Emperor of Scent: A Story

¶ … Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses by Chandler Burr. Specifically it will contain a book review of the book. "The Emperor of Scent" is a book about smells, odors, and how we as humans perceive them, and about a man who uncovered a new theory of smell.

This book follows the life of Luca Turin, a professor absolutely obsessed with the sense of smell and perfumes. His obsession began at a young age, and became his specialty in his teaching. He wrote a manuscript about perfumes, and became the leading authority on smell and odors. The author writes, "The book, called simply Parfums: LeGuide, was published in 1992 and became the best-selling perfume guide in France. Perhaps it was the fact that no one had ever done anything quite like it" (Burr 38). The book also shows Turin's struggle to be taken seriously, and the second half of the book illustrates today's big business of perfume and scent, and how much of it has nothing to do with smells at all. The author notes, "[The big fragrance firms take L'Air du Temps and wreck it by having an accountant redraw the formula to take out the expensive ingredients and substitute cheap ones'" (Burr 210). He is taken advantage of by many large perfume and chemical companies, and ends up working on another scientific theory after many people dismiss him as a crank. However, he believes his theory works, has proved it to himself, and has moved on, and that is what this book is about.

Yes, I believe the book was written at a level I could understand. However, I do not think the author wrote the book for the casual reader. For example, he writes, "In fact, molecular recognition is arguably the fundamental mechanism of all life, and it is based on this single, universal principle: Shape" (Burr 6). I think that is actually a statement that explains the idea quite simply and eloquently. However, the casual reader might find some of the text confusing and hard to understand, so I think a background in organic chemistry and spectroscopy is helpful when reading this book.

If I were organizing a conference on the theory of smell, I would certainly include Luca Turin as one of the invited lecturers! He is charming, irreverent, and an expert and his lecture would certainly entertain and enlighten the audience. He unearthed a new theory of smell; not to include him would be a disservice to anyone attending the conference. Of course, he would cause a reaction, because he is strong and opinionated. He says, "When I wrote the perfume guide, most of my readers were gay men, and most of my acquaintances assumed I was gay, which I'm not, not that I give a damn. Real men don't smell things. It's a female thing" (Burr 12). That would make him an even more compelling choice for the conference. He would generate interest, some controversy, and entertain at the same time.