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Her first major project will take her home to India searching for the perfect scent for a special client, just as a secret from her Past, will arrive in Paris, making her confront all of the things she thought could remain buried. Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra—women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her—upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage. Due to a confluence of circumstances Lakshmi takes in her 13-year-old sister Radha, whose teenage behavior gets her into trouble. Oh, don't look at me like that. I know better than Pierre how you love being in that lab and creating all those scents. What woman wants to stay home all day? That's just a fantasy men make up." When a project takes her to India, Radha has no choice but to confront the ghosts of her past once again. Along with her sister, Lakshmi, she travels to Agra to research various scents that she can use in her new fragrance. But when her estranged son, Niki, who is now 17, suddenly reappears in her life and wants to meet her in Paris, her world turns upside down. Her long buried past collides with her present – and threatens to jeopardise her future.
Book Two, “The Secret Keeper of Jaipur” the story continues 12 years later with her protégé, Malik, who has taken an apprenticeship interning at the Jaipur Palace, whose latest project is a State of the Art Cinema, which doesn’t go as planned. Though this novel wasn't quite as good as the others in the trilogy, I highly recommend the books, which have memorable characters and a compelling story line.I came to this book with a lot of expectations, especially since the second one in the trilogy was so good. In a simple manner, we can say that it is better to part ways if there is no mutual respect. The author discusses this complicated topic in a simple and elegant manner through the following lines. Everything felt rushed. It was a little bit of everything or nothing. I was not sure about the flow. I wanted to like this one in same way as I liked to first and second book, but it is not happening. I could not connect to Radha. Yes of course she had a hard time of it, but honestly I found that she finds it too easy to lay the blame elsewhere. A small example of this is her disappointment that her husband is not keen on her promotion when she herself isn't exactly keen on his either. So they are as bad as each other in this regard. Yet only his shortcoming is pointed out. Through Radha, Alka Joshi portrays the guilt that all working mothers have. Whether it's having to work or wanting to work, as Radha did, the guilt that their children, and husband, are being neglected is all consuming.
Radha's mother-in-law Florence, a difficult opinionated woman, is decidedly cool towards Radha and her Indian culture. Nevertheless Florence loves her grandchildren, and takes care of Asha and Shanti when Radha is at work. June 6, 2023 Update: Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, our interview with the author has to be rescheduled. There is no date set at this time, but as soon as we have a new date, I’ll update accordingly. Thank you for your patience and understanding. It was pretty slow starting, not much going on really, just setting up later events. But this time served to show us just how little Radha has managed to mature as she has gotten older. She still bears a significant resemblance to the emotionally scarred and resentful girl she was at 13, and I was a bit disappointed in this. There is growth in her character, but it happens almost exclusively in the last third of the book. Still, I loved the peek into the perfume world and enjoyed reading about scents and how they were made. I loved “traveling” to India through the author’s vivid imagery, although that same imagery didn’t extend as thoroughly into the Paris portion. The evocative details of 1970s Paris, motherhood in the early days of the women’s movement, long-buried secrets, and the making of perfume mix into an absolutely luscious and unforgettable read." —Meg Waite Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Postmistress of ParisTHE PERFUMIST OF PARIS is a stunning portrait of a woman blossoming into her full power. . . . Powerful and evocative as the attars from Radha's perfume lab, evoking India and France with equal beauty, this is Alka Joshi's best book yet!" --Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author The Diamond Eye Perfect for fans of Lessons in chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, this story features a strong Indian woman trying to carve a path for herself as a perfumist. I really enjoyed getting to know more about all that goes into make a scent and the women in STEM rep. We are privy to Radha's near constant inner dialogue about balancing work, marriage, and motherhood — she wants to be a good wife to Pierre and an attentive mother to her daughters, but she also needs the satisfaction and creative outlet provided by her job. Like in the previous novels, Alka Joshi brings the characters to life and transports you to the beautiful cities of Paris and Agra. I loved Joshi's vivid descriptions of the various scents Radha was working with and could almost smell them by her descriptions.
In Radha’s mind, she thinks: “The scents – honey and clove and vetiver and jasmine and cedar and myrrh and gardenia and musk – are such comforting companions. They ask nothing of me except the freedom to envelop another world with their essence.”
It helps, but is not necessary, to have read Joshi’s first two books, The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her.
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