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kdurham2's review against another edition
5.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Two storylines one in 1936 and one in 2001 and unlike others with dual narratives, these two storylines are easily intertwined and that isn't the unknown in this book. Three generations of women in this book - Freya is the grandmother who lived through a rough time in Spain, Liberty is the middle generation and as of the beginning of the story has passed away and it has affected both her mother and the final woman in this trio, her daughter, Emma, who is pregnant with the next generation and is trying to deal with a lot of changes in her life both personal and professional.
The one thing that I adore about reading historical fiction is to learn something without feeling like I had a text book handed to me - the Spanish Civil War of 1936. I really didn't know much about this and don't tell my history teachers, but maybe I missed those days in school! Although I didn't know much about the war, I loved reading these chapters, they had story and content and history - so good!
Two storylines one in 1936 and one in 2001 and unlike others with dual narratives, these two storylines are easily intertwined and that isn't the unknown in this book. Three generations of women in this book - Freya is the grandmother who lived through a rough time in Spain, Liberty is the middle generation and as of the beginning of the story has passed away and it has affected both her mother and the final woman in this trio, her daughter, Emma, who is pregnant with the next generation and is trying to deal with a lot of changes in her life both personal and professional.
The one thing that I adore about reading historical fiction is to learn something without feeling like I had a text book handed to me - the Spanish Civil War of 1936. I really didn't know much about this and don't tell my history teachers, but maybe I missed those days in school! Although I didn't know much about the war, I loved reading these chapters, they had story and content and history - so good!
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
I won this one ages ago, so long that I have forgotten from who, and I never got to it. Not before I decided to try it in the car. It did take me 1,5 months, but it worked, sort of good, outside noise, ugh.
I haven't really read anything about the Spanish civil war, horrific, how does one even forgive and forget? The answer here was they decided to forget cos it was so horrible,
Emma is preggo, and goes to a rundown house in Spain. Her looser ex, oh yes I will call him that, cos damn girl, you deserve better! He cheated on her cos she was away too much, boohoo. Also the woman he cheated with was their mutual friend, and a bigger bitch I have not met. Gods, she was the worst.
Emma finds herself again in Spain, and love
Flashbacks are of her grandmother Freya and her brother Charles during the war. And seeeeecrets.
It worked well the way I listened to it. It was interesting even if some characters felt a bit over the top. Like her bitch friend who stole her looser man. And this horrible creep Freya encounters in her time.
Good narration, but it took some time to get used to Emma, she had this weird naive, and whispering voice for her.
I haven't really read anything about the Spanish civil war, horrific, how does one even forgive and forget? The answer here was they decided to forget cos it was so horrible,
Emma is preggo, and goes to a rundown house in Spain. Her looser ex, oh yes I will call him that, cos damn girl, you deserve better! He cheated on her cos she was away too much, boohoo. Also the woman he cheated with was their mutual friend, and a bigger bitch I have not met. Gods, she was the worst.
Emma finds herself again in Spain, and love
Flashbacks are of her grandmother Freya and her brother Charles during the war. And seeeeecrets.
It worked well the way I listened to it. It was interesting even if some characters felt a bit over the top. Like her bitch friend who stole her looser man. And this horrible creep Freya encounters in her time.
Good narration, but it took some time to get used to Emma, she had this weird naive, and whispering voice for her.
elizzy_91's review against another edition
3.0
"Ich glaube an die Liebe, das Leben und an das Streben nach Glück" S. 261
Die Geschichte spielt in zwei verschiedenen Zeiten. Einmal dreht sich alles um den zweiten Weltkrieg und denn Kampf gegen Franco und in der eigentlichen Erzähl-Zeit geht es um den 11. September. Die Geschichten sind aber wunderbar miteinander verbunden und nach jedem Kapitel will man wissen, was im nächsten passiert. Ausserdem wird in diesem Buch sehr mit den Düften gespielt, es wird oft beschrieben, wie es gerade riecht, eine wirklich interessante Schreibweise. Gegen Ende wird das Buch für meinen Geschmack aber zu sehr in die Länge gezogen.
jennbell19's review against another edition
4.0
Slow start, but once it picked up I found myself really caring about the characters and the stories
mdodds11's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I would have liked this, but I couldn't get into it...
agjuba's review against another edition
2.0
I normally like books that alternate between two time periods, and I recently became interested in the Spanish Civil War. Based on these 2 facts, I was expecting to love this book. Instead, I found the characters to be thinly developed, and the editing to be poor. (For example, we're introduced to Charles in chapter 5 and told that "his empty left sleeve, pinned at the elbow, swung against his side." And then only 10 paragraphs later, the author tells us that "he dug his hands into the stretched pockets of his navy cardigan.") With such an obvious error as that, I found it hard to take much of the rest of the book seriously.
bookpaperraven's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. It’s felt a bit dull until the last 100 pages.It was often hard to tell what was happening within chapters because the scene would flip to a memory without it being clear that’s what occurred and then would flip back, with no indication. Even a change of font would have helped. Point of view flip flopped a lot, even within a scene it could be hard to tell who was the narrator but it was not presented in an omniscient tense. I also didn’t understand why Emma referred to her mother and grandmother as Freya and Liberty in her thoughts, but not when she actually spoke to them. All of these issues ruined the book for me. But I did learn about pre WWII Spain, so I didn’t come out of the book with nothing at least.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
The Perfume Garden – Valencia – Kate Lord Brown
Full booktrail with map Booktrail of the Perfume Garden
For a novel that evokes all the senses – a story of the Spanish Civil war, a perfume Garden and a woman looking for answers
Place and setting
The setting of the novel is both heartbreaking and poignant since the legacy of the past comes back to haunt Emma as she attempts to revive her grandmother’s house where she stayed during the Civil War. The whitewashed walls contain secrets and unspoken words – flashbacks from the present day to 1936 show the house and its meaning in different times and highlight the escalating horror in Spain and especially in Valencia ‘The land of flowers, light and love” which perfect for Emma in the present day as a perfumier and her wish to revive The Perfume Garden as a memory to her mother and grandmother.
Key places and events are evoked here with Valencia, Madrid and Guadalajara (where Freya was a nurse) and Morata de Tajuna in Jarama amongst others where the field hospital was, showing the extent and nature of the Spanish Civil War.
Buoyed by the thought that perfume evokes such strong memories and hope, the novel evokes a strong sense of smell with the flowery notes of orange blossom and neroli coming from every turn of the page.
And we’re not just talking flowers in the perfumed garden, you could recreate this novel quite easily by walking around Valencia, its Quart Tower (Torres de Quart), the streets, parks and Plaza del Ayuntamiento, sampling chocolate con churros and a coffee at a local cafe. Maybe read a poem by Garcia Lorca or a novel by Hemingway as both make an ‘appearance’ of sorts.
History is all around us – and using the five senses we can experience it in this novel.
Full booktrail with map Booktrail of the Perfume Garden
For a novel that evokes all the senses – a story of the Spanish Civil war, a perfume Garden and a woman looking for answers
Place and setting
The setting of the novel is both heartbreaking and poignant since the legacy of the past comes back to haunt Emma as she attempts to revive her grandmother’s house where she stayed during the Civil War. The whitewashed walls contain secrets and unspoken words – flashbacks from the present day to 1936 show the house and its meaning in different times and highlight the escalating horror in Spain and especially in Valencia ‘The land of flowers, light and love” which perfect for Emma in the present day as a perfumier and her wish to revive The Perfume Garden as a memory to her mother and grandmother.
Key places and events are evoked here with Valencia, Madrid and Guadalajara (where Freya was a nurse) and Morata de Tajuna in Jarama amongst others where the field hospital was, showing the extent and nature of the Spanish Civil War.
Buoyed by the thought that perfume evokes such strong memories and hope, the novel evokes a strong sense of smell with the flowery notes of orange blossom and neroli coming from every turn of the page.
And we’re not just talking flowers in the perfumed garden, you could recreate this novel quite easily by walking around Valencia, its Quart Tower (Torres de Quart), the streets, parks and Plaza del Ayuntamiento, sampling chocolate con churros and a coffee at a local cafe. Maybe read a poem by Garcia Lorca or a novel by Hemingway as both make an ‘appearance’ of sorts.
History is all around us – and using the five senses we can experience it in this novel.
margaret_j_c's review against another edition
2.0
I guess the biggest bone I have to pick with this book is that it was so predictable. Every plot point felt like one I'd read a dozen times before. The characters were ill-developed and not given enough screentime for the reader to come to know them. The main character, Emma, was rather bland and two-dimensional. A lot of the dialogue was clunky and cringe-worthy, and a few times I found myself wondering how the more amateur bits made it past an editor's eye. I love the setting and the concept of a novel about perfume, it just didn't live up to what I felt like it could have been.
mandyb_75's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book! I almost stopped at the beginning because the characters weren't making sense to me as each chapter goes back and forth from the 1930's to present day. Once it grabbed me, I was captivated.