The Perfumist of Paris: A Captivating Narrative of Love, Sacrifice and Family Ties in 1970s Paris (The Jaipur Trilogy, 3)

3rd in a series. Just as good as the other ones. Love the characters.

The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi is the 3 book in her Trilogy about main character Lakshmi and her sister Radha. This book finds Radha grown and in Paris married to Pierre with 2 daughters. Radha has run to Paris to keep secret a son that she let older friend adopt when she was 13. This story is all about the perfume industry and all that goes into the making of scents. So much is about India and all the scents and smells from there that Radha is familiar and the expert she becomes. There is much cultural things that are explained and are very fascinating. The story has some turns and the characters are very well developed. One thing this author does that I wish other did is she has a listing of her characters and who they are so you can refer to as I have to check at times. She also has a glossary in the back of terms and things Indian and French. This is very helpful. She has a few recipes and information about perfume making etc. I have read all 3 of her books and enjoyed them all. I think the first and second were the best but recommend all!

Read this trilogy in order. The characters grow little by little ripening into the heart of the reader. No spoilers in this review, so you won't read details either. Lakshmi is prevalent in all books. She is the Henna Artist. She is a strong lady, lovable, driven & and self-aware. Other characters, and there are many, are usually connected to Lakshmi in some way. As a bonus, the reader gets to feel what it's like to live in India. I could almost taste the food, smell the surroundings & see the places they live. The characters in the 3 books grow up, and new characters are added little by little. By the end of book 3, there are many characters with different backgrounds & personalities. The primary characters are in all books. Several real-life dilemmas occur & the ways they are handled keep the reader thinking.

This is such a beautiful story and it makes me happy I discovered this trilogy. It’s so much more than letting go of past mistakes/painful experiences. It’s about developing confidence and making your passions and dreams bear fruit. You also get to learn about other cultures and customs,etc. This author, Alka Joshi makes you take in all the sights, smells, feelings, politics, and how different social levels live their lives.

They aren't lying! This is the best book...at least slightly better than Book 2. Here, we are reintroduced to Radha, Lakshmi's little sister who is now all grown up, 32 years old, married and with two children. She is trying hard to become a stellar perfumist of Paris and we all know she has a nose for scents and is very intelligent. However, when she learns that her firstborn will be showing up in Paris...all hell breaks loose- and the scent of normalcy quickly turns sour. This book had me in my emotions. It is addictive! First of all, Radha was a brat growing up(in some ways), and although she has grown up, there are brief moments when you want to smack sense into her. Secondly, the betrayals! Radha will learn she can't trust anyone who smiles in your face. I wish I could say more, but you must read this. The only ones she can trust, is her trusted circle: Lakshmi(the Henna Artist/Medicine Woman) and Malik. If you take a moment to reflect, you will find that the trilogy comes full circle with subtle commentary of what womanhood means to each person no matter where they are from. This was such a beautiful, well written trilogy overall and I am truly saddened because I have grown very fond of these fictional characters as if they were my own family.

Radha now lives in Paris with her husband and two children. She is a lab assistant at the House of Yves, a perfume manufacturer in Grasse, where she puts together formulas for perfumes. Being a working mother causes problems with her husband, who has an old world mentality and wants her to remain home. After being assigned to a large project at work, Radha returns home to Shimla, hoping to gather scents for her perfume. Upon returning home, she comes face-to-face with her past which she must now bring light. Having loved the first two books in the Jaipur trilogy I had high hopes for this book and they were definitely met. Having learned Lakshmi's story and how Radha came to marry her husband and leave India, I always wondered what would happen if Radha had to reveal the most important person she had left behind. I loved how Radha has grown into a woman who knows what she wants. She has grown so much as a character and it was a pleasure to see. While I was thrilled to read the final book in the trilogy, I'm also sad that the story is over. I cannot wait to see what else Alka Joshi has to share with the world.

This is my favorite of the three in the series. The characters have become very real to me by their growth. The Paris setting is more accessible to an American woman and the perfume industry is exotic enough to make the fragrances of India familiar. These women of different generations take charge of their own lives, which is inspiring.

Coming of age! A woman’s journey that comes full circle. Beautifully written and bringing together two cultures in an artistic mix of everyday life.

good read

I've been waiting for this book to come out since discovering Alka Joshi last year. And have read in straight away in one go. I definitely think it is worth reading the trilogy in the right order although a lot of the characters' past is explained here. I loved all three books but I did prefer the first two as the stories just took place in India and were more historical. Paris in the seventies doesn't have the same mystique. But there was still plenty of India in this book. I hope that there will be more novels to come from Alka Joshi.

I had absolutely loved the first two books and i was so eager to read about all these characters again. But sadly, as a french person i had to stop reading very quickly. The french sentences are full of spelling errors, and sometimes you can feel that it has been translated directly from english. Some sentences in french don't make any sense, and sometimes the actual meaning is actually the opposite of what the writer wanted to convey. For example there is a sentence where a character says to another "Bien fait !" to say "Well done !". Actually "bien fait!" means in french "serves you right !" so I was extremely confused...I know the book has been translated into my language, maybe i should have a look to see how the translators corrected all these mistakes. The writer should have asked someone who knows french well to check the grammar and the rest, these errors could have been avoided very easily.

Book pages edges uneven cut ,

Excellent culmination for an superb trilogy.