If I were Luca Turin (forget for a moment that this is a review of his book), I might start this article with a story seemingly unrelated to Folio Columns: 2003-2014. For example, maybe I’d tell you about standing at a confiserie window as a child, pondering the tiny green leaves or dot of red or praline flower adorning each bonbon and guessing at its relationship to the candy’s hidden center. Once you’d finished the article — which has nothing to do with chocolate, by the way — you’d understand that I’d delivered a curious, but apt, way to explore something entirely different.

Fans of Turin’s writing already know this roundabout way of addressing a subject. (They also know to expect a smattering of evocative metaphors as well as frequent references to classical music, scientific theory, and rare automobiles, no matter what the essay’s subject is.) If you enjoy Turin’s perfume reviews in his and Tania Sanchez’s Perfumes: the A-Z Guide for their style at least as much as their insight on fragrance, you’ll definitely want a copy of Folio Columns…

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