Michael Imperioli

A teenager develops an unlikely friendship with Lou Reed in 1970s NYC, in a standout debut from TV/film star Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos, etc.)

The Perfume Burned His Eyes

"He wasn't nasty at all, just buys. In time I realized that was how most of the city's people were. They seemed cold and unkind on the surface but it was simply the armor necessary to live tightly among millions. Beneath the shell you could usually find the goodness" (36)

This is one of the lessons Matthew learns in "The Perfume Burned His Eyes", a short but thoughtful novel. After his father dies, he and his mother moves from Queens to Manhattan, where he starts attending a private school and working as a server. At school, he meets Veronica, a beautiful and self-assured girl with her own demons; and he finds out he lives above Lou Reed and his girlfriend. Throughout the book, he learns about growing up, and gets into some interesting situations.

I found about the book because Michael Imperioli wrote it, which intrigued me. The title was also enigmatic (from the song "Romeo Had Juliette"), which made me wonder what was inside. And much to my surprise, Imperioli is a talented writer. He brings a certain sensitivity toward the whole story, which adds to Matt's dry storytelling. For example, at his new school, "This system separated the school into the haves and the have-nots. The favorite sport of the haves was exposing the have-nots and making certain they understood that theirs was a lower place in this tiny galaxy and, by natural extension, society at large" (41). Imperioli is very aware of this world, which helps in getting to know these characters more.

It's interesting to see Matt, under the pseudonym Tim, befriend Lou Reed and Rachel and get involved in their adventures. From the outset, it seemed like that it would be a behind-the-scenes look at Lou's life as a songwriter, which we somewhat get, but not entirely. We get a few hijinks here and there, and bits of wisdom, but they've only gotten really processed near the end when he suddenly leaves. Then, Matt "had become the words. I was the song. The lyrics now incarnate flesh, bones, and blood (220)." So we get a little something there.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is Veronica, Matt's new friend from school. From the outset, she was painted as unique; while a suck, "she was one of the few, perhaps the only, Suck who hid her true identity from the population at large. This was a tribute to her intelligence and resourcefulness. Yet it required her to keep a distance from her classmates and create a persona of aloofness and eccentricity" (46). There's something about her character, and how her friendship with Matt blossoms, which attached me to her. And Matt was too--"And everything about it was right: the grip of her hands as they dug into my arms, the temperature of her mouth, the taste of its moisture, the smell of her face and hair...everything as it should be." (120) That said, I wasn't sure how it would go, though it was really sad to see it end.

Admittedly, a few parts about the book didn't grab onto me. Matt mentioned his father and the lack of a father figure throughout the beginning, but I wasn't sure about how it played into any major conflicts. We see him get into some sticky situations, but it feels like some vignettes rather than part of a greater story. And near the end, he gets checked into a psychiatric ward, which changes the format somewhat. Is there a reason for that?

But overall, "The Perfume Burned His Eyes" is still a thoughtful book, filled with great writing and a tinge of darkness throughout.

Elda Mengisto

"He wasn't nasty at all, just buys. In time I realized that was how most of the city's people were. They seemed cold and unkind on the surface but it was simply the armor necessary to live tightly among millions. Beneath the shell you could usually find the goodness" (36)

This is one of the lessons Matthew learns in "The Perfume Burned His Eyes", a short but thoughtful novel. After his father dies, he and his mother moves from Queens to Manhattan, where he starts attending a private school and working as a server. At school, he meets Veronica, a beautiful and self-assured girl with her own demons; and he finds out he lives above Lou Reed and his girlfriend. Throughout the book, he learns about growing up, and gets into some interesting situations.

I found about the book because Michael Imperioli wrote it, which intrigued me. The title was also enigmatic (from the song "Romeo Had Juliette"), which made me wonder what was inside. And much to my surprise, Imperioli is a talented writer. He brings a certain sensitivity toward the whole story, which adds to Matt's dry storytelling. For example, at his new school, "This system separated the school into the haves and the have-nots. The favorite sport of the haves was exposing the have-nots and making certain they understood that theirs was a lower place in this tiny galaxy and, by natural extension, society at large" (41). Imperioli is very aware of this world, which helps in getting to know these characters more.

It's interesting to see Matt, under the pseudonym Tim, befriend Lou Reed and Rachel and get involved in their adventures. From the outset, it seemed like that it would be a behind-the-scenes look at Lou's life as a songwriter, which we somewhat get, but not entirely. We get a few hijinks here and there, and bits of wisdom, but they've only gotten really processed near the end when he suddenly leaves. Then, Matt "had become the words. I was the song. The lyrics now incarnate flesh, bones, and blood (220)." So we get a little something there.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is Veronica, Matt's new friend from school. From the outset, she was painted as unique; while a suck, "she was one of the few, perhaps the only, Suck who hid her true identity from the population at large. This was a tribute to her intelligence and resourcefulness. Yet it required her to keep a distance from her classmates and create a persona of aloofness and eccentricity" (46). There's something about her character, and how her friendship with Matt blossoms, which attached me to her. And Matt was too--"And everything about it was right: the grip of her hands as they dug into my arms, the temperature of her mouth, the taste of its moisture, the smell of her face and hair...everything as it should be." (120) That said, I wasn't sure how it would go, though it was really sad to see it end.

Admittedly, a few parts about the book didn't grab onto me. Matt mentioned his father and the lack of a father figure throughout the beginning, but I wasn't sure about how it played into any major conflicts. We see him get into some sticky situations, but it feels like some vignettes rather than part of a greater story. And near the end, he gets checked into a psychiatric ward, which changes the format somewhat. Is there a reason for that?

But overall, "The Perfume Burned His Eyes" is still a thoughtful book, filled with great writing and a tinge of darkness throughout.

Kevin Bertolero

The cover art is MUCH better than the content. This whole book is full of clichés.

Caroline Lewicki

This was a very interesting, slice of life kind of novel. I thought Imperioli developed his characters well and the situations that Matthew found himself in were weird, but not so weird I didn't believe they could actually happen. I enjoyed this!

An outer-borough boy moves to the foreign land of Manhattan and befriends Lou Reed, in a novel by the Emmy-winning actor and screenwriter: “A winner.”—Library Journal Matthew is a sixteen-year-old living in Jackson Heights, Queens, in 1976. After he loses his two most important male role models, his father and grandfather, his mother uses her inheritance to uproot Matthew and herself to a posh apartment building in Manhattan. Although only three miles from his boyhood home, “the city” is a completely new and strange world. Soon, he befriends (and becomes a quasi-assistant to) Lou Reed, who lives with his transgender girlfriend in the same building. And the drug-addled, artistic/shamanic musician will eventually become an unorthodox father figure to Matthew, as he moves toward adulthood, adjusts to a new life, and falls head over heels for a girl wise beyond her years. “Imperioli can definitely write, and he gets high marks for the verisimilitude and empathy that he evokes.”—Booklist (starred review) “A coming-of-age tale dashed with relatable angst and humor.”—Entertainment Weekly “Some fictional trips into 1970s New York abound with nostalgia; this novel memorably opts for grit and heartbreak.”—Kirkus Reviews