He will judge the 2017 veterans writing prize and announce the winner at the event. Now butler has returned to vietnam for inspiration. Perfume river fairfax county public library overdrive. She cried while maurer signed the book, and she was crying when she left the bookstore without saying a. A great crowd mills along the river, grenouille among them on the right bank. Minnesotas michael maurer wrote vietnam war book to save. The vietnam war still has a hold on the fiction of robert. On this night, at his insistence, robert and darla go to their studies and work, he being all right, his father being eightyeight, after all, his mother bearing up just fine. The girl from perfume river by ds holmes nook book ebook. But with some compelling characters, butler pulls it all together into a story thats both complex and.
Robert olen butlers perfume river is haunted by the. A remarkable novel about secrets, desire, memory, passion, and possibility. Robert quinlan and his wife darla teach at florida state university. When robert dashes out of a banyan tree, a needlethin compression of air zips past his head.
From one of americas most important writers, the pulitzer prizewinning author of a good scent from a strange mountain, comes perfume river, an exquisite novel that examines family ties and the legacy of the vietnam war through the portrait of a single north florida family. Perfume river by robert olen butler lonesome reader. Perfume river ocean state libraries ezone overdrive. Robert olen butler on perfume river at book expo america. Butlers prose is polished and supple, his elegant voice capable of shifting from academia to the whoosh and blare of combat, then to the. He decides to test it in the town and finds that the townsfolk regard him as a normal person now that he smells. Joined by fellow vietnam veteran tim obrien, butler brings a strong veteran presence to the 2017 festival. Their marriage, forged in the fervor of antivietnam war protests, now bears. Perfume river holds the reader tight as the action moves to its conclusion. Profound and poignant, perfume river is an examination of relationships, personal choice, and how war resonates down the generations. Though compact, the book ranges widely in time and setting to trace the effects of war primarily the vietnam conflict on several generations of a new orleans family.
Butlers novel is a model for this heartbreaking simplicity and grace. Perfume river by robert olen butler overdrive rakuten. Robert olen butlers perfume river explores allure of vietnam. Robert olen butler is the pulitzer prizewinning author of seventeen novels, including hell, a small hotel, perfume river, and the christopher marlowe cobb. Enough time has passed since viet nam that its grave human lessons and heartbreaks can be with a measure of genius almost simply stated. Perfume river by robert olen butler narrative magazine. Robert olen butlers perfume river a moving story of.
This novel was written by someone who had been there, and it was written so very realistic. Butler figured that meant 240 words worth, and compiled 62 stories at exactly that length. In his pulitzer prizewinning story collection, a good scent from a strange. Newlywed grace monroe doesnt fit anyones expectations of a successful 1950s london socialite, least of all her own. Robert olen butlers perfume river is haunted by the vietnam war. It is the finest novel yet from the pulitzer prizewinning author of a good scent from a strange mountain. Susan larson, wwno, the reading life an extraordinary novel. Maurer is the awardwinning author of perfume river nights june 2016, a novel that has drawn praise from natalie goldberg, author of writing down the bones and the great spring, as well as from mary logue, author of the claire watkins mystery series. The story follows jeanbaptiste grenouille, an unloved orphan in 18th. Robert olen butler robert quinlan is a seventyyearold historian teaching at florida state university, where his wife darla is also tenured. Robert quinlan is a seventyyearold historian, teaching at florida.
From one of americas most important writers, perfume river is an exquisite novel that examines family ties and the legacy of the vietnam war through the. Butlers elegant return to literary fiction proves his skill and grace once again. Butler is a longtime faculty member in the creative writing program at florida state university. The novel explores the sense of smell and its relationship with the emotional meanings that scents may have. It took me a while to get comfortable with the rhythm and style of writing of this book which flits back and forth between thoughts and memories and deals with the issues of guilt and. He returns to these themes in perfume river, a heartbreaking story of fathers and sons and their expectations and disappointments. Robert quinlan is a 70yearold historian, teaching at florida state university, where his wife darla is also tenured. When she receives an unexpected inheritance from a complete stranger, madame eva d. The book reads beautifully, seamlessly moving through points of view and effortless flashbacks, which round out the brothers beforeandafter emotions, twisted.
Ive read and admired short fiction by robert olen butler in the past so i was highly intrigued to read his new novel perfume river. Butler is a longtime faculty member in the creative. Sep 18, 2017 robert olen butler, a finalist for the 2017 dayton literary peace prize for perfume river, is a featured author at the 2017 south dakota festival of books. Perfume river is a completely different kettle of fish to the other robert olen butler novels that i have read.
Their marriage, forged in the fervor of antivietnam war protests, now bears the fractures of time, both personal and historical, with. Perfume river is an elegiac novel about the aftermath of the war in the lives of two brothers one who served and another who left the country to make a new life in canada. Robert quinlan is a seventyyearold historian, teaching at florida state university, where his wife, darla, is also tenured. The disheveled mans story, which butler revisits throughout the book, feels extraneous, but perfume river is a powerful work that asks profound questions about betrayal and loyalty. Perfume river digital downloads collaboration overdrive. Like his pulitzer winning a good scent from a strange mountain, his latest novel explores the collision of cultures and how. Robert olen butler discusses perfume river with pbs newshour correspondent jeffrey brown at book expo america 2016. The novels title refers to the river in hue where robert was pulled into pleasures and perils he has never shared with anyone. What i so like about perfume river is its plainlyput elegance. Perfume river nights is a superb novel of the american infantry in vietnam, and i highly recommend it.
Oct 09, 2016 robert olen butlers perfume river explores allure of vietnam. As he prepares to leave, he catches a whisper of a delicate scent that nearly eludes him. Although his work has explored that war a number of times, his new novel, perfume river, delivers his most reflective view of it. Perfume summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Sep 25, 2016 perfume river by robert olen butler 273 pp. Maurer for writing such a powerful book to help me understand what it really felt like to be there.
Perfume river pinellas public library cooperative overdrive. Robert olen butlers vietnam south dakota humanities council. The marquis next lecture is a sensation, as grenouilles perfume garners sympathy from the audience. It would be much the same this day, and grenouilles mother, who was still a young woman, barely in her midtwenties, and who still was quite pretty and. Perfume river is a powerful work that asks profound questions about betrayal and loyalty. Butlers assured, elegant novel explores a family fractured by the vietnam war as its members face the losses of age. The perfume grenouille creates is a faux human scent. On september 1, 1753, paris sets off fireworks to celebrate the anniversary of the kings coronation. In perfume river, butler continues in his sensitive, highly nuanced, roaming style to explore the repercussions the vietnam war has had on its american veterans, their families and their relationships. The woman picked up michael maurers novel perfume river nights and started to cry. The girl from perfume river by ds holmes nook book. A profound and poignant novel that continues butlers exploration of america, war, and the family, as begun in a good scent from a strange mountain and a small hotel, perfume river is a powerful and moving portrait of the challenges of close relationships, the resonance of personal choice, and the american experience. Robert quinlan is a seventyyearold historian, teaching at florida state university, where his wife darla is also tenured. If i were still teaching a class on the war, id use this novel as a text and the class would learn a lot from it.
Being pigeonholed puts creative handcuffs on an artist, musician, or novelist, stultifying the artistic instinct. Once again, butler has written a meaningful novel for the vietnam war generation. Darla appreciates the chance to massage her notes from the day. Perfume river nights astounded me with all of the horrors of the vietnam war. Perfume river pikes peak library district overdrive.
Robert quinlan is a seventyyearold historian teaching at florida state university, where his wife darla is also tenured. Robert olen butler, a finalist for the 2017 dayton literary peace prize for perfume river, is a featured author at the 2017 south dakota festival of books. Perfume river tells a human story that sums up an entire era of american life. Their marriage, forged in the fervor of antivietnamwar protests, now. Perfume river another modern american classic robert olen butler in my mind is one of the best american authors of the moment, whose novels and short stories are second to none and easy to see why he is a pulitzer prize winner. From one of americas most important writers, perfume river is an exquisite novel that examines family ties and the legacy of the vietnam war through the portrait of a single north florida family. From album a feast of consequences 20 this feature is not available right now. Robert olen butlers perfume river explores allure of. Perfume river is an elegiac novel about the aftermath of the war in the lives of two brothers one who served and another who left the country to make a new life in canada nearly half a century after their fateful choices.
In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from hu. Sep 27, 20 from album a feast of consequences 20 this feature is not available right now. Jul 01, 2016 the woman picked up michael maurers novel perfume river nights and started to cry. Perfume river mississauga library system overdrive. Perfume river by robert olen butler the new york times.
Perfume river captures both the agony and subtlety of how that happens. Read free book excerpt from perfume by patrick suskind, page 1 of 4. The perfume river and the city of hue are central to the 1985 novel word of honor by nelson demille external links edit perfume river in hue city huong river. As grenouille travels towards grasse, he finds the purer air outside the city very welcoming, and grows more and more sensitive to the scent of humans. She cried while maurer signed the book, and she was crying when. Perfume river, his 16th novel, returns to that complex war and its endless reverberations.