If I were Luca Turin (forget for a moment that this is a review of his book), I might start this article with a story seemingly unrelated to Folio Columns: 2003-2014. For example, maybe I’d tell you about standing at a confiserie window as a child, pondering the tiny green leaves or dot of red or praline flower adorning each bonbon and guessing at its relationship to the candy’s hidden center. Once you’d finished the article — which has nothing to do with chocolate, by the way — you’d understand that I’d delivered a curious, but apt, way to explore something entirely different.
Fans of Turin’s writing already know this roundabout way of addressing a subject. (They also know to expect a smattering of evocative metaphors as well as frequent references to classical music, scientific theory, and rare automobiles, no matter what the essay’s subject is.) If you enjoy Turin’s perfume reviews in his and Tania Sanchez’s Perfumes: the A-Z Guide for their style at least as much as their insight on fragrance, you’ll definitely want a copy of Folio Columns.
Folio Columns is a collection of Turin’s mini-essays for the Swiss magazine, NZZ Folio. The essays fall into two categories: perfume articles from the magazine’s Duftnote section; and “Either/Or” pieces that present thoughts on things like “war vs. peace,” “flats vs. heels,” and “Liszt vs. Chopin.” Also included are four feature essays not about perfume or face-offs. Altogether, the book holds 139 essays, most of which I’d estimate are about the length of a long blog post, plus a lengthy preface by Tania Sanchez, Turin’s wife and co-author of Perfumes: the A-Z Guide. Turin wrote the essays in English, and they were translated into German for the magazine. Here, they’re in their original English.
After reading Folio Columns, I know Turin and I will never see eye to eye on certain things. (Despite what Turin says, it would be a sad life without tartan and old armchairs.) Plus, Turin’s life is a world apart from mine. He grew up with bowls of Alba truffles on the sideboard, classical music on the stereo, and a mother who wore Diorama. I grew up in a trailer in the woods on powdered milk purchased with food stamps. He's a scientist, and I can barely remember my phone number. He's fluent in three languages, and I'm proficient in Pig Latin.
But in reading Turin's essays, I don’t feel condescended to. I feel that I’m reading a scientist-aesthete’s honest blend of intellect and passion. When Turin criticizes something (check out the book’s review of the movie Perfume), it doesn’t carry the sour tang of snark. Furthermore, I often come away with something to think about (who would have considered that war has an upside, for example?). Each essay is a crafty blend of style and thought, peppered with enticing metaphor and a glimpse into a world messy with children and television and traffic, but glamorous with Sauternes and perfume and foreign locales.
To finish this review in time, I pounded the essays at 25 or so a throw. I don’t recommend it. It’s too much voice and thought at a time — too rich, like ravaging a box of bonbons (to return to the confiserie idea) and ending up swearing to a life of kale and seltzer water, or, in this case, plain-talking journalism. (I can feel the book’s effect on this review, even. My sentences are way more baroque than I usually write them.) I plan on rereading Folio Columns later, bit by bit, maybe only spending the half hour or so at a time that I’d pass with a modest tot of Scotch. The essays need breathing room.
Whether you read them fast or slow, be sure to check out the collection’s last essay, my favorite, called “The Knight.” Not only does it conclude with a juicy footnote, it whets my appetite for something I'd like to read someday: Turin’s memoirs.
Folio Columns: 2003-2014 is available on Kindle for $6.99. (You don’t have to have a Kindle device to read Kindle books, by the way — the Kindle app is free and can be used on tablets, computers, and smart phones.) A paperback version is $13.00 at CreateSpace (and will be on Amazon soon).
Thank you so much for this review, Angela. As noted in your comments, I am one who loves to read “The Guide” as much for style as content, and I’m excited about this collection of essays. I’m especially happy to hear it will soon be available as a book (I’m old-fashioned and have not yet gotten used to reading in electronic rather than paper format, although my fairly recent obsession with perfume blogs is helping).
You’re welcome! I know what you mean about reading digitally. I read a fair amount on my kindle, but sometimes–especially for old detective novels, which usually aren’t on kindle, anyway–I love paper.
Thanks a lot for reviewing this. I love Turin’s style of writing even though I do not always agree with his opinions. He seems to care a lot about the things he writes about and still keep a certain perspective. Glad to hear it’s coming out as a “proper” book as well. I spend enough time behind a screen as it is.
I like how his thoughts wander all over, but somehow cleave to a question or idea about whatever he’s writing about. It’s fun to read.
Lovely review – can’t wait to get my hands on a copy! I love him, and Tania Sanchez, for articulating my purely gut reactions to perfume and giving me ‘permission’ to indulge my passion for it. However, much as I respect them, my beloved comfy chair with vintage tartan throw is where I will sit to enjoy the book.
You said it, sister! I have a pile of vintage tartan fringed Pendleton throws next to my couch, and all my furniture is old. I love the stories that seem to seep from secondhand furniture–and clothes. New furniture stores feel dead to me.
Thank you for the review Angela! This is going on my Christmas wish list I provide my hubby each year 😉
You’re welcome! It’s nice to have a book to curl up with over the holidays.
With me it was the other way around: I ordered the guide after reading the Folio Columns and actually I prefer the latter. The elegance! The style! The intelligence! Very very beautiful indeed. Furthermore it struck me how old fashioned the guide has become since it appearance in 2009. Internet changed everything in fragrance, our perceptions and tastes included. It’s like hearing your grandparents tell how it is and should be and ought to never change.
Was it really in 2009 that the Guide came out? Amazing how time flies…
Do I understand from your review (wonderful by the way) that he doesn’t like old chairs?!? I too knew that he was my polar opposite as this confirms it: re-covering old chairs is a joy for me.
And re: the upside of war, I’m sure Cheney is well aware of war’s upside!
And finally, I’m thrilled, and surprised, that this is so reasonable on Kindle. I’m so used to new releases being $14 to $18 (which I refuse to pay).
In the Either/Or essay about Old v. New Furniture, he says old couches are too full of drama for him. (The essay is put more thoughtfully, of course.) I love the drama!
I know what you mean about wildly expensive new releases. Who wants to buy an ebook when the paperback is cheaper? It’s ridiculous. Except in rare cases, $4.99 is my limit.
Ha! That’s exactly my limit too. But I love to be able to get more expensive ones that I want to read on the Daily Deal for $1.99. It feels like such a bargain! And I like to buy the paperback (or hardback for that matter) used. Often on ebay the shipping is free.
And don’t forget the marvelous library. I read A LOT (I read three books over the weekend, for example) and I adore my library, both for ebooks and hardcopies.
I would just as eagerly welcome a book of Tania Sanchez’s essays! Her P:TG reviews crack me up.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll see one someday.
I agree! I’m on of those who has read the Guide several times, more for the wit than for information on whether I’ll like a perfume (for that I read the reviews here!). And I was just thinking 1. I’ll definitely get this but 2. I will miss the Sanchez! I felt that their two voices balanced so nicely. The cover makes me laugh a bit, it is so serious. Anyway though I will definitely get this. Love his writing!
I hope you enjoy the book even sans Sanchez! It’s definitely–well, for the most part–more serious than the perfume reviews, but thought provoking.
Reading Turin I always get the impression that he is trying to ‘tell’ me something rather than ‘inviting’ me to explore, or go on a perfume journey with him. I think this has something to do with the sureness (and sameness) of his tone of voice but it may also have something to do with not being a perfume creator. Personally, I prefer Jean-Claude Ellena’s writing as it allows for a greater sense of discovery, bafflement, self-doubt, and skill/experience so the observations are more delicate and acute. To me, Turin’s work is focused on methods and result whereas Ellena’s focus is the unfolding narrative.
What an interesting observation! I read Ellena’s Diary of a Perfumer and really liked it. It gave me a deeper appreciation of his fragrances–especially Jour d’Hermes.
I need this.
That’s easy to fix…
Seemingly so, but… …I cannot find it at CreateSpace. Is it still too early maybe?
Thanks for this review! Can’t wait to read it once I get my hands on the paperback version.
Ehum, can reply to myself here. Maybe someone else did the same mistake as I did and only searched on the “site” not in the “store”.
I will crawl back to the hole I came from now…
I’m glad you found it! Sometimes when a book is published through Createspace it takes a while for it to show up on the general Amazon website.
I did not know there was a Kindle app for other devices. Thanks SO MUCH for mentioning it! I was seriously thinking of buying a Kindle just to read Folio Columns. Now I’ve got the app, bought the book, and have a happy evening ahead. I had read some of the preview stuff on Amazon and loved it. I’m especially looking forward to reading LT when he’s not reviewing a single fragrance. Those pieces are even more eclectic and fun. 🙂
You’re welcome! I think a lot of people don’t realize that you don’t need a kindle to read a “kindle” book. I’m glad it worked out, and I hope you enjoyed your evening!
Your sentences are lovely, and sometimes we need to read something really well written (especially these days with fast food language!), just to remember how to think and digest fully fleshed out thoughts that may enhance or challenge our own. I don’t agree with all Turin’s fragrance reviews, but I certainly enjoyed reading them. I think I’ll have to check this book out for some interesting reading.
I definitely agree with you about savoring language. I’d love to know what you think of the book!
I get so many good ideas about books to read from this blog! Novels, reviews, behind the scenes, any tangental topic. Thanks I have already put it on my wish list. The only thing I need is more time to read!
I know what you mean! Sunday was dark and rainy where I live, so I cooked and read all afternoon, and it was heaven.
Forgot to say: the glimpse you allowed me on your youth also made a fascinating story. I am a European living a typical European life, a bit like Turin, and ‘trailer park’ is something very exotic and far far away for me. It must not have been easy to gain access to some stuff, like classical literature and culture (or is that condescending? What do I know…)
I’ve never thought of a trailer upbringing as “exotic”–you cast an intriguing light on it! Libraries and a few good teachers were my entrée to a world beyond Hamburger Helper. I suppose nowadays the internet would give kids a portal to a different life.