A beautifully written, clear-eyed investigation of the science of scent and the power of the fragrance industry, from one of Australia's greatest writers.
Kate Grenville is one of Australia's most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River was awarded local and overseas prizes, has been adapted for the stage and as an acclaimed television miniseries, and is now a much-loved classic. Grenville's other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Dark Places and the Orange Prize winner The Idea of Perfection. Her most recent books are two works of non-fiction, One Life: My Mother's Story and The Case Against Fragrance. She has also written three books about the writing process. In 2017 Grenville was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. She lives in Melbourne.
`One spritz of aftershave or perfume can leave other people
retching and clutching their heads-you never see that in the ads.'
* Kaz Cooke *
`Beginning with her own physical reaction to fragrance that begins
with a headache a lot of us know ourselves, she investigates the
fragrance industry and its side-effects and interweaves these facts
with the personal to create an accessible work of non-fiction.' *
ArtsHub *
`By 2015, Grenville was getting headaches from those stinky
diffusers in taxis, from washing powder, from scented candles, and
was sprinting through hotel foyers with a scarf over her nose. But
instead of going mad, Grenville did what she does best: fixed her
intelligent and discerning eye on the problem. This reader started
out sceptical and ended up convinced: we have hardly any idea what
goes into the manufactured smells we surround ourselves with. Read
this, and gasp.' * Courier Mail *
`Fact-dense and extensively referenced, the book is a delight to
read and never gets bogged down...While some of the science has
been simplified, the book generally conveys the sense of it
correctly...Well developed and thoughtful. Read The Case Against
Fragrance and you will never think about fragrance in the same
way again. If you have been suffering fragrance in silence, you
will know you are not alone.' * Conversation *
`In this appealingly written exploration, Kate uncovers the dark
side of the fragrance industry, from the carcinogens in after-shave
to the hormone disruptors in perfume that mimic oestrogen.' * Child
*
`An insightful and frightening book.' * Readings *
`Readable, interesting and informative.' * Big Book Club *
`Grenville expresses hope though that our society will find
solutions to the fragrant violation of personal space based on
courtesy and civility rather than on regulation and policy.' *
Australian Book Review *
`You may be familiar with Australian novelist Kate Grenville's work
but she enters new territory here. After exposure to perfumes and
scents delivered ill-health her way, Grenville got curious as to
why...The result is a fascinating (and worrying) expose of the
potentially damaging health effects of fragrances and the laxity of
their regulation. Grenville digs into the science of scent as well
as the intrigue of a multi-billion-dollar industry and makes it
beautifully accessible in the process.' * WellBeing *
`The Orange Prize-winning novelist's discovery that she reacts
badly to the artificial fragrances all around us led her to
investigate what is in fragrances, what it does to people and
whether it is properly tested for safety...The result is this
accessible and personal book on the science of fragrance' *
Bookseller *
`[Grenville] raises valuable questions about the potentially
harmful chemicals surrounding us every day and why we so
unabashedly live in ignorance of them.' * Reader's Digest UK, Best
New Books to Read This Summer *
`Grenville sets out to unlock the dark science-the volatile
compounds, conspiracies and carcinogens-hiding in perfume, the
ingredients of which are regularly listed as alcohol, water and the
mysterious catch-all "fragrance".' * New Statesman *
`In some places, though, the danger [of fragrance] is beginning to
be taken as seriously as passive smoking 30 years ago...it sounds
silly, until you read Kate Grenville's explosive expose and wonder
why no one ever told you this stuff before.' * Mail on Sunday *
`An accessible, intelligent, seriously researched - and terrifying
- book.' * Daily Mail *
`An accessible, intelligent, seriously researched-and
terrifying-book.' * Daily Mail UK *
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