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Base Notes
A lasting impression is worth killing for.
In New York City everybody needs a side hustle, and perfumer Vic Fowler has developed a delicate art that has proved to be very creating bespoke scents that evoke immersive memories—memories that, for Vic’s clients, are worth killing for. But the city is expensive, and these days even artisanal murder doesn’t pay the bills. When Joseph Eisner, a former client with deep pockets, offers Vic an opportunity to expand the enterprise, the money is too good to turn down. But the job is too intricate—and too dangerous—to attempt alone.
Manipulating fellow struggling artists into acting as accomplices is easy. Like Vic, they too are on the verge of burnout and bankruptcy. But as relationships become more complicated, Vic’s careful plans start to unravel. Hounded by guilt and a tenacious private investigator, Vic grows increasingly desperate to complete Eisner’s commission. Is there anyone—friends, lovers, coconspirators—that Vic won’t sacrifice for art?
In New York City everybody needs a side hustle, and perfumer Vic Fowler has developed a delicate art that has proved to be very creating bespoke scents that evoke immersive memories—memories that, for Vic’s clients, are worth killing for. But the city is expensive, and these days even artisanal murder doesn’t pay the bills. When Joseph Eisner, a former client with deep pockets, offers Vic an opportunity to expand the enterprise, the money is too good to turn down. But the job is too intricate—and too dangerous—to attempt alone.
Manipulating fellow struggling artists into acting as accomplices is easy. Like Vic, they too are on the verge of burnout and bankruptcy. But as relationships become more complicated, Vic’s careful plans start to unravel. Hounded by guilt and a tenacious private investigator, Vic grows increasingly desperate to complete Eisner’s commission. Is there anyone—friends, lovers, coconspirators—that Vic won’t sacrifice for art?
411 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2022
1015 people are currently reading
4960 people want to read
About the author
Lara Elena Donnelly
12 books410 followersLara Elena Donnelly is the author of the Nebula, Lambda, and Locus-nominated trilogy The Amberlough Dossier, as well as short fiction and poetry appearing in venues including Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, Nightmare, and Uncanny.
Lara has taught in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as the Catapult Workshop in New York. She is a graduate of the Clarion and Alpha writers’ workshops, and has served as on-site staff at the latter, mentoring amazing teens who will someday take over the world of SFF.
Lara has taught in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as the Catapult Workshop in New York. She is a graduate of the Clarion and Alpha writers’ workshops, and has served as on-site staff at the latter, mentoring amazing teens who will someday take over the world of SFF.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
February 27, 2022
3.5 stars!
How fragrances can elicit memories is a topic in this new thriller.
About the book: “Author of the Nebula- and Locus-nominated AMBERLOUGH series Lara Elena Donnelly’s new novel BASE NOTES, in which twenty-something perfumier Vic Fowler has built a deadly side-hustle to cope with the crushing demands of late capitalism; but when a wealthy client threatens to bring it all down, Vic hatches a plan to manipulate a trio of similarly overworked, disillusioned millennials to commit murder in their stead.”
I enjoyed the perfume/fragrance angle to the story and learned so much from Vic’s character. It’s also a smart commentary on many current social issues, and the writing is lush and descriptive. My feelings for Vic were all over the map, good, bad, and indifferent, and I love when that happens. He was so endearing it was hard to believe what he was capable of. He’s also just plain fascinating to watch.
Overall, I found Base Notes to be a creepy, complex, and sinister murder mystery!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
How fragrances can elicit memories is a topic in this new thriller.
About the book: “Author of the Nebula- and Locus-nominated AMBERLOUGH series Lara Elena Donnelly’s new novel BASE NOTES, in which twenty-something perfumier Vic Fowler has built a deadly side-hustle to cope with the crushing demands of late capitalism; but when a wealthy client threatens to bring it all down, Vic hatches a plan to manipulate a trio of similarly overworked, disillusioned millennials to commit murder in their stead.”
I enjoyed the perfume/fragrance angle to the story and learned so much from Vic’s character. It’s also a smart commentary on many current social issues, and the writing is lush and descriptive. My feelings for Vic were all over the map, good, bad, and indifferent, and I love when that happens. He was so endearing it was hard to believe what he was capable of. He’s also just plain fascinating to watch.
Overall, I found Base Notes to be a creepy, complex, and sinister murder mystery!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
December 3, 2021
I expect the deeper we get into all this, the less and less you'll like me. I'm not bothered. That's not the point.
What is the point? We'll get there, if you can stick it out through the foul bits. Think of it like a dry down: to experience a perfume fully, you have to let it work through every note.
Base notes, in the fragrance world, act as a foundation – rich, heavy, and long-lasting, they convey the main message of a perfume. It’s appropriate then, as the title for the latest offering from Lara Elena Donnelly, because this is a book that will certainly live on in the minds of its readers, long after they turn the final page.
Vic Fowler is drowning in debt and in dreams. Despite landing the title to an up-and-coming perfume house, following the mysterious disappearance of the owner, Vic just can’t seem to break in to the old-boy network that sits as a barrier to true success. Usually, that’s just the kind of problem Vic’s learnt to solve with the odd, very discrete, murder-for-hire, but an old client with an impossible request is suddenly threatening everything they’ve worked so hard for.
This book was absolutely brilliant. Base Notes is absolutely going to attract comparisons to Patrick Süskind’s Perfume, but in my opinion blows it completely out of the water. It’s not just the updated social commentary, skewering modern social issues such as inequality and desperation, or the skillful work with the characters that won me over so completely; it’s the way the gritter, rougher moments are highlighted by the gorgeous descriptive prose of symphonies and rainy afternoons in New York. Vic is such an intriguing, even endearing character, that you almost forget the whole murder part until the novel shocks you back to remembering just who it is you’re thinking fondly of. (I confess that I actually still like them a lot though. Perfection is boring.)
It’s not every day that you read a book that simultaneously sucks you in completely, and is so effective at delivering shock moments without in anyway disrupted the flow of reading. I could almost hear Vic’s laconic narration, and again; it’s a long time since I’ve read a protagonist I was so immediately able to conjure a voice for. This may well be a one-shot, but should a sequel ever appear, I’ll be back for more in a heartbeat. Base Notes will be kicking off 2022 with a bang.
What is the point? We'll get there, if you can stick it out through the foul bits. Think of it like a dry down: to experience a perfume fully, you have to let it work through every note.
Base notes, in the fragrance world, act as a foundation – rich, heavy, and long-lasting, they convey the main message of a perfume. It’s appropriate then, as the title for the latest offering from Lara Elena Donnelly, because this is a book that will certainly live on in the minds of its readers, long after they turn the final page.
Vic Fowler is drowning in debt and in dreams. Despite landing the title to an up-and-coming perfume house, following the mysterious disappearance of the owner, Vic just can’t seem to break in to the old-boy network that sits as a barrier to true success. Usually, that’s just the kind of problem Vic’s learnt to solve with the odd, very discrete, murder-for-hire, but an old client with an impossible request is suddenly threatening everything they’ve worked so hard for.
This book was absolutely brilliant. Base Notes is absolutely going to attract comparisons to Patrick Süskind’s Perfume, but in my opinion blows it completely out of the water. It’s not just the updated social commentary, skewering modern social issues such as inequality and desperation, or the skillful work with the characters that won me over so completely; it’s the way the gritter, rougher moments are highlighted by the gorgeous descriptive prose of symphonies and rainy afternoons in New York. Vic is such an intriguing, even endearing character, that you almost forget the whole murder part until the novel shocks you back to remembering just who it is you’re thinking fondly of. (I confess that I actually still like them a lot though. Perfection is boring.)
It’s not every day that you read a book that simultaneously sucks you in completely, and is so effective at delivering shock moments without in anyway disrupted the flow of reading. I could almost hear Vic’s laconic narration, and again; it’s a long time since I’ve read a protagonist I was so immediately able to conjure a voice for. This may well be a one-shot, but should a sequel ever appear, I’ll be back for more in a heartbeat. Base Notes will be kicking off 2022 with a bang.
January 7, 2022
The writing just didn’t flow smoothly or naturally for me due to the overuse of nonstop descriptive wording. Such as
“He lifted his wrist to the young man’s face in a way no blood relation would dare outside a particular subgenre of pornography. Andrew wrinkled his surgically delicate nose, and my annoyance swiftly solidified into hatred.”
Or
““I know.” He buttoned his jacket against a sudden bitter wind. Low clouds around the apex of One World Trade caught light pollution and turned the sky the color of a jellyfish, a bruise. The scent of cold, dry concrete hung brittle in the air.”
And the characters were just not believable.
“He lifted his wrist to the young man’s face in a way no blood relation would dare outside a particular subgenre of pornography. Andrew wrinkled his surgically delicate nose, and my annoyance swiftly solidified into hatred.”
Or
““I know.” He buttoned his jacket against a sudden bitter wind. Low clouds around the apex of One World Trade caught light pollution and turned the sky the color of a jellyfish, a bruise. The scent of cold, dry concrete hung brittle in the air.”
And the characters were just not believable.
Read
February 11, 2022DNF. I do not rate books I do not finish.
January 9, 2022
Very highbrow
Never have I left a review with this low of a score. There may have been a good story within the pages but one would never know. Amazon's first reads are sometimes a disappointment but this was the ultimate. There was no way to even relate to the storyline.
Never have I left a review with this low of a score. There may have been a good story within the pages but one would never know. Amazon's first reads are sometimes a disappointment but this was the ultimate. There was no way to even relate to the storyline.
April 8, 2022
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Base Notes is a novel that has grown from Donnelly's short story 'The Dirty American,' which is wonderful and full of the humanity I missed in Base Notes.
This is not Amberlough and it was my fault in trying to find that heart in this book. Base Notes doesn't have Amberlough's bittersweet centre of its humanity. What it has instead is a way of coating your skin and lingering in your brain like the smell of petrol. Horrible but also intoxicating.
Throughout I tried to see facets of Cyril and Ari in Vic as a character but he is far too cold to be either of them. Base Notes is going to stay with me for a long time and won't be a book I forget about easily. Set in New York, Base Notes shows the darker underbelly of trying to make something from your Art, and having the world throw it back at you. We see four windows into this New York and how it all crumbles around them. Our main POV is Vic, a nose, trying to keep his boss, and ex, perfume business alive and mostly failing. Vic is bitter and desperately jealous of other people's successes and he is not a likeable character.
For me, the book turned around the halfway point when we begin to see Vic's heart and like his perfume, it's trapped in Amber. His humanity is in his past with Jonathan and I don't know if I am reading too much into this but it is in his remembering of the past he seems to become more and less of the monster he is. I have so many questions and want to read more into the layers of this book as Vic is a terribly unreliable narrator, everything about this book is fantasy and what he wants the world to look like rather than how it really is.
Overall I loved how this book is both repulsive and intoxicating. The tonal notes at the beginning of each chapter were a wonderful touch and I had to underline and had to write my thoughts down in the margins as it is that sort of read. I enjoyed recognising the real sents throughout Base Notes and then being able to find them in my own collection of perfumes.
Donnelly is a fantastic writer and the story is slick, captivating and horrifying. I would have loved to have seen Beau's perspective and how he put that final suit together. She will always be one of my favourite authors and I look forward to seeing what is next.
Base Notes is a novel that has grown from Donnelly's short story 'The Dirty American,' which is wonderful and full of the humanity I missed in Base Notes.
This is not Amberlough and it was my fault in trying to find that heart in this book. Base Notes doesn't have Amberlough's bittersweet centre of its humanity. What it has instead is a way of coating your skin and lingering in your brain like the smell of petrol. Horrible but also intoxicating.
Throughout I tried to see facets of Cyril and Ari in Vic as a character but he is far too cold to be either of them. Base Notes is going to stay with me for a long time and won't be a book I forget about easily. Set in New York, Base Notes shows the darker underbelly of trying to make something from your Art, and having the world throw it back at you. We see four windows into this New York and how it all crumbles around them. Our main POV is Vic, a nose, trying to keep his boss, and ex, perfume business alive and mostly failing. Vic is bitter and desperately jealous of other people's successes and he is not a likeable character.
For me, the book turned around the halfway point when we begin to see Vic's heart and like his perfume, it's trapped in Amber. His humanity is in his past with Jonathan and I don't know if I am reading too much into this but it is in his remembering of the past he seems to become more and less of the monster he is. I have so many questions and want to read more into the layers of this book as Vic is a terribly unreliable narrator, everything about this book is fantasy and what he wants the world to look like rather than how it really is.
Overall I loved how this book is both repulsive and intoxicating. The tonal notes at the beginning of each chapter were a wonderful touch and I had to underline and had to write my thoughts down in the margins as it is that sort of read. I enjoyed recognising the real sents throughout Base Notes and then being able to find them in my own collection of perfumes.
Donnelly is a fantastic writer and the story is slick, captivating and horrifying. I would have loved to have seen Beau's perspective and how he put that final suit together. She will always be one of my favourite authors and I look forward to seeing what is next.
dnf
January 15, 2022I LOVE the cover of this book. I was instantly attracted to it. However, once I opened it up and started reading I was a bit disappointed. I could tell right away that it wasn't going to be for me. While the language flowed easily, it was difficult for me to get into. I felt I didn't understand what was going on and could not connect with the writing style. I saw some comparisons to the classic book, Perfume, which interestingly enough, I felt the same way about,
January 9, 2022
Not for me
Too self-indulgent for my taste. I don’t often abandon a book midstream, but I’ve only wet my toes and I’m done … six pages in and I can’t take anymore.
Too self-indulgent for my taste. I don’t often abandon a book midstream, but I’ve only wet my toes and I’m done … six pages in and I can’t take anymore.
January 6, 2022
Read a NetGalley eARC
Content warning: murder, manipulation, blackmail, gore, eye surgery, strangulation
Vic Fowler is an artist, a perfumist whose business is struggling as they’re trying to achieve the height of luxury and artistry in New York City despite everything about their lifestyle pointing to the contrary. They are threatened with blackmail in exchange for a commission—that’s right, the perfume is made of people. A saga of desperation, aesthetic, murder, and dissatisfaction follows hence forth.
Tonally, it reminded me a lot of A Certain Hunger with its voicey protagonist who’s really three anxiety attacks in a well-tailored blazer. At least they smell beautiful.
An interview with author Lara Elena Donnelly will be posted on February 3rd, 2022.
There is a precision to the language in this work that is immersive and impressive. Between the various scents and the little touches of New York City around the holidays you would only get if you lived there, the attention-to-detail is impeccable. It places the reader right in the center of it all, to the point that I felt myself a little unsettled and disoriented when I finished my read. Heady and absolutely breathtaking.
And horrifying in a way that is too true to the millennial experience. Desperation is palpable from the first page. It’s not really in pursuit of success, but in authenticity serving survival. Each of the characters we meet present a different facet of New York City in that way, and it’s really effective.
As a narrator and a protagonist, Vic is fascinating. Donnelly cleverly writes Vic’s gender by never specifying pronouns, even in the fuckier bits of the text (oh yeah, if you’re looking for more plot-driven fucking, you’ve come to the right place). Their gender is murdery perfumist with several skeletons in their closet. They’re enveloped in a deep knowledge of perfume, scent, and memory that lulls the reader into a trance. Until you realize that they’re the opposite of suave and incredibly anxious. Type-A, self-centered, and concerned with their own survival to a fault. Watching it play out in real time with terminal consequences is a delight from start to finish. A train wreck you can’t tear your eyes away from. I won’t spoil how it ends.
That all being said, there’s also this fantastic way that Vic addresses the reader directly, lending to an uncomfortable intimacy that almost gives the impression that you might be an accomplice in their schemes as well. And Vic isn’t letting you off the hook.
Content warning: murder, manipulation, blackmail, gore, eye surgery, strangulation
Vic Fowler is an artist, a perfumist whose business is struggling as they’re trying to achieve the height of luxury and artistry in New York City despite everything about their lifestyle pointing to the contrary. They are threatened with blackmail in exchange for a commission—that’s right, the perfume is made of people. A saga of desperation, aesthetic, murder, and dissatisfaction follows hence forth.
Tonally, it reminded me a lot of A Certain Hunger with its voicey protagonist who’s really three anxiety attacks in a well-tailored blazer. At least they smell beautiful.
An interview with author Lara Elena Donnelly will be posted on February 3rd, 2022.
There is a precision to the language in this work that is immersive and impressive. Between the various scents and the little touches of New York City around the holidays you would only get if you lived there, the attention-to-detail is impeccable. It places the reader right in the center of it all, to the point that I felt myself a little unsettled and disoriented when I finished my read. Heady and absolutely breathtaking.
And horrifying in a way that is too true to the millennial experience. Desperation is palpable from the first page. It’s not really in pursuit of success, but in authenticity serving survival. Each of the characters we meet present a different facet of New York City in that way, and it’s really effective.
As a narrator and a protagonist, Vic is fascinating. Donnelly cleverly writes Vic’s gender by never specifying pronouns, even in the fuckier bits of the text (oh yeah, if you’re looking for more plot-driven fucking, you’ve come to the right place). Their gender is murdery perfumist with several skeletons in their closet. They’re enveloped in a deep knowledge of perfume, scent, and memory that lulls the reader into a trance. Until you realize that they’re the opposite of suave and incredibly anxious. Type-A, self-centered, and concerned with their own survival to a fault. Watching it play out in real time with terminal consequences is a delight from start to finish. A train wreck you can’t tear your eyes away from. I won’t spoil how it ends.
That all being said, there’s also this fantastic way that Vic addresses the reader directly, lending to an uncomfortable intimacy that almost gives the impression that you might be an accomplice in their schemes as well. And Vic isn’t letting you off the hook.
January 31, 2022
This was truly the worst book I've read in many, many years. It started off badly with the main character's stream of consciousness ranting that went on and on and ON. When I finally began to figure out what it was about, and what was really going on, I was appalled. Vic, the perfume expert whose first person rantings and horrific actions make up the story, is easily one of the most self-involved and evil people I have encountered in a novel. Hannibal, move over, you qualify as a genuine nice guy compared to Vic. I kept reading, though feeling nauseous, because I was hoping to feel better at the ending. But an ending that would, at least, have seemed just, did not happen. I am very glad to have turned the page and finished. I actually feel like deleting it from my Kindle, and taking a long hot shower.
February 11, 2022
i don't think I've ever hated the narrator more than i did with this book.
rating is a 2/2.5 ⭐
Vic Fowler is definitely not someone I'd want to be friends with. i mean, just look where it got Jane, Beau, and Giovanni. this boy did them dirty. i get it, we're not supposed to like Vic, or whatever, but damn. i can get past the sometimes-sloppy writing and the inner monologue drivel, but there are large chunks of this book that just don't make sense/are unnecessary. i feel like chunks of this could be cut and it would still read the same. it definitely took too long for certain things to be explained/come into clarity, and i get it, show don't tell, but this book was doing neither showing nor telling. i liked the cover, which was what drew me in initially, but i don't think this was all that memorable.
also, side note: it seemed like the main character was set up to be into guys (what with having an ex-boyfriend and all) but then for the rest of the book he was only interested in Jane? kinda confusing. not saying he couldn't be bi or whatever, it just didn't make sense to me, especially when it felt it it was being set up for him to be interested in Beau. also, writing-wise, i didn't know what gender Vic was for the first 2 chapters 🤷🏻♂️
rating is a 2/2.5 ⭐
Vic Fowler is definitely not someone I'd want to be friends with. i mean, just look where it got Jane, Beau, and Giovanni. this boy did them dirty. i get it, we're not supposed to like Vic, or whatever, but damn. i can get past the sometimes-sloppy writing and the inner monologue drivel, but there are large chunks of this book that just don't make sense/are unnecessary. i feel like chunks of this could be cut and it would still read the same. it definitely took too long for certain things to be explained/come into clarity, and i get it, show don't tell, but this book was doing neither showing nor telling. i liked the cover, which was what drew me in initially, but i don't think this was all that memorable.
also, side note: it seemed like the main character was set up to be into guys (what with having an ex-boyfriend and all) but then for the rest of the book he was only interested in Jane? kinda confusing. not saying he couldn't be bi or whatever, it just didn't make sense to me, especially when it felt it it was being set up for him to be interested in Beau. also, writing-wise, i didn't know what gender Vic was for the first 2 chapters 🤷🏻♂️
February 17, 2022
Whoever compared this to Dexter was stretching. HARD.
Dexter never spent time grumbling on about life and how little people appreciated his "art". He was all wit and action--at least until something or someone stopped him.
Claiming that Donnelly can come even remotely close to Lindsay's zip and clever turn of a pen is a disservice to readers everywhere.
Dexter never spent time grumbling on about life and how little people appreciated his "art". He was all wit and action--at least until something or someone stopped him.
Claiming that Donnelly can come even remotely close to Lindsay's zip and clever turn of a pen is a disservice to readers everywhere.
September 3, 2023
the gender of it all! the impossibility of living authentically under late stage capitalism! art and desire! murdering your lover because the only way you can think to get ahead in life is by becoming him!
March 22, 2022
Where's the indie perfume collab because I need it.
This was deliciously dark and queer, with a heaping helping of my favorite niche interest in perfumes.
This was deliciously dark and queer, with a heaping helping of my favorite niche interest in perfumes.
June 4, 2023
This has to be the worst book I've read thus far in 2023.
January 17, 2022
(This review was based upon an ARC generously provided by the author. All opinions are entirely uninfluenced and remain my own.)
It’s damn rare that I make audible sounds when finishing a book. Usually I’m intentionally preserving a silence within my surroundings, so as to honor the final printed words in all their muted glory. But not with this one.
This one made me exclaim aloud, much as a pinch, or a scratch, or a slap makes you gasp from the shock of the world becoming suddenly painful and viscerally present. Thinking back, reading this story was, on the whole, an almost reverentially silent process: I wanted to savor the literary cocktail that Donnelly had crafted with such incredible precision and intent. Her characters are all full-blooded, though the warmth of that blood varies; her settings, whether high-brow or moldering, were rendered with such honesty that each one seemed a small masterclass in writing down the details; her insane, yet not so insane as to be truly unbelievable, plot at first crept, then stepped, then exploded forward like some dark predator in a forest no one has any business visiting at night.
I won’t be giving away any key moments here, but I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t share a few of the things about this book that took it from a simply great read to a “what the hell oh wow” experience.
Firstly, Donnelly begins each chapter with scent notes, and, let me tell ya, it is SO cool. These scents appear throughout the chapter in the order of their presented categories, those being Notes de Tête, Notes de Cœur, and Notes de Fond. Thinking about the trajectory of my evening as I write this, here’s an example. Notes de Tête: Melted Cheddar, Ghee, Cumin. Notes de Cœur: Fluoride Mint, Cucumber, Litter Box Dust. Notes de Fond: Cat Fur, Bedroom Accord. These notes were always fascinating to read, and gave me the illusion that I knew what it was like to be Vic Fowler, Donnelly’s glacial and ambitious protagonist. I’m absolutely going to go back and simply read over the notes of each chapter so as to experience the story in its purest sensual form, and to examine the stepping stones that Donnelly laid before the reader going in.
Secondly, there’s something about Vic. Is it the smooth words and smoother hands? The eyes that promise more knowledge about you than you could confess yourself? The way Vic tells the tale, occasionally addressing you, yet never telling you from where, never breaking the rule that, to get to the end, you have to go through what Vic? Yes, all of that, and more. Vic is delivered to us as a known poison, but the character’s true brilliance is far more than a simply treacherous knave: no, Vic is a blade that chips itself upon the bones it scars, and looks glorious while doing so. I never knew if I wanted this anti-hero (emphasis on the anti) to succeed, or, well… I’ll refrain. What I will say is that while I never found myself loving Vic, I could damn well relate, and I’ll bet a bag of bills that any other worn-out millennial will too in this capitalism-scorched society.
Thirdly, beyond the crackling dialogue and hustling plot, Donnelly yet again proves herself a master of the descriptive turn. Appropriately, most of this tale is told through scent: a hallway smelling of halal meat, a conference room of burnt dust from a projector, a barber shop of Barbasol, a subway of spilled Snapple and urine. This is the path that Vic leads you upon, and it is a complete, perspective-shifting triumph. I’ve never read a work that so smoothly envelopes a reader in its world through such an abundance of scents, and I’ll be surprised if I do so again. Yes, you get visual descriptions too; Donnelly may be good with a whip, but she’s not a sadist. And there are passages that simply slash across the rest of the page like some beautiful spatter of blood across a perfectly clean cutting board. And it’s not simply how she describes things, but which things she chooses—no, not chooses, but selects with a surgeon’s care—to include in each moment. Everything that the protagonist notes for the reader informs them of Vic’s mindset, Vic’s awareness of the world, and of how Vic functions on a base level. If the character notices something, it means that you need to notice it too. The New York City that Vic lives in is a place of ever-crossing realms, where the fanciful and taboo become common, the rich are reduced to sweat stains, and the everyday impoverished display graces that no cigar-belching, estate-stealing king of capitalism could ever hope to embody. It’s a place of dirt, of flowers, of shit, of fresh bread, of alcohol (no, the bad kind), of warm cotton, of blood, of bitten skin, of metal, of rain, of smoke. Vic sees and smells it all, and it’s terribly, awfully beautiful.
As is this entire novel. It’s a pity that “revelation” is bandied about the blurb world as just another olive in the martini of syntactical praise, for if it weren’t, I’d surely apply it here. But ‘Base Notes’ is an uncommon work, and, as such, deserves uncommon recognition. It’s shining and ugly, and will leave you in need of a shower, but also in the midst of a realization that the world around you is not only made of bright colors and twisting sounds, but of ten thousand chemicals that swirl and combine and bless your unassuming nostrils with ten thousand visions we hardly give the time of day. With this new work, Donnelly pulls our hair and pushes us into these visions, telling, imploring, and forcing us to take heed. ‘Base Notes’ is a thorn-ridden rose of a novel: smell it, love it, and bleed.
UPDATE: I only just now got the revelation that Vic is never given a single pronoun. In the ENTIRE book. I initially, automatically, coded Vic a certain way, but have corrected my review to reflect the lack of gendering. HOW DID DONNELLY DO THAT SO WELL
It’s damn rare that I make audible sounds when finishing a book. Usually I’m intentionally preserving a silence within my surroundings, so as to honor the final printed words in all their muted glory. But not with this one.
This one made me exclaim aloud, much as a pinch, or a scratch, or a slap makes you gasp from the shock of the world becoming suddenly painful and viscerally present. Thinking back, reading this story was, on the whole, an almost reverentially silent process: I wanted to savor the literary cocktail that Donnelly had crafted with such incredible precision and intent. Her characters are all full-blooded, though the warmth of that blood varies; her settings, whether high-brow or moldering, were rendered with such honesty that each one seemed a small masterclass in writing down the details; her insane, yet not so insane as to be truly unbelievable, plot at first crept, then stepped, then exploded forward like some dark predator in a forest no one has any business visiting at night.
I won’t be giving away any key moments here, but I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t share a few of the things about this book that took it from a simply great read to a “what the hell oh wow” experience.
Firstly, Donnelly begins each chapter with scent notes, and, let me tell ya, it is SO cool. These scents appear throughout the chapter in the order of their presented categories, those being Notes de Tête, Notes de Cœur, and Notes de Fond. Thinking about the trajectory of my evening as I write this, here’s an example. Notes de Tête: Melted Cheddar, Ghee, Cumin. Notes de Cœur: Fluoride Mint, Cucumber, Litter Box Dust. Notes de Fond: Cat Fur, Bedroom Accord. These notes were always fascinating to read, and gave me the illusion that I knew what it was like to be Vic Fowler, Donnelly’s glacial and ambitious protagonist. I’m absolutely going to go back and simply read over the notes of each chapter so as to experience the story in its purest sensual form, and to examine the stepping stones that Donnelly laid before the reader going in.
Secondly, there’s something about Vic. Is it the smooth words and smoother hands? The eyes that promise more knowledge about you than you could confess yourself? The way Vic tells the tale, occasionally addressing you, yet never telling you from where, never breaking the rule that, to get to the end, you have to go through what Vic? Yes, all of that, and more. Vic is delivered to us as a known poison, but the character’s true brilliance is far more than a simply treacherous knave: no, Vic is a blade that chips itself upon the bones it scars, and looks glorious while doing so. I never knew if I wanted this anti-hero (emphasis on the anti) to succeed, or, well… I’ll refrain. What I will say is that while I never found myself loving Vic, I could damn well relate, and I’ll bet a bag of bills that any other worn-out millennial will too in this capitalism-scorched society.
Thirdly, beyond the crackling dialogue and hustling plot, Donnelly yet again proves herself a master of the descriptive turn. Appropriately, most of this tale is told through scent: a hallway smelling of halal meat, a conference room of burnt dust from a projector, a barber shop of Barbasol, a subway of spilled Snapple and urine. This is the path that Vic leads you upon, and it is a complete, perspective-shifting triumph. I’ve never read a work that so smoothly envelopes a reader in its world through such an abundance of scents, and I’ll be surprised if I do so again. Yes, you get visual descriptions too; Donnelly may be good with a whip, but she’s not a sadist. And there are passages that simply slash across the rest of the page like some beautiful spatter of blood across a perfectly clean cutting board. And it’s not simply how she describes things, but which things she chooses—no, not chooses, but selects with a surgeon’s care—to include in each moment. Everything that the protagonist notes for the reader informs them of Vic’s mindset, Vic’s awareness of the world, and of how Vic functions on a base level. If the character notices something, it means that you need to notice it too. The New York City that Vic lives in is a place of ever-crossing realms, where the fanciful and taboo become common, the rich are reduced to sweat stains, and the everyday impoverished display graces that no cigar-belching, estate-stealing king of capitalism could ever hope to embody. It’s a place of dirt, of flowers, of shit, of fresh bread, of alcohol (no, the bad kind), of warm cotton, of blood, of bitten skin, of metal, of rain, of smoke. Vic sees and smells it all, and it’s terribly, awfully beautiful.
As is this entire novel. It’s a pity that “revelation” is bandied about the blurb world as just another olive in the martini of syntactical praise, for if it weren’t, I’d surely apply it here. But ‘Base Notes’ is an uncommon work, and, as such, deserves uncommon recognition. It’s shining and ugly, and will leave you in need of a shower, but also in the midst of a realization that the world around you is not only made of bright colors and twisting sounds, but of ten thousand chemicals that swirl and combine and bless your unassuming nostrils with ten thousand visions we hardly give the time of day. With this new work, Donnelly pulls our hair and pushes us into these visions, telling, imploring, and forcing us to take heed. ‘Base Notes’ is a thorn-ridden rose of a novel: smell it, love it, and bleed.
UPDATE: I only just now got the revelation that Vic is never given a single pronoun. In the ENTIRE book. I initially, automatically, coded Vic a certain way, but have corrected my review to reflect the lack of gendering. HOW DID DONNELLY DO THAT SO WELL
October 27, 2022
I don't know if this is an enjoyable book as such, but it is most definitely an excellent one. I have to give 5 stars just for pulling off that ending without making it comedic or ridiculous; that is some damn impressive skill right there.
rtc!
HIGHLIGHTS
~art > people
~unconventional perfume
~fucked-up dynamics all around
~MC = terrible person + fantastic character
~it’s all capitalism’s fault really
Base Notes is not the kind of book I usually read – although the premise is that it’s possible to recreate memories as perfumes (so long as you make the perfume out of people!) it’s only barely speculative fiction. I’ve seen it described as a thriller, as psychological fiction, even as a mystery (how???), but most people probably wouldn’t call it SFF.
But who cares, because it’s Donnelly, and if you aren’t reading Donnelly, why are you even bothering???
Vic is the nonbinary head of Bright House, a perfumery that is struggling to stay afloat amidst bigger, better-funded, and more commercial competitors. Sure, Vic has long-since discovered the secret to capturing a single memory in perfume, but that’s not exactly consumer-friendly, since it requires the corpse of a person who shares that memory and only works for another person who shares the memory. But it might be the key to success after all – all Vic’s struggles will disappear if they can just complete one very impossible memory-scent commission…
Base Notes is sharp and elegant and merciless, bitter and desperate and precise, amoral and horrifyingly hypnotic. It is a book that stings like salt in a wound. Vic is a terrible, fascinating person, simultaneously ruthless and vulnerable – casual about killing, but soft and fragile when it comes to a haircut that fits their gender identity and self-image. That juxtaposition is what makes Vic, if not likeable, then still someone we find ourselves rooting for.
(Well. I was rooting for them. I suppose your mileage may vary.)
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
rtc!
HIGHLIGHTS
~art > people
~unconventional perfume
~fucked-up dynamics all around
~MC = terrible person + fantastic character
~it’s all capitalism’s fault really
Base Notes is not the kind of book I usually read – although the premise is that it’s possible to recreate memories as perfumes (so long as you make the perfume out of people!) it’s only barely speculative fiction. I’ve seen it described as a thriller, as psychological fiction, even as a mystery (how???), but most people probably wouldn’t call it SFF.
But who cares, because it’s Donnelly, and if you aren’t reading Donnelly, why are you even bothering???
Vic is the nonbinary head of Bright House, a perfumery that is struggling to stay afloat amidst bigger, better-funded, and more commercial competitors. Sure, Vic has long-since discovered the secret to capturing a single memory in perfume, but that’s not exactly consumer-friendly, since it requires the corpse of a person who shares that memory and only works for another person who shares the memory. But it might be the key to success after all – all Vic’s struggles will disappear if they can just complete one very impossible memory-scent commission…
Base Notes is sharp and elegant and merciless, bitter and desperate and precise, amoral and horrifyingly hypnotic. It is a book that stings like salt in a wound. Vic is a terrible, fascinating person, simultaneously ruthless and vulnerable – casual about killing, but soft and fragile when it comes to a haircut that fits their gender identity and self-image. That juxtaposition is what makes Vic, if not likeable, then still someone we find ourselves rooting for.
(Well. I was rooting for them. I suppose your mileage may vary.)
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
February 1, 2022
Vic is a sharp-tongued, perfume artist with abundant self-esteem and money woes. She has a knack for creating scents that induce memories. While sponsor shopping (to keep her biz afloat), an unlikely associate, with money to lose, offers her a special project. This job is similar to what she already does except he wants the scents to induce memories a person hasn't had yet.
I found the protagonist to be engaging and interesting. The setting and Vic's career choice were intriguing as well. The perfume-making jargon was not too heavy so it did not bother me. There was not as much explicit murder happening on page until the last 30% of the book. The ending reads like an episode of Snapped viewed on 5.0 speed.
If you like thrillers with female protagonists whose sexualities lean toward whoever the attractive person is standing in front of them, this is your book. The problem is, the synopsis (which probably was written by someone else) is more interesting and unique than the actual story. You might want to skip that so you don't get high expectations. The execution is decent but the synopsis makes it sound far better than what I read. Overall, a good read.
I found the protagonist to be engaging and interesting. The setting and Vic's career choice were intriguing as well. The perfume-making jargon was not too heavy so it did not bother me. There was not as much explicit murder happening on page until the last 30% of the book. The ending reads like an episode of Snapped viewed on 5.0 speed.
If you like thrillers with female protagonists whose sexualities lean toward whoever the attractive person is standing in front of them, this is your book. The problem is, the synopsis (which probably was written by someone else) is more interesting and unique than the actual story. You might want to skip that so you don't get high expectations. The execution is decent but the synopsis makes it sound far better than what I read. Overall, a good read.
February 8, 2022
Read for PopSugar 22 #36 - A Book You Know Nothing About
"But I have never cared much about being liked; still don’t. I expect the deeper we get into all this, the less and less you’ll like me. I’m not bothered. That’s not the point." Well, friend, sorry to say, that kind of IS the point if you and your actions and views are the entire basis for this book.
Y'all, this book is not likeable. I'm so happy I'm done with it. Needless to say, it will not be making my Top Books Bracket.
"But I have never cared much about being liked; still don’t. I expect the deeper we get into all this, the less and less you’ll like me. I’m not bothered. That’s not the point." Well, friend, sorry to say, that kind of IS the point if you and your actions and views are the entire basis for this book.
Y'all, this book is not likeable. I'm so happy I'm done with it. Needless to say, it will not be making my Top Books Bracket.
Read
January 19, 2022DNF for me. Seemed too unrealistic and I didn’t feel any connection to any of the characters. Meh!
January 14, 2023
Batshit crazy. Brilliant!
April 24, 2024
I read the short story that introduces us to this protagonist years ago and I’ve been salivating for more since. This does not disappoint.
January 3, 2022
Wow, that was harsh and immersive and had a ton of research behind it. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about all of it but I do know that the writing was impeccable. It's not everyday you read about a mass murderer and feel sympathetic to their story. The characters were so real and nuanced and the situation just spiraled out of control at the end so quickly that I can't imagine this ending any other way. An author I'll be keeping my eye on for future and past works.
I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways. All opinions are my own.
I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways. All opinions are my own.
December 19, 2021
Base Notes enraptured me like a complex scent, I was drawn in by the gorgeous, vivid prose, while pleasantly repulsed by Main Character Vic’s ease with murder for hire. The thriller gave me a new found curiosity about perfume - something I typically detest. I found myself seeking out many of the notes before the chapters.
At first, I found the aesthetic not unlike Chelsea G Summer’s A Certain Hunger, but this goes deeper. The kills are imbued with specific purpose. Base Notes is a captivating commentary on the state of skilled labor, wealth, and the unease bubbling beneath the surface.
The writing brings NYC to life. It’s sumptuous, and you’ll find yourself enraptured by Vic’s machinations.
Inhale it - you won’t regret it!
At first, I found the aesthetic not unlike Chelsea G Summer’s A Certain Hunger, but this goes deeper. The kills are imbued with specific purpose. Base Notes is a captivating commentary on the state of skilled labor, wealth, and the unease bubbling beneath the surface.
The writing brings NYC to life. It’s sumptuous, and you’ll find yourself enraptured by Vic’s machinations.
Inhale it - you won’t regret it!
February 3, 2022
I have to start out with saying I really disliked the narrator of this audiobook. They took unusual... pauses mid-sentence, which put strange... and... incorrect... emphasis on things. They often paused between paragraphs so that it sounded like a new scene/chapter had started but it was still the same. I eventually gave up on the audiobook and just read the ebook version. It was slightly better. I liked Donnelly's writing, but the story was repetitive and highly predictable. Vic seemed like an impulsive idiot who would never have gotten away with the crimes mentioned for as long as they did.
Another thing that got irritating was the focus on Jane biting her lip and "leaving a divot" or "the blood draining." There's a reason for the narrator to notice it, but it's so overused and glaring.
The three stars are mostly for writing quality and the unique premise. Vic could have been an intriguing antihero - Dexter or Hannibal with a twist - but instead they just came off as kind of pathetic. Their schemes were desperate, not clever, and I ended up kind of hoping for a fiery car crash to end the nonsense. It would have been a disappointing ending, but the ending was disappointing anyway... so...
Another thing that got irritating was the focus on Jane biting her lip and "leaving a divot" or "the blood draining." There's a reason for the narrator to notice it, but it's so overused and glaring.
The three stars are mostly for writing quality and the unique premise. Vic could have been an intriguing antihero - Dexter or Hannibal with a twist - but instead they just came off as kind of pathetic. Their schemes were desperate, not clever, and I ended up kind of hoping for a fiery car crash to end the nonsense. It would have been a disappointing ending, but the ending was disappointing anyway... so...
January 10, 2022
Okay, I loved this book, devoured it and now I'm sad and can't stop thinking about it.
Lara's characters always draw me in even if they are ambitious to a fault and destroy everyone around them. But hey Vic makes some great perfume so it's totally fine. The writing is equally stunning and I expect no less from Lara. Her turn of phrase is so clever and perfect describe what's being conveyed. These are some of my favourite quotes "as I watched a smile begin to bloom across his face like mold" and "He made a sound like something going wrong beneath the hood of the car." I just found them so charming. This mixed with the smell descriptions, which can be so hard to pull off given how subject it is, gives a beautiful veneer for such an ugly story. This is a bit of a tangent but I find that some of the best writing come from perfume reviews. They are amazing and I think authors should browse fragrantica even if they hate perfume, they have a real way with words.
If you want an update on Patric Suskind but with an added dose of the evils of capitalism and the devaluing of artistry for brand recognition then pick this up, you won't be disappointed. Now I am going to buy some perfume, gotta say this book isn't good for my bank balance.
Lara's characters always draw me in even if they are ambitious to a fault and destroy everyone around them. But hey Vic makes some great perfume so it's totally fine. The writing is equally stunning and I expect no less from Lara. Her turn of phrase is so clever and perfect describe what's being conveyed. These are some of my favourite quotes "as I watched a smile begin to bloom across his face like mold" and "He made a sound like something going wrong beneath the hood of the car." I just found them so charming. This mixed with the smell descriptions, which can be so hard to pull off given how subject it is, gives a beautiful veneer for such an ugly story. This is a bit of a tangent but I find that some of the best writing come from perfume reviews. They are amazing and I think authors should browse fragrantica even if they hate perfume, they have a real way with words.
If you want an update on Patric Suskind but with an added dose of the evils of capitalism and the devaluing of artistry for brand recognition then pick this up, you won't be disappointed. Now I am going to buy some perfume, gotta say this book isn't good for my bank balance.
October 8, 2022
Maybe it's because Das Parfüm by Süskind and Jitterbug Perfume by Robinson are two of my life changing books, that the attempt at modernization and "un-romanticization" of the same theme by Donnelly rubbed me the wrong way. I'm all for sacrificing likeability for the sake of creating realistic characters, but this book absolutely did not work for me.
January 12, 2022
Thanks to Amazon prime reads for providing an ARC.
Basenotes was a super interesting concept: a serial killer who gets paid to make perfume out of people and there’s a poly relationship; which is a bit of an over simplification, but that’s a one sentence plot summation. If that doesn’t make you want to read it ASAP I really don’t know what will. It was a bit of a slower burn and build which is not typically my cup of tea and it did have some slower spots in it, but overall it was really good and I enjoyed it. When it does build the end comes at you fast and I couldn’t stop reading it. The MC was calculating, and extremely intelligent, but human at the same time. I really liked that he ‘broke the 4th wall’ at times it was done in a way that added to the story when it really could have taken away from the story, or made it cheesy. I really recommend this one!
Basenotes was a super interesting concept: a serial killer who gets paid to make perfume out of people and there’s a poly relationship; which is a bit of an over simplification, but that’s a one sentence plot summation. If that doesn’t make you want to read it ASAP I really don’t know what will. It was a bit of a slower burn and build which is not typically my cup of tea and it did have some slower spots in it, but overall it was really good and I enjoyed it. When it does build the end comes at you fast and I couldn’t stop reading it. The MC was calculating, and extremely intelligent, but human at the same time. I really liked that he ‘broke the 4th wall’ at times it was done in a way that added to the story when it really could have taken away from the story, or made it cheesy. I really recommend this one!
July 31, 2023
Rounded up to 3 1/2 stars.
I heard about this on Facebook, so I thought I'd give it a try.
My thoughts:
I liked how the author prefaced each chapter with Scents (top notes, heart notes, base notes) to foreshadow the tone and mood.
I also liked how the author kept the ambiguity of Vic's identity. It added that extra layer of mystery.
I liked that he made custom scents for clients... until you find out how Vic acquires some of the ingredients for the perfume. All I can say is... eww!!
Vic is a despicable character, but one that all can relate to on a base level.
The story started slow, but really picked up speed when the murders began that kept me turning the pages!!
❓️ - What is your favorite perfume?
I heard about this on Facebook, so I thought I'd give it a try.
My thoughts:
I liked how the author prefaced each chapter with Scents (top notes, heart notes, base notes) to foreshadow the tone and mood.
I also liked how the author kept the ambiguity of Vic's identity. It added that extra layer of mystery.
I liked that he made custom scents for clients... until you find out how Vic acquires some of the ingredients for the perfume. All I can say is... eww!!
Vic is a despicable character, but one that all can relate to on a base level.
The story started slow, but really picked up speed when the murders began that kept me turning the pages!!
❓️ - What is your favorite perfume?
January 11, 2024
When I was done it made me want to get a new perfume so when I found something nice on Fragrantica I checked the price and you know what I get why Vic did all this.
The POV character is absolutely amoral and has a very high opinion of themself, I'm down for pretentious prose in general and here it emphase their arrogance skillfully. However, I did find Vic's relationship to class and gender, as in desperate to and only able to express their identity through a refined aesthetic that are way out of their means, somewhat relatable. They're a dark mirror for dipshit trans guys who should have moved on from dark academia.
The intrigue itself was a bit more meh, I wasn't all that invested in where it was going and while it dragged on the conclusion was quite rushed. The ending itself was good though, it felt the right conclusion for Vic and their sinister class complex.
The POV character is absolutely amoral and has a very high opinion of themself, I'm down for pretentious prose in general and here it emphase their arrogance skillfully. However, I did find Vic's relationship to class and gender, as in desperate to and only able to express their identity through a refined aesthetic that are way out of their means, somewhat relatable. They're a dark mirror for dipshit trans guys who should have moved on from dark academia.
The intrigue itself was a bit more meh, I wasn't all that invested in where it was going and while it dragged on the conclusion was quite rushed. The ending itself was good though, it felt the right conclusion for Vic and their sinister class complex.
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