading an Anna Dorn novel is like hanging out with your bitchiest, most deranged friend. I’m never sure if I enjoy the experience exactly, but I’m certainly entertained. Within minutes of starting Perfume and Pain, I was highlighting passages to read out loud to my girlfriend. Astrid is exactly the type of protagonist I love — an unreliable lesbian who’s kind of unpleasant and problematic. Lesbians can be awful too!! And although sometimes it was all a bit too femme4femme, I do love the commitment to writing specifically about the dyke experience, since I’ve always loved the specificity of lesbianism. Will read anything Anna Dorn publishes in the future, tbh!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

You first have to know, your girl LOVES a flawed narrator. I’m obsessed with Astrid. Even the self-centered, self-medicating Astrid we first meet. As a woman now of 42 I remember so clearly struggling in my mid to late 30s with the idea of my fading (or already faded?) youth and realizing my edginess (ok, I was an insufferable art elitist) was played out and not tolerated by my peers any longer. Astrid’s self-realizations were so lovely to witness. Regardless of how ungraceful she stumbled into them. I also hate myself for how much I want to be Penelope (it will be discussed with my therapist).

This was an incredibly gratifying read. Amazing character development and realistic dialogue. I’m so thankful NetGalley gave me an opportunity to read this.

Perfume and Pain follows lightly cancelled writer Astrid as she navigates semi-sobriety, a nosy neighbor, and an obsessive new love interest.

I am both drawn to, and skeptical of, books touting an unlikeable female narrator. I often feel like that genre had said what needs to be said. Yet, these books are always a delight to read. Astrid juggles that fine line of saying whatever is on her mind, making horrible choices, and still inviting the reader to root for her.

This is a deeply readable book, funny and engaging. I wish the secondary characters were a little more fleshed out like Astrid is, but it is Astrid’s world after all. I’m surprised I haven’t seen many comparisons to Melissa Broder’s work in reviews. To me, the queer (sorry Astrid) woman on the verge reads very much like Broder leading lady.

This book is a love letter to lesbian media, from pulp novels to The L Word. It follows Astrid, a writer who is struggling with substance use and falling in love with the wrong people. Throughout, the publishing and writing world are explored as well as perfumes/fragrance.

I almost stopped reading a few chapters in because of how much I disliked the protagonist, which speaks to the strength of the characterization. She's incredibly self-absorbed, and 'problematic'. At times I struggled to see the delineation between her being written as a problematic character vs the author actually promoting controversial ideas.

I got the feeling the book was trying to champion a femme lesbian story very much at the expense of butch and gender non-conforming lesbians. Being femme and having people say homophobic stuff around you bc people don't realize you're gay is challenging for sure, but surely not worse than the direct hate butch women receive? And saying butch-femme relationships mirror hetero relationships is not a good take.

I would have loved for some more lesbian solidarity, like you can uplift femmes without putting down 'dykes', but again it's really hard to say if this was just how the character is or if this is a message the author is trying to make since Astrid never really changes her stance on this. Maybe just worth bearing in mind that this is a very white, cis, privileged story as opposed to one making a political statement.

I also struggled to believe Astrid's character development, it seemed to come out of nowhere. One minute she was unwell and self destructive and the next she was better and more empathetic without any sort of intervention, therapy, or sobriety.

Overall a very interesting read, I can see the comparison with Yellowface, and I can see this appealing to certain Lesbian millennials. It would be a good book club read, there’s definitely a lot to talk about!

I had to have someone physically take this book away from me so I could do the things I needed to do - it had me in a chokehold I haven’t experienced in a while and I would’ve finished it in one sitting if I’d have had the time

this is for the people that love a flawed but understandable main character, those that love a little bit of drama and books that are mainly vibes, less plot (which is me).

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

Last year, I read Exalted, and described it to a friend as "kinda trashy litfic, like a Millennial Marcy Dermansky," so when I grabbed the ARC of Perfume and Pain and saw the Marcy Dermansky quote on the cover, I thought "yup, fuckin nailed it."

I loved Astrid Dahl, loved that she wrote the same books Anna Dorn has written, was so sad as the percentage of book read kept getting higher far too fast, and time left in the book kept getting lower. Did not want this book to be over, but could not make myself stop reading. I'm highly allergic to most perfumes, but spent the whole time I was reading (happily) overwhelmed by olfactory hues.

I highlighted so many passages and cackled to myself so many times that my youngest and my husband kept asking what was so funny (yes, I'm one of those queer women Astrid wouldn't want in her writing group). How to explain the Patricia Highsmith? Or that I'm definitely not a quiet person, though I no longer have a goodreads account? And have it be anything other than a barely hinged non sequitur?

brb, falling down a Messy Women Trashy LitFic rabbithole.

Also, that cover is gorgeous (and I'm not just saying that bc I'm obsessed with pink book covers).

Perfume and Pain follows Astrid Dahl, a semi-successful author, trying to get her life back on track after being cancelled. Astrid is a wonderful protagonist - she's messy, selfish, unapologetically herself, and maybe a bit unhinged. Despite making so many terrible decisions, you can't help but root for her. This book and Astrid stuck with me for days after finishing it!

This was incredibly fun & surprisingly eye opening to read. As a tribute to lesbian pulp, I felt a lot more educated on this topic after finishing this book.
Dorn is really good at making readers be in the moment. I felt like I was going through Astrid's emotions, highs and everything in between with her.
An interesting glimpse into life in LA, especially as an author rather than being directly involved with Hollywood. Authors are often portrayed to be in NYC but Dorn took a different take. In general, a great summer read.
The best part is the age choices for the characters. The more "mature" age of 30s and 40s are going through life like 20 something people, which made the story even more special. Not in an obnoxious way, but in a no-ageism way. Justice for both femme lesbians and lesbians who are still exploring lesbianism at different life stages.

Perfume and Pain follows Astrid Dahl, a writer in Los Angeles, as she tries to write a book after she finds herself mildly cancelled following an event that could have gone slightly better for her. While Astrid fumbles her way through whatever life throws at her (including a television deal, new relationships, a sexy neighbor, alcohol, and drugs to name a few), we are thrown into her whirlwind of a life and meet a whole host of fun and interesting characters along the way. Oh, and she has a mild obsession with perfume.

Dorn's writing is light and fun, and it's incredibly easy to just go with the flow with Astrid as she makes some truly dumb and confounding choices. In Astrid, Dorn crafted a character that is somehow both incredibly infuriating and incredibly difficult to stop caring about. You find yourself wanting to support her, much like Otto and Zev (amongst other players) in the book. Sure, let's get both high and drunk while you tell your agent that you're sober, let's text that probably a little unhinged girl again, let's ignore every single red flag flapping in the wind, and let's do it all together, bestie. You might spend 75% of the book rolling your eyes at Astrid and questioning her life choices, but you're still going to go along with her through this strange tunnel of love and self-discovery because Dorn just sucks you in and makes you want to keep tagging along with your new, mostly unlikeable friend.

This was truly a wild and good time. If you're looking for a queer rollercoaster, definitely pick this one up. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the eArc of this book!