You or Someone Like You by Chandler Burr

You or Someone Like You by Chandler Burr

I don't find this novel's title or cover art particularly appealing.¹ My familiarity with the author² was the only reason I checked You or Someone Like You out to read on my Nook.

At the outset of Burr's roots as an author of nonfiction are clear. He begins with a three-page author's note,³ in which he explains exactly to what extent his fiction is fictional. I did read the author's note (I don't always) and it seemed like overkill to me. A result the author's discomfort with the medium? a mark of our litigious society? However, now that I've finished the novel, I see why he included the note. The entire novel revolves around something that happens to one of the characters. Because of the virulence this incident and its consequences provokes (in the characters and, possibly, in the novel's readers), it was important for the author to ground the event in reality, to affirm that it wasn't something he dreamed up simply to torture his characters.

I have decidedly mixed feelings about You or Someone Like You. I loved how literary it was. The novel is filled with books and references to authors and their various works and it made me want to reread some titles and tackle other authors for the first time. Burr makes some wonderfully astute observations about both literature and the human condition. He also incorporates a bevy of real-life characters (mostly film industry people) in walk-on roles. Some readers will love this aspect of You or Someone Like You, but it didn't do much for me considering that I didn't always recognize the individuals featured.

I do think, though, that Burr was a bit too focused on the moral of his story. Towards the end of You or Someone Like You Burr effectively mutes one of the key characters, allowing the righteous indignation of another to completely swamp the narrative. In doing this Burr is likely to alienate his readers as effectively as his protagonist alienates her acquaintances. There's also the moral itself, which some readers will appreciate and others will find impossible to tolerate.

You or Someone Like You would definitely make for an interesting book club discussion.

1. Actually, I really don't like the cover. I find both the people pictured on it a bit unnerving
2. I'd read and enjoyed The Perfect Scent (see post).
3. He also includes source notes after the concluding chapter

The Perfect Scent

The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr

As the book's subtitle suggests, The Perfect Scent is the story of "a year inside the perfume industry in Paris and New York". Author Chandler Burr is the scent critic for The New York Times (a scent critic! I'd never heard of such a thing, but of course it makes sense that there are people whose job it is to critique perfume).

In The Perfect Scent, Burr shows readers the perfume industry from the inside. In it, he chronicles the development of two very distinct perfumes--in two different environments--over the course of the year. The first, is Hermés' Un Jardin sur le Nil (I'm so intrigued by this one - I need to get myself to a high-end department store so I can smell it for myself), the second, Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely (which is on the scented bookmark that accompanied my copy of the book).

Honestly I wasn't sure whether I'd like this book. These types of industry profiles can be fascinating or boring. While The Perfect Scent isn't a page turner, it is a very interesting read. Though the narrative is occasionally too personal and his technical explanations are sometimes too detailed, Burr is a very good writer. He knows his subject, he's opinionated (I love his descriptions of "bad" perfumes - actually I like his perfume descriptions in general), and he's passionate about educating consumers.

The Perfect Scent made me want to go smell out a perfume for myself. It confirmed some of my preconceptions about the industry, and dismantled others. Most importantly it intrigued me. It made me think about perfume, which is not something I normally do, and it helped me to understand what's behind a good scent.