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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Some violence in historical sequences
Language
Some
Colorful language throughout
Sexual Content
A lot
Explicit sexual content; sexuality is a recurring theme and source of joy in the novel
Substance Use
A lot
Heavy drug and alcohol use in keeping with the counterculture spirit
Emotional Intensity
Some
Irreverent treatment of death, mortality, and religion; the philosophy of pleasure as a virtue
What this book is about
Alobar, an ancient king who has cheated death for thousands of years, and three modern perfumers on three different continents are all pursuing the world's perfect perfume. Robbins's inventive, sexy, philosophical novel is a meditation on mortality, Pan, body odor, and the nature of desire—told with a freewheeling joyfulness and a prose style unlike anything else in American fiction. Eccentric, funny, and surprisingly profound.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Explicit sexual content throughout
Heavy drug and alcohol use
Irreverent treatment of religion and mortality
Reader Verification
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