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

This book sucked me in with its characters and descriptions of perfume making. There were a few bumpy bits and questionable coincidences, but I was crying the last few chapters of the book, glad the very likeable characters were getting happy endings.

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 the 2nd book of a Trilogy. I love the way this author writes about the Indian culture. The first book is the Henna Artist which was so good. The third book is The Perfumist of Paris. I highly recommend these books.

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.

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.

The third book is all about the sister some years later. After giving up her baby Nikki to Laskmis good friends, she went to school in Auckland and met her husband Pierre. They needed up getting married and moving to Paris. She began her work for a company as a perfumist. They have 2 beautiful daughters, a mother in law who tried to help out and a great friend she has since boarding school. But life is not as great as it seems. Her husband is frustrated with her for spending so much time at work and neglecting her “motherly” duties. When she gets asked to head a new project to find scents for “forgotten women” in paintings, she realizes that she really enjoys her job and is not willing to walk away from it that easily. Nikki always is the back of her mind and she misses India. The book had a very slow start. What I mostly enjoyed about the previous books was a little glimpse of India, its culture, food and their relationships. It didn’t get there until more than half way through and the rest of the book was good, but it is my least favorite of the 3.

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.