Deepa Mohan wrote, [on 5/2/2008 1:02 AM]:
I suppose these are maestros of scent who know exactly what they are
talking about...but such destructive criticism, while it sounds very
witty, makes me, personally, very uncomfortable, because it posits a
stance of "only my viewpoint is valid and the people who use these
scents are idiots". Scents are so subjective that I cannot understand
how any one opinion can be the only valid one. And I am with the
snobbery of "I am so expert that I can slate every perfume which is
popular."
Three points in response:
1. Smells do evoke strong emotional responses in people.
2. The opinions expressed by reviewers, whether Turin/Sanchez, or
Michael Edwards, or whoever, are *supposed* to be subjective. Think of
it as being similar to a wine review: the idea is that if you perceive
similarities between the reviewer's palate and yours, you will trust a
review by her for something you don't have experience of.
3. The book being reviewed is an update of one which was first released
(in French) over a decade ago. The language (both the tone and the
vocabulary - by which I mean the words Turing uses to describe the
feelings evoked by each composition) was touted as a breath of fresh air
in a field of stilted and politically correct alternatives.
The Q&A URL I posted might have some more interesting insights.
Udhay
--
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
