Anna Dorn’s brilliant novel Perfume and Pain further cements her status as one of our most clever and talented satirists.
Kirkus wrote of the book:
“Acerbic, steamy, and compulsively readable—fans of ribald, satirical humor (with a specific focus on celebrity melodrama and LGBTQ+ culture) will read it in one go. It’s this author’s best work yet. A Sapphic roller-coaster ride and pitch-perfect homage to lesbian pulp fiction.”
In her own words, here is Anna Dorn’s Book Notes music playlist for her novel Perfume and Pain:
The spark for Perfume & Pain was the idea of a woman turning 35 and realizing that her previous coping mechanisms weren’t working anymore. That her bad behavior that was once cute—partying, provocation—was just kind of pathetic now. This idea didn’t come from thin air; I wrote the book as I was transitioning from a party twink to a lesbian nester myself. My taste in music changed drastically as I changed my lifestyle. My music habits once reflected a woman who partied a lot and smoked a lot of weed and now reflect a woman in a serious relationship who stays home most nights. So the book’s soundtrack contains a little of both genres but is heavier on the latter, songs for staying inside a warmly lit room and falling in love.
“You Make Me Wanna” – Usher
Early in the book, my main character Astrid justifies her love addiction by saying that she’s an artist and love is her muse, “like Usher.” I grew up with Usher and just love his music. I had no idea he’d end up having a comeback this year. Anyway, this song is about being tempted while in a relationship, a theme of this book!
“Dreams Tonight” – Alvvays
Has someone ever appeared in your dream and you’re suddenly in love with them? Does this only happen to me? Well, it also happens to Astrid. This airy bedroom pop song speaks to this phenomenon. If I saw you on the street, would I have you in my dreams tonight?
“Heart Shaped Face” – Angel Olsen
Was it me you were thinking of? All that time that you thought of me? With Astrid and her first love interest, Ivy, neither of them is really actually seeing or thinking of each other. It’s all projection. But as Astrid grows, she begins to see her love interests for who they really are.
“Lived in Bars” – Cat Power
Astrid is a millennial and her other love interest, Penelope, is Gen X. I was thinking of bands they could conceivably be into like for a concert they go to. Cat Power came to mind. Also I was listening to a lot of her when I wrote the bulk of this book. I just adore her and always have. In this track, Chan Marshall sings about a past of living in bars and dancing on tables, to which Astrid can relate.
“Dark But Just a Game” – Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey is all over all of my books, but I think Perfume & Pain is probably my most Lana book yet in that it’s all about being destroyed and transformed by love. Astrid’s dalliance with Ivy is toxic but I think they’re both playing a kind of twisted game. It’s dark, but just a game! The final line of Lana’s song is cut off. “It’s dark, but just—.” This implies it’s never just a game, there are always consequences, which Astrid realizes as well.
“Cherry” – Lana Del Rey
I’m including a second Lana song because I need one that captures the romantic pining that’s all over Lana’s work and this book. I’ve been obsessed with “Cherry” since I saw it performed live on the NFR tour. I love the Patsy Cline reference: I fall to pieces when I’m with you.
“Crazy” – Patsy Cline
Speaking of Patsy, a proto-Lana, Astrid and her Gen X love interest, the more healthy one, listen to Showcase together. This album is pining 101. The lyrics are about feeling crazy for loving someone who ends up leaving you, which also relevant to this book… and every book… worth reading?
“Labyrinth” – Taylor Swift
I have a tendency to foreshadow my own life with my books. There is a scene in Perfume & Pain where Astrid meets a woman with a Taylor Swift tattoo which she thinks is totally insane and embarrassing. I really hated Taylor Swift when I wrote this book. In the scene, Astrid thinks about her tendency to pull a 180 on her views, a tendency I share, and predicts she might one day love Taylor Swift and have her own Taylor Swift tattoo. I don’t have a Taylor Swift tattoo, but I did end up having a rather intense Taylor Swift phase after I wrote this book. There are many versions of Taylor (eras if you will), but my favorite version of her is the tortured love addict. This song from Midnights really captures that. Uh oh, I’m falling in love. Oh no, I’m falling in love again.
“I Dare You” – the xx
I find Romy to be the most talented and least corny of the lesbian pop stars. Her voice is just so angelic, especially when she’s singing: I’ve been a romantic for so long. All I’ve ever heard are love songs. This song is about daring someone to fall in love, even though it’s terrifying, which is a theme of this novel.
“Kill For Love” – Chromatics
This is one of my favorite songs of all time and the lyrics are just sooooo Perfume & Pain:
Everyone is slipping backwards
I drank the water and it felt alright
I took a pill almost every night
In my mind I was watching for change
While the world just stayed the same…
I kept a bottle by the foot of my bed
I put a pillow right on top of my head
But I killed for love!
also at Largehearted Boy:
Anna Dorn’s playlist for her novel Exalted
Anna Dorn’s Playlist for her memoir Bad Lawyer
Anna Dorn’s playlist for her novel Vagablonde
Anna Dorn is the author of the novels Vagablonde and Exalted. She is an associate editor at Hobart Pulp. She was a Lambda Literary Fellow and her second novel Exalted is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She lives in Los Angeles.