I’m currently reading Blood Cross (in the Jane Yellowrock series) by Faith Hunter. The main character is a Native American shifter, and she hunts rogue vampires, solves the central mystery primarily by her heightened Mountain Cat sense of smell. Jane is smart and tough. She researches, interviews, sorts through a tangled web of facts and hunches to find the bad guy, but her nose is how she tracks and identifies the human, animal, and supernatural world. Hunter is a writer who sets a scene with a good deal of description. She’s very sensory in her style, but nowhere is this more evident than when her main character is describing the smells around her. It made me think a bit, because as a writer I don’t always consider smells. Admittedly, my main character isn’t a shifter. She’s much more visual and tactile in her view. Still, as I go back and think about my novels, I realize the only time I get into aromas is when they’re critical to the scene or to reinforce the setting. Is it because my own sense of smell isn’t exactly the best in the world?
I’ve got mild allergies, and chronic sinus issues, so when I actually smell something, it registers hard – like a shock. It sticks with me, forever linked to the moment. I jog, and each day I remember the sudden scent of honeysuckle on the roadway, gone as quickly as it came. The same with wild cucumber, a fresh cut field of alfalfa, that dead groundhog, festering in the sun on the shoulder of Rt 26 for the last three days. Why, oh why won’t the county come scoop that thing up? Blech!
Then there are the memories: Vicks vapor rub. English boxwood. Saddle leather mixed with horse sweat. Puppy breath. A newborn baby’s skin. Baking bread.
I read a few years back that in treating patients with advanced Alzheimer’s, scent therapy works best. It seems memories attached to smells are the most persistent, and the last to be lost in these patients. It makes sense. Just a whiff of English Boxwood sends me back to my Grandparent’s front yard, with their globe-shaped shrubs lining the front walk and all the feelings and emotions of that part of my life flood my mind.
What smells trigger big memories in your mind?
debradunbar
Thanks – I will check out your review! There are so many good books out there, I’m just not slogging it out with a series if it’s not going in a direction I want. Book 2 was good, but I may pass on book 3.
Suzie
Okay, I had to go check because it’s been so long. It was the third book that got too angsty for me. You should be fine for the 2nd, as I thought it was really good. Faith Hunter is an excellent writer and her description of smells is unparalleled. I give her that, but as you said there is a certain point where you just want to move on.
For a better idea of why I had a problem with the third book you can see my review on Amazon. Apparently a lot of people agreed with me on the issues because it did get the spotlight position on there. One thing I didn’t complain about that others did was the intricate plot. It didn’t confuse me, but some felt overwhelmed by that novel and trying to make sense of everything going on.
http://www.amazon.com/review/RC4X3U7UNFC0H/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0046ECFLI&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
debradunbar
I tend to skip through a lot of description too – I just prefer a fast pace. I do love hearing how beast perceives the world though. I think that is really well done in the books.
I read the first in the series last year, and am just now reading the second. The first was good, but Jane was rather distant and cold, so I wasn’t super eager to jump on the series. She’s more emotionally open in this one, so I like it more. I’ll probably get the third, but if I Jane veers towards angsty, as you noted, I’m outa there! LOL
Suzie
I only read the first couple of Jane Yellowrock books. She got a little too angsty for my taste, but you are right about scents playing a heavy part in the books. It was actually quite fascinating how much beast picked up. The only problem being after awhile I got totally bored with the heavy handed description and started skimming over it. Sad since the author no doubt took a lot of time to write it, but I tend to just want to get on with the story.