I would also recommend this book for those who enjoy epic love stories. I highly recommend Jitterbug Perfume for anyone who enjoys fiction of any kind, books about drug culture or mysticism or perfume. Or at least take a little magic when you leave. Which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesnt conclude until nine oclock tonight (Paris time). When they are taking you to worlds just off from ours, our world but different, more vibrant and more magical, it’s hard not to want to stay there. I think his secret lies in how his books make you feel completely transported.

I was struck this reading by how many passages were gross to me, but compelling. It’s hard to describe Robbins writing, at once flowery and brutal, mystical and visceral. But at it’s core, and the core of most of his novels, it is a love story. It literally spans over a thousand years.

Jitterbug Perfume is one of my favorites of Robbins novels bc it is an epic tale. If I’m having trouble getting in to new books reading an old favorite often help me get back in the groove. Which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesn’t conclude until nine o’clock tonight (Paris time). If I see a one at a book sale, yard sale, or free for, I have to take it! Books like this, I love bc they are very helpful in kickstarting a good reading habit. I can’t remember where I got it, but his books are those that I can never leave behind. The copy I read this time was pretty beat up. His fantastical but solid writing style reminds us to find the magic in the everyday, the whimsical in the mundane, the love in ourselves and others and in nature. It’s a great book to read every few years, as are all Robbins early novels. I’ve probably read this book a dozen times. Alobar, the immortal king, Priscilla, the genius waitress, Pan, the goat god, perfumers, shamans, monks, psychedelicists, and beekeepers are only a few of the people you’ll meet through this fantastic love story. Robbins 4th novel spans time and space, myth and reality, love and loss, gods and men, and does a jitterbug the whole way.

Jitterbug perfume book review