The Book Of Lost Fragrances (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
BEWARE OF SPOILERS. I DON'T HIDE OR PROMOTE MY REVIEWS.Enjoyed it during the read. Now that several weeks have passed, I've already forgotten the characters' names and their personalities have faded.The author is entranced with reincarnation, and summoning past lives through such tools as bits of music (played on a special bone flute, not just any old) or sniffs of fragrance.She roots this theory on the well-known evocative power of sensory stimulti (made famous in the Proust quote she cites fr. A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time, better known as Remembrance of Things Past).The story at hand revolves around several generations of a family perfume dynasty. In the course of dramatic events (including scenes in the underground tunnels and catacombs of Paris) the protagonists manage to find find, protect and deliver a ancient pot of ancient Eygptian perfumed ointment to the Dalai Lama, who's visiting Paris. The gesture is important because the scented product allows some to view again their past lives, and reincarnation is important to Tibetan Buddhists (and others). There's political intrigue, too. China controls Tibet and is trying to stamp out Buddhism by declaring a ban on reincarnation talk. So Chinese agents try to prevent delivery of the pot. I enjoy reading M. J. Rose. I'm not much on suspense novels, but her works have so much history, philosophy, etc that I can overlook the adventure aspects that are less exciting to me. The story lines are a background for me and I enjoy the experience of learning something new. I remember being fairly transported in the first three novels in this series. I was very excited by the prospect of revisiting reincarnation again, especially through the lens of varying perspectives (Buddhist, Chinese government, again Egyptian...)This novel really fell short there. I did enjoy learning a little about the world of fragrances, but again felt that Rose left out a lot. I enjoy her great detail to such studies and felt that I didn't learn nearly as much as I would have liked. The plot was okay, about par with the others. I found myself pretty bored throughout this book and actually had a hard time committing myself to finishing it. It's a low 3 star rating for me. I'll continue to read this author's work, but this wasn't her strongest effort in my opinion.
What do You think about The Book Of Lost Fragrances (2012)?
I just could not get into all the stories. Too many back and forth and sideways jumps for me.
—austin
What a delightful read! Original, suspenseful, and romantic.
—Tropic
I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure.
—fudgeizcute98
