I found this to be a bit slow to start, and by the middle the end had become (at least partially) predictable. That said, it was a pretty lovely read, and the path from middle to end was still interesting, as was the story itself. I also liked the incorporation of letters between characters as a clever way to tell part of the story while allowing for the passage of a substantial portion of time, as well as revealing some thoughts and feelings that may have otherwise gone unvoiced. I found Alice to be a charming and generally likeable character, and her vocation as a perfume maker allowed for some really unique descriptions of her surroundings and life. I'm also glad that it allowed her to have some personal interests and aspirations to pursue, to somewhat counteract her otherwise lacking in depth. The main bone I have to pick with the book is that Alice was less a protagonist and more a main character, in that while the story may have been about her, it relied wholley on the much more colorful characters around her to move it along. As I now reflect, I really struggle to think of a single decision she made or action she took to influence the plot that wasn't largely driven by others. In fact, even right at the end when she finally made a choice for herself and was about to take action, she was immediately swayed to another and seemingly gave no further consideration to the first. I would have really liked to see her be less timid and more of an architect of her own story.