Alka Joshi's lush third novel, The Perfumist of Paris, takes readers on a multi-sensory journey from a pristine Parisian perfume lab to the bustling markets of Agra in India. Following the story that began with The Henna Artist and continued with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, Joshi explores the ways in which her characters have evolved, and the impact of long-held family secrets on their lives several decades later.

Radha Fontaine (whom readers met in The Henna Artist) spent her childhood following her older sister, Lakshmi, around Jaipur, mixing henna for Lakshmi's clients and--eventually--getting tangled up with a rich, careless boy. As the title of this third book indicates, she's now a grown woman and a budding perfumist in 1974 Paris, married with two young daughters, Asha and Shanti. Radha loves her work, though her dedication to it is increasingly a source of conflict with her French architect husband, Pierre. Determined to prove herself at work, she accepts an exciting assignment that requires her to travel back to India, and she enlists Lakshmi's help to track down rare ingredients that will make her perfume something special. Lakshmi, now happily married and working alongside her doctor husband in Shimla, joins Radha on a trip to Agra, where they visit a pair of aging courtesans who know all about perfume--and managing difficult men.

During her time in Agra, Radha is able not only to find key ingredients for her perfume, but to reconnect with Lakshmi. Readers who are familiar with Joshi's world will appreciate the glimpse into Lakshmi's life in Shimla with her husband, Dr. Jay. The two sisters are also able to talk about some difficult things from their past--to reckon with the impossible choices they were forced to make, and to begin to move forward. As Lakshmi reminds Radha, the measure of a person cannot always be found in the past or the future, but in "the fundamental changes we make within ourselves over a lifetime."

Though Radha's story is set nearly half a century ago, her struggle to carve out a life for herself while fulfilling her role in her family feels sharply contemporary. Pierre's entrenched, traditional ideas of a woman's role and responsibility to her family cause him to clash with Radha, who grew up watching Lakshmi model entrepreneurship and independence as a single woman in Jaipur. Radha's stern French mother-in-law, Florence, also doesn't hesitate to make her disapproval known. However, a series of revelations changes the relationship between the two women, and ultimately makes Florence a much more sympathetic character.

At work, Radha has another feminist example in master perfumer Delphine, who expects excellence from all her perfumers but also gives Radha occasional wise (if oblique) advice. When Radha travels to Agra with Lakshmi, the courtesans--Lakshmi's old friends--model a different type of female independence. Aware of the stereotypes around their profession, but sharp-eyed and fiercely proud, these elderly women also help inspire Radha to continue forging her own path. When Radha suspects someone is sabotaging her major perfume project, she must find the culprit to protect not only herself, but the courtesans, who have given generously of their time, knowledge and connections.

Radha longs to help her daughters connect to the Indian heritage they share, but is unsure of how to bring it into their lives. Her wrestling with this tension also prompts some self-reflection on how hard she has tried to assimilate to her new culture: "Sometimes, I marvel at how different my life is today. Back in Ajar, I slept on a hard-packed dirt floor instead of a down mattress. I had to draw water from a well and heat the water over a clay hearth. Here, I turn on a tap and hot water magically appears. After thirteen years I've grown used to these daily comforts." When she returns to Paris, Radha must decide what kind of changes--and sacrifices--she is willing to make to have the life she wants, and tension in her marriage threatens to boil over, just as a secret from her past in India shows up in her living room.

Joshi's narrative bursts with sensory details, including the scents of the perfume ingredients Radha creates and the mid-century details of the apartment she shares with Pierre and the girls. The cacophony of color, sound and scent in India contrasts sharply with the sterility of Radha's perfume lab, but Joshi (like Radha) moves skillfully between settings. Equally compelling is Radha's constant inner dialogue about balancing work, marriage and motherhood: she wants to be a good wife to Pierre and an attentive mother to her daughters, but she also needs the satisfaction and creative outlet provided by her job.

Beautifully written and thought-provoking, The Perfumist of Paris continues a compelling family saga, immerses readers in the world of perfume, and asks important questions about the desires and possibilities available to women. --Katie Noah Gibson

(photo: Garry Bailey)

Alka Joshi is the author of the Jaipur Trilogy, which includes The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. Born in India, she has lived in the U.S. for many years. Before turning to fiction, she worked in advertising and PR for three decades. The Perfumist of Paris (Mira, March 28, 2023), the third book in the trilogy, focuses on Radha, the younger sister of eponymous henna artist Lakshmi, as she balances motherhood, marriage and a career as a perfumer in 1970s Paris.

What was the inspiration for The Perfumist of Paris? We've met Radha in two previous books, but how did you decide to give her her own story?

This trilogy evolved over time. I didn't know I was writing a trilogy at first! Malik [Lakshmi's assistant] was a character who just kept bugging me. There was a lot of his story that got cut in The Henna Artist, and I hated doing that to him. I had pages and scenes that never made it into the book, so I decided to tell his story, and that became The Secret Keeper of Jaipur.

Meanwhile, Radha [Lakshmi's younger sister] graduated from boarding school and married a Parisian. When I finished The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, I thought: I need to say something about Radha and where she went. Her career had also advanced during that period. That's when the third book was born.

Radha's character is fascinated by perfume. How does this fascination--which ultimately leads to her career--connect her both to her home in India and her new home in Paris?

I had to start researching perfume and where it's produced, where the ingredients come from, and so many of them come from India! I was so pleasantly surprised by that. Sandalwood, jasmine, spices, hundred-petal rose–all these ingredients come from that part of the world. I love research because I find out all kinds of interesting things.

I still wanted Radha to connect with Lakshmi somehow in this third book, but what does Lakshmi know about perfume? Not much. But the courtesans, who helped Lakshmi figure out how to decorate bodies with henna, know all about perfume. These courtesans in India had accumulated so much wealth over time because of their wealthy patrons, and they helped finance the independence movement in India, beginning with the mutiny of 1857. The British never forgot the courtesans' involvement, so the British began taxing them heavily so they wouldn't have that kind of wealth. I also found out that in the courtesans' world, it's their daughters who inherit everything. Their sons have to go outside of the haveli to make their own lives.

We see Radha struggling to balance career and motherhood in a way that feels very contemporary. What has changed for women in this regard since the 1970s?

I know so many people who are dealing with this issue. One of the things I'm trying to say in this book is--it's been five decades! Why are we still struggling with this? Why do we still have women who feel torn between motherhood and career? Women carry most of the emotional burden of this problem. The 1960s and early '70s were the time when there was a lot of revolution happening--first here in the States and then in Europe. Women were going out into the workplace, abandoning this idea of having to stay home. They started realizing: it's not fair to me as a person to make me half of a person.

Radha must go back to India to find the ingredients and scents she wants to add to her perfume. Can you tell us about your research on these ingredients?

I went to Paris, I went to Lisbon, I went to Grasse [in France]. I talked to a lot of master perfumers. I looked on Airbnb for the apartment I had envisioned for Radha and Pierre with their daughters. I wanted wood floors, high beamed ceilings, tall windows. I found it! It has all this Le Corbusier furniture in it, and I lived there for two weeks. So I knew: it's this far to Notre Dame, which is where they go to look at the gargoyles, and it's this far to the Eiffel Tower, and this is where the girls are going to school. I think that kind of detail immerses your readers in a kind of travelogue. Fun fact: my first trip to Paris was in 1974--the year that the story is set.

Although Radha often feels like a loner, the novel highlights her deep and complex relationships with other women: Lakshmi, the courtesans, her friend Mathilde, her mother-in-law, Florence, her boss Delphine. In what ways do Radha's relationships with other women help her discover who she truly is?

I think women do have very complicated relationships, much more complicated than men. I think women are far more selective in their friendships, and little things their female friends do can impact them. They're very cognizant of everything a female friend does and says. Radha feels one way about Florence until she learns the full story, and then she feels a different way and feels a kinship with her. With Delphine, Radha needed a mentor to help her get up through the ranks--men were not going to help her. Delphine does not spend time worrying about what other people think. And Delphine is so private that we don't know much about her until the very end. Mathilde is very interesting because she has everything we think a woman needs: money, free time, independence. At the point where Mathilde really needs Radha to help her, Radha is not there for her, and there's a lot of guilt there.

Radha's relationship with Lakshmi has also changed over the years: they are more sisters and friends than they were. You find out that Radha has been holding onto a lot of pain. Even with someone that we're really close to, we can be holding onto something that has caused us a lot of pain.

As in all of my books, this is about women finding themselves: finding their agency in this world, finding their power, and also determining what part of their relationships are serving them, and which parts are not. We all get stuck in a way of being, and it's something that Radha has to work through. --Katie Noah Gibson