A professor taught that of the five senses; it was exceedingly hard to translate the senses of smell and taste through the written word. In your opinion, what books have best translated the sense of taste and/or smell?
(People will say *Perfume* but I hated that book and didn’t think it did justice to actual scent descriptions or scent on our subconscious/memories – I know I am in the minority.)
SharksRS on
Nalini Singh always has great descriptions of smells. Not so much translated the sense of smell, and her books a usually urban, fantasy, scifi romances, but she uses bizarre things to describe people that somehow… Don’t seem bizarre. One example is one character that smells like frozen berries. I’ve never encountered a person that smells like that, but the description to me implies the crisp, clean, sweet-tart personality more than just smell. If that makes any sense. She’s also used phrases like the crashing sea, which not only implies the saline scent but also the violence of the experience.
MordantBooger on
Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans – he compares smells to sounds and it’s very well done. The entire book is really a celebration of esoteric five senses description and almost zero plot.
Redwall series by Brian Jacques. It’s for kids, but to this day, I want some of that cheese and hot root soup, and that ale. He was so good at it. I always got hungry reading his books.
(The rest of the book was written for a different audience than myself though as I absolutely loathed it. Probably the only book I physically tossed away from me when reached the end. But that one bit was amazing).
(edit: grammar is hard)
PsychopompousEnigma on
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind. About a man born with no body odor but an exceptional sense of smell.
Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger by Nigel Slater. A culinary journey through the author’s childhood.
poopyfarroants420 on
I always felt ASOIAF had a good grasp of taste. You can tell Martin likes to eat
glitter_gore_alien on
Legends and Lattes. The way Travis Baldree describes the smell of cinnamon buns baking and the taste of coffee… it puts you right into the scene and you feel like you’re there in the coffee shop.
gennesee on
Okay maybe not what you’re looking for as it isn’t fiction but one of the best books on the 5 senses I think ever written is An Immense World by science writer Ed Yong!! So many cool anecdotes, studies and tidbits from the animal kingdom on all the senses.
outside3450 on
For how scent and its connection to memory: Proust
9 Comments
*Jitterbug Perfume*
*The Scent Keeper*
(People will say *Perfume* but I hated that book and didn’t think it did justice to actual scent descriptions or scent on our subconscious/memories – I know I am in the minority.)
Nalini Singh always has great descriptions of smells. Not so much translated the sense of smell, and her books a usually urban, fantasy, scifi romances, but she uses bizarre things to describe people that somehow… Don’t seem bizarre. One example is one character that smells like frozen berries. I’ve never encountered a person that smells like that, but the description to me implies the crisp, clean, sweet-tart personality more than just smell. If that makes any sense. She’s also used phrases like the crashing sea, which not only implies the saline scent but also the violence of the experience.
Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans – he compares smells to sounds and it’s very well done. The entire book is really a celebration of esoteric five senses description and almost zero plot.
Redwall series by Brian Jacques. It’s for kids, but to this day, I want some of that cheese and hot root soup, and that ale. He was so good at it. I always got hungry reading his books.
There is a passage in Beatrice & Virgil by Yann Martel that describes the eating of a pear that is a masterclass in how to describe taste and smell. [Link here.](https://www.ctvnews.ca/excerpt-from-beatrice-virgil-by-yann-martel-1.499429)
(The rest of the book was written for a different audience than myself though as I absolutely loathed it. Probably the only book I physically tossed away from me when reached the end. But that one bit was amazing).
(edit: grammar is hard)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind. About a man born with no body odor but an exceptional sense of smell.
Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger by Nigel Slater. A culinary journey through the author’s childhood.
I always felt ASOIAF had a good grasp of taste. You can tell Martin likes to eat
Legends and Lattes. The way Travis Baldree describes the smell of cinnamon buns baking and the taste of coffee… it puts you right into the scene and you feel like you’re there in the coffee shop.
Okay maybe not what you’re looking for as it isn’t fiction but one of the best books on the 5 senses I think ever written is An Immense World by science writer Ed Yong!! So many cool anecdotes, studies and tidbits from the animal kingdom on all the senses.
For how scent and its connection to memory: Proust