I love Alka Joshi’s books. I wrote about The Henna Artist A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick (The Jaipur Trilogy 1) and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur (The Jaipur Trilogy Book 2) and her new book, The Perfumist of Paris (The Jaipur Trilogy Book 3) is available TODAY!
The Perfumist of Paris takes readers to 1970s Paris where Radha, a passionate assistant perfumer is trying to navigate her home life while building her career one scent at a time. Radha travels back to India in search of essential oils for her first major project and enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra. During her olfactory journey, her senses are awakened by India’s vibrant majestic flora, woods, herbs, and spices. Due to its unique biodiversity, India cultivates dozens of natural ingredients used in modern perfumery today, sourced from as far south as Kerala’s spice gardens to Aligarh’s northern flower fields.
Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Alka Joshi has lived in the United States since the age of nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of the Arts. She ran her own advertising and PR agency for 20 years. At 62, her debut novel, The Henna Artist, became an instant NYTimes Bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Bookclub pick, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, translated into 26 languages and is being developed into a series by Netflix. The sequel, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, is also being translated into multiple languages and the third book in the Jaipur trilogy, The Perfumist of Paris, will be released TODAY!
New York Times Bestselling Author Alka Joshi Enlists LilaNur Parfums for ‘The Perfumist of Paris’ Book Tour
The discovery set offers readers of Alka Joshi’s upcoming novel a multi-sensorial understanding of main character Radha’s journey as a fledgling female perfumer in the ’70s.
FROM MS. MAGAZINE: 8 BOOKS THAT WILL TRANSPORT YOU:
While author Alka Joshi’s story starts in 1955 in Jaipur, India, I have to admit some of her descriptions reminded me of my travels there in 2013. I spent three months on the public bus traversing the sub-continent—and her descriptions of the colorful saris, delicate samosas and other tasty treats reminded all my senses (especially my sense of smell) of my adventures.
Women’s lives are intertwined from the village, to town, from one town to another and one life to another. The way that boys become men, and men act like boys, causes many dramas and traumas in this tale. The women find ways to run away from one life but are often surprised by the ways it catches up to you.