Although this has been the inspiration for two popular films, ” Scent of a Woman” is a great read in it`s original form, a comfortably far cry from the ”hoo-ha” of Pacino & the Hollywood tale it came to be. Two soldiers travel across Italy at the height of summer, passing through Genoa, Rome & Naples. One of the soldiers is blind, graceful, gleefully vicious & wears a prosthetic arm; the other, twenty years his junior, is his guide. But as these men drink their way through bars, brothels & train carriages, who is guiding who? Only as they reluctantly approach the blind man`s destination, & a stifled love affair, does the purpose of the trip become tragically clear.” Scent of a Woman” is a lyrical exploration of regret, defiance, & what it really means to see.