Author: Maggie Alderson
ISBN: 978-1-4607-5121-3
RRP: $32.99
Maggie Alderson is an author whose work I was unfamiliar with but I’m generally pretty open to new reading experiences. The synopsis for this one sounded interesting and at the time it came up as a book club option I was reading about the building of a lipstick empire so the idea of reading a novel based around perfume was intriguing.
I have had a pretty big couple of weeks and I started this book on my way to the airport to pick up my little sister and littlest nephew, so with extra people in the house and spending family time there wasn’t a lot of reading time. I was reading in fits and starts and small bursts but I just couldn’t seem to immerse myself, a week in and I was still only at about 100 pages.
Polly is quite happy with her life; she is happily married with 2 children off at uni, a successful perfume blog and a home yoga studio she teaches in. A week before Christmas her husband disappears claiming to need some space and everything changes.
The story is told through dated chapters that take us through events as they happen with Polly and blog posts, complete with comments.
Happily married for twenty-four years Polly is blown away by the sudden departure of her husband, with no means of contacting him and no real understanding of what’s happening. Learning to navigate through these changes Polly makes some new friends and adjusts her life.
Perfume is heavily featured throughout the story, there is a lot of history which is quite interesting and an analysis of what seems like every scent Polly comes across. My sense of smell is not well developed and I’m hopeless at deconstructing what I can smell so at times this aspect of the book did go right over my head. I can’t differentiate between top notes, base notes or anything in between; perfume is perfume and I like it or I don’t. The in-depth detail of all things nose related did get a little tedious for me but the big picture storyline made up for it.
The blog posts were interesting in that they took an aspect of life and broke it down into scent associations and then offered perfumes that related, this is how Polly experiences her life.
Polly is stuck in a situation she has no control over, Dave has asked that she not try to contact him and she doesn’t speak to anyone about what’s going on. Apart from the fact that this is a ridiculously unfair situation to be put in, it makes it difficult for Polly to spend time with her friends.
Navigating this strange new reality sees Polly making new friends; friends she doesn’t need to explain the absence of her husband to. Time passes and Polly finds herself slowly creating a new life with the friends she has made along the way, and an old flame she hasn’t seen since her university days.
Polly’s children may be grown and off at university but this situation is still enough to throw them off kilter. It’s one thing for your parents to split up, as a child or an adult, but in this case the not knowing what’s actually going on makes it much harder to deal with. The fact that their father is not in touch with them either makes things especially difficult.
The cast is an interesting mix of characters; Polly is quite conservative and quiet, she keeps to herself a lot though has shared quite a bit of her life with the world on her blog. She is keeping her current situation quiet but a lot of personal information is readily available online about her life and her family. This makes the contrast between herself and her new friends even more noticeable. Shirlee is one of her yoga students, a lovely lady who is loud and seems unable to understand boundaries. Guy is a new perfumer who is very secretive about his personal life and past but also wildly talented, if far from subtle. Edward ‘Chum’ Cliddington, her old friend from uni is a refreshing blast from the past who offers an escape from current reality with conversation about the old days, someone whose life may or may not be as complicated as Polly’s if they ever talked about it.
The Scent of You is a story of finding yourself when all you thought you had is turned on it’s head. I enjoyed the story once I got involved but I still found it very drawn out. I think lovers of the heady world of perfume will enjoy all of the background info and history. I felt for Polly through most of the story but there were times that I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.
The characters were vivid and the storyline interesting though I found that everything scent related was explored in great depth and some of the elements of the story seemed a little more glossed over.
The Scent of You is published by Harper Collins and is available now through Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Harper Collins 25 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading The Scent of You so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below. I look forward to finding out what our readers thought.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
I was very into Maggie Alderson’s novel The Scent of you ,deviouring it over a weekend. Polly is married, has two grown children and a hardworking husband. Polly has her life in a box until her husband ,after a short text, leaves,with no explanation but to say he needs time..Confused and lonely Polly goes on to meet more people from different activities and proceeds to put each of these strangers in their own box where each of them have their own secrets keeping her own life seperate.
Battling the uncertainty of her own marriage Polly along with her children try to solve the mystery of her husbands strange behaviour,as well as manage the new people in her life. During her struggle, the new box’s start to leak their secrets, which only makes her more and more confused.
Eventually with the help of her children and her new friends she starts to see her whole life has been a lie,and seeks to put her world back together..
With the side story of Polly’s perfume blog and the inside story of how smell contributes so much to our lives. “The Scent of you” is a wonderful story and I will be making an effort to find more of Maggie Alderson’s novels.
I found this book well worth the read, because for a lot of people they do go thru an emotional crisis during their marriages, and I have unfortunately seen many break down, so to find that someone has actuallly taken it, and woven a story around it, was unusual…… The perfume part to me is wonderful, I have always wondered how perfumes are literally ma de, and what goes into them, and this book expl ains some of that, plus how Po lly can say what is in one when she puts it on her arm and lets it mingle with her own body scents. The bigger shops that have perfumery like myers still do that at times, and I have walked thru and had four or five samples given to me to try. I certainly enjoyed this book, like many others I have been sent to read.. the end is an outcome I was not expecting …. but leave it to you the reader ….. to read.
I was very excited to get the opportunity to read and review Maggie Alderson’s latest book The Scent of You, having previously been a follower of her fashion/lifestyle column in the Good Weekend Magazine of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Like her columns I found Maggie Alderson’s style in this novel easy to read, and very entertaining, and she approached some of the more sensitive issues in the book with compassion and understanding.
I also enjoyed the way different scents and aromas were woven through the book. I love different perfumes and have a keen nose, which like the main character in the book I also associate with different memories, so I found this aspect provided another sensory level to the story line for me.
The Scent of You, follows the life of Polly, a perfume blogger and yoga teacher, whose comfortable and predictable world is turned upside down, when her husband of 24 years suddenly decides to up and leave with no explanation. And even his departure is mysterious – he takes a suitcase but leaves no forwarding address and tells her and their two adult children not to try to telephone or contact him for 6 months!!…
That Polly just accepts this enforced separation and does not immediately try to uncover what is going on was for me, perhaps the most unbelievable aspect of this story. Nevertheless I found Polly’s attempts to remain composed and steadfast for her children admirable and ultimately in keeping with her yoga mother mentality and the protective cocoon she has spun around her family over the years.
As Polly gradually starts to emerge from her marital woes, she takes more control, starts making her own changes and allows new people into her life – the loud, bombastic and thoroughly engaging Shirlee, the eccentric but endearing perfumer Guy, and Chum her old friend and crush from University. And Polly’s two children also start to emerge for her as adults in the way that they handle the situation that their father has put them all in.
The reasons for Polly’s husband’s absence do eventually come out and did take me by surprise. It was definitely a conclusion I was not expecting…
I enjoyed this book, it was an interesting read and had the quirky added bonus of a perfumed overlay.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for selecting me to read Yhe Scent Of You
I have not read any of Maggie Alderson ( author ) books before
The story revolves around Polly a successful perfume blogger and yoga teacher
Polly has two children Clemmie and Lucas who are both young adults attending university
Polly and David have been married for 24 years when David tells Polly and the children he needs a break and then takes off leaving Polly and the children quite mysterfied
With David gone Polly continues on as best as she can but she is always wondering what is going on with her husband
Polly has some amazing new friends who not knowing about Davids disappearance keep Polly sane
At the end of the book we learn why David disappeared and honestly was a bit of a shock to me
Fragrant Clound is Pollys online blog it is featured in sections throughout the book and is really quite interesting in regards to perfumes / scents
I enjoyed reading this book personally if my husband said he needed a break and just disappeared I just would not accept this situation but overall a nice book to read
Thankyou BeautyandLace and Harper Collins for allowing me to review ‘The Scent of You’ and of course the author Maggie Alderson for writing this interesting book.
Polly (Hippolyta) writes a perfume blog under the name Fragrant Cloud and is a yoga teacher, she has a daughter Clemmie and a son Lucas both at university. Her husband David has left suddenly, no explanation and refusing contact.
Polly’s life has completely changed because of this, we meet her mother Daphne a glamorous, ex model in her eighties living in a retirement village and through Daphne Polly rekindles a friendship with Chum (Edward Cliddington) a friend from university days.. Both have dogs which lead to outings of dog walking.
Polly also by chance becomes friendly with a perfumer Guy Webber owner of a new enterprise ‘The Great Eastern Fragrance Company’. She also finds frienship with Shirlee, a great support although a little intrusive.
Polly, after three months of David’s absence is looking for an answer and finds David has health issues and because his personality his changed is unwilling to move back into the family home.
Fragrant Cloud’s (Polly’s) blogs are quite lovely, the pages giving the impression of being framed. Some of the perfumes she mentions are familiar to me and the book makes me want to wear perfume every day.
The book is a big one 502 pages, I’ve learned heaps about perfumes and now realize the work involved in developing a new scent. The cover is delightful, very pretty, and a real girly gift tò give a friend!
This book is amazing!!
At the beginning I had so many thoughts of why Polly’S husband David went away but absolutely none of them were even close to the real reason!!
My heart broke for Polly, as someone going through my own marriage problems recently this book really seemed to hit home.
I loved how Polly explained how different fragrances bought on memories and it really made me appreciate my own perfumes and take the time to take in the scents and thoughts that come along with them.
The Scent of You is definitely the kind of book I would cuddle up in front of the fire with a cup of tea with. I so easily got lost in the story and read it all in a day.
You are brilliant Maggie Alderson!!! worth every s(cent) and no wonder you are a bestselling author!
And……..I so badly want a friend like Shirlee as what a laugh, what a sense of humour and heart of gold she had.
Loved the term Yogi Bears, Guy calling himself Roger and the biscuit ti humour between Lucas and Edward (Chum)
I thought Daphne and Bill were great and laughed out loud when Guy was dying to meet Daphne and Polly thought they looked like a pair of posturing peacocks lol! You have to give this book a go as I didnt realise I`d love it as much as I did and read it in less than a week and that was school holidays here.
I loved that I could not for the life of me predict what was up with Polly`s husband David, what a shocker that was.
I give Digger and Artemis 10 barks out of 10 as they were the band that held Polly and Chum close and had such lovely natures and not so lovely smells haha!
Lucas was a beautiful son and Clemmie was wonderful too supporting Polly all the way.
Guy was really out there and such a solid friend while being a fun character much like Shirlee but in a different way.
Liked the term “whack-a-mole”, no that feeling through life so well and it also bought me back to thinking how I associate smells with people dear to me as well. I would have loved a scratch and sniff page as I could only imagine some of the fine scents portrayed in this book.
I could rave about this book forever, thanks Maggie, B&Lace and Harper and Collins for publishing this book for us all to enjoy as I really did enjoy this one.
You gotta read this one xo.
The Scent Of You centers around Polly, a middle-aged woman who is married and has two grown children who are both away studying at university.
Her life seems as though it is all smooth sailing. She is a yoga instructor, as well as a perfume blogger, which is gaining her more success by the day.
But just before Christmas, she is devastated when David, her husband of 24 years, explains that he needs a break and that she is not to contact him at all. He disappears without a trace, leaving Polly heartbroken and confused.
Her children, Lucas and Clemmie, both can’t believe the news when they find out, and offer their mum as much support as they can. Needless to say, they are hurt by their father’s actions, and are concerned for their mother’s welfare.
Meanwhile, Polly makes some new and interesting friends as she decides what to do with regards to her missing husband.
There’s Shirley, one of her ‘yogi bears’- a regular that attends her yoga classes. She is loud and a little over the top, but has her friends’ best interest at heart, and proves to be a real saviour for Polly.
Polly also meets Guy Webber, a perfumer who is flamboyant and fun, but likes to keep his personal life just so.
And she is reunited with Edward, also known as Chum, who is an old friend and flame of hers from her university days.
This book, at 500 pages, is quite long. In fact, I think it would’ve benefited from losing a few scenes as they didn’t play a big part (if any) in the story. I have to admit that I skimmed over a few paragraphs here and there, even though the story itself kept me intrigued, the detail, particularly regarding fragrances/scents was a little bit too in-depth at times.
I also found it rather unbelievable that Polly would be so casual about her husband’s departure, and it just seemed rather odd that she would agree to wait months before receiving answers to the many questions she would no doubt have.
And also, once she finally found out what caused David’s need to leave their home, I felt that she could’ve definitely been more supportive, given the situation he was facing. Even though she offered her help, there wasn’t that much fight in her and it just seemed unlike what a person of being married to someone for 24 years would do.
I did thoroughly enjoy the diverse characters in the story, and reading about Fragrance Cloud (Polly’s blog).
Overall, this book has a great storyline, and a beautiful cover. It is a relatively easy read, apart from the length.
Thanks for the opportunity to read ‘The Scent of You’ by Maggie Alderson. A beautifully presented book with a great cover, it looks like a perfect gift for any woman.
I am not going to run through a long background on the story as everyone else who has commented has already done that for us. I will say as a lover of perfume fan I really liked this delightful book.
Ok, in brief Polly, finds herself in a bit of a limbo state after her husband of 20 odd years disappears without any explanation. The book follows her story as she meets new friends and rekindles an old friendship with a University friend. Polly teaches yoga and writes about perfume in her online blog and attempts to stay positive.
This was a great read and is quite engaging. The characters in this book are very well drawn. The flamboyant Daphne, Polly’s mum and Guy a perfume maker who becomes friendly with Polly are standouts as are Shirley and Chum.
The reason for the husbands disappearance is a bit of a shocker and one I didn’t foresee. I felt sympathy for Polly and the issues but I also felt some frustration with some of her decisions along the way.
Overall the book kept me engaged and I was excited to read the next chapter. The inclusion of Polly’s blog posts was a nice touch and I must say I was interested to understand some of the perfumes and scent types she talks about.
All in all a interesting read! I would highly recommend ‘The Scent of You’ for anyone.
The Scent of you
“That powerful connection a smell can trigger”
Polly, yoga instructor, writer of “fragrantcloud.net blog’ and speaker at perfume events is married to David; mother to Clemmie, who is studying medicine at Cambridge and Lucas who is at his first term at uni, studying music production. Her ageing mother, a former famous model, lives in a fancy retirement village and is become quite dotty.
David has disappeared sending a weird email saying he needs to be completely alone and has taken a 6 month research sabbatical and not to try and contact him. Polly understandably is completely lost and confused. She can’t speak to anyone about her husband up and leaving and finds she is increasingly angry and upset about his weird behaviour.
Polly’s life is becoming complicated with David gone. Lucas appears to be depressed and is on drinking binges, her mother’s health is declining, David’s dog Digger requires constant attention and Polly needs a friend.
Shirlee one of the yoga bears becomes that friend. Shirlee is loud and over the top and is just what Polly needs.
Polly meets Guy Webber owner of the Great Eastern Fragrance Company by chance one afternoon and he insists she takes home one of his perfume creations. Polly strikes up a friendly relationship with Guy and enjoys his company but them an old university friend Edward ‘Chum’ also appears on the scene. Life isn’t so complicated when you let people in.
Polly has ‘a nose’ for smells and throughout the book she relates most encounters with their smells. “She is obsessed with how things smell and how they make her feel and the vivid associations between the two”. This can at times be a little tedious as there is so much detail that it takes away from the characters and storyline.
Interspersed through the book are Polly’s fragrantcloud.net blogs that relate to either a memory, an outing she has had that day or family/friends and she lists the scents and perfumes that relate or remind her of the event or person. I really enjoyed these blogs as the perfumes she mentions also reminded me of people who wore it or a period in my life .
The Scent of You is a big book 500 pages but I did enjoy it despite the in depth analysis about scents/smells and perfumes that take up a lot of space.
The emotional roller coaster Polly is on and the friendships she makes by letting people into her life make for a good story.
I thought the author Maggie Alderson sounded familiar, I have one of her older books in my to-read pile! Her new book ‘The Scent of You’ follows Polly who is happily married (well she thought) but finds out her husband has up an mysteriously left for no reason, with no way to contact him. She has 2 children who are at university, a mum who is quite odd at times, and runs a blog about perfume and also teaches yoga classes to some unique characters.
It is quite abrupt having to start figuring yourself out after your partner leaves, and that’s exactly where we follow Polly – she starts to build a new life with some colourful new/old friends (gosh isn’t Shirlee a bit up front!) I felt how lonely and confused Polly was after her husband leaving, however I thought that although she seemed concerned, she wasn’t franticly worried and wondering where he was, she kept thinking it was odd and what was happening, but I know I would sort of be much more worried than I read she was. I did like the turning point as she starts to emerge and grows more personality and engages with more people and activities, this was all written with such ease.
What was different in this book is excerpts from her perfume blog, while interesting and offering a point of view of smells (who knew something could smell like bits of this and bits of that!) I never thought about or realised, I found them hard to read through, but it was her profession so it was interesting as well. Apart from that part for myself, the book as a whole was enjoyable and a good read – something you can take on holiday lounging by the pool. Thanks Beauty and Lace for the lovely read The Scent of you by Maggie Alderson – I must go back and make a start on her other book I have of hers