In Sensorium - Tanais

The 2022 Kirkus Prize Winner for NonfictionFragrancehas long been used tomarkwho is civilized and who is barbaric, who is pure and who is polluted, who is free and who is damnedFocusing their gaze on our most primordial sense, writer and perfumer Tanas weavesa brilliant and expansive memoir, a reckoning thatoffers a critical, alternate history of South Asiafrom an American Bangladeshi Muslim femme perspective.From stories of theirchildhoodin the South, Midwest, and New York;to transcendent experiences with lovers, psychedelics, and fragrances;to trips home to their motherland, Tanas builds a universe of memories and scent: a sensorium.Alongside their personal history, and at the very heart of this work, isan interrogation of the ancient violence of caste, rape culture, patriarchy, war, and the inherited ancestral trauma of being from alushland constantly denuded, a land still threatened and disappearing because of colonization, capitalism, and climate change.Structured like a perfumemoving from base to heart to head notesIN SENSORIUM interlaces eons of South Asian perfume history, erotic and religious texts, survivor testimonies, and material culture with memoir.In Sensoriumis archive and art, illuminating the great crises of our time with the language of Liberation.How does the history of scent reveal the fault lines of power, from colonialism to caste?Perfumery as Memoir: Structured like a perfume with base, heart, and head notes, this work follows the author's journey from a childhood in the American South to their motherland of Bangladesh.A Sensory History: Discover a brilliant, alternate history of South Asia told through its most primordial sense, weaving together eons of perfume history, erotic texts, and material culture.Decolonization through Scent: An urgent interrogation of how fragrance has been used to enforce colonization, caste, and patriarchyand how it can become a language of Liberation.Cultural Criticism: From an American Bangladeshi Muslim femme perspective, Tanas offers a powerful critique of capitalism, climate change, and inherited ancestral trauma.