Who Would Like This Book:
If you've ever wanted to dive nose-first into 18th-century France, "Perfume" delivers the most vivid, immersive sensory experience you’ll find on a page - especially for anyone fascinated by the darker corners of human nature. The book stands out for its incredibly detailed descriptions of scent, transporting you to an era where smell was inescapable, for better or worse. Readers who enjoy atmospheric historical fiction, psychological thrillers, or tales with a unique, almost folkloric antihero will find this one unforgettable. It's a major win for fans of character-driven stories and anyone who likes their books with a touch of the macabre and magical realism.
Who May Not Like This Book:
This novel is not for everyone. It’s dark, unsettling, and often veers into the grotesque with both its subject matter and its protagonist. Some readers found the in-depth focus on smells overwhelming or tedious, while others struggled with the lack of an empathetic main character or the slow, meandering pacing in places. The narrative can get pretty bleak, and the ending has left more than a few readers scratching their heads - or just unsettled. If you need likeable characters or a sense of justice, this might not be your cup of (very strong-scented) tea.
About:
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind follows the life of Jean Baptiste Grenouille, a man born with an extraordinary sense of smell. The story delves into Grenouille's obsession with capturing scents, leading him on a dark and disturbing path of murder and perfumery. Suskind weaves a unique narrative that balances wit, intrigue, and humor, creating a blend of murder mystery and historical fiction. The book explores themes of obsession, manipulation, and the power of scent, all set against the backdrop of 18th century France.
The book is characterized by its vivid and descriptive writing style, allowing readers to immerse themselves in Grenouille's world and experience scents through his perspective. The narrative unfolds with a dark and unique plot, showcasing the protagonist's psychopathic tendencies and his quest to create the ultimate perfume. Through a mix of literary flair and detailed descriptions, Suskind crafts a story that is both captivating and unsettling, leaving readers enthralled by the complexities of Grenouille's character and actions.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic violence, murder, themes of obsession, and psychological horror.
From The Publisher:
An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion-his sense of smell-leads to murder.
In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"-the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.
Translated from the German by John E. Woods.
Ratings (219)
Incredible (57) | |
Loved It (79) | |
Liked It (47) | |
It Was OK (23) | |
Did Not Like (10) | |
Hated It (3) |
Reader Stats (489):
Read It (221) | |
Currently Reading (5) | |
Want To Read (191) | |
Did Not Finish (7) | |
Not Interested (65) |
7 comment(s)
Kurt Cobain's favorite book and one of mine too. Absolutely brilliant.
Very unusual book. It’s hard enough to write a surrealist book all about smells, let alone do so as engagingly as Suskind has done here.
Having no smell himself and a supernaturally accurate sense of smell, Grenouille is a thoroughly unlikeable and truly unsympathetic character from the start, one of those physically impossible characters like Benjamin Button.
was so tedious and so not interesting because of the actions not the wants
Magical Realism at its best...
I have known about this book for a long time and I've been trying to read it a few times. But I never finished it. The story have been to weird and grotesque for my liking but this time around I absolutely loved it. Yes it's still one of the weirdest and grotesque books I've read but it's so enticing and grabs your attention. The way Patrick Suskind describes smells and the main character's obsessive hunt for it it's so fascinating to read about.
“he tended the light of life's hopes as a very small, but carefully nourished flame.”
Wild story that was an absurdly quick read. Very entertaining book where the main character’s point of view was explained in an easy to understand way, even with the crimes he committed.
The story is about different odors and the Hero Jean-Baptiste Grenouille.
Grenouille, is born without odor of his own, that is he is odorless. But he has a strange ability to identify different odors and tell exactly what is it, where is it, who is it and also recreate it again.
He finds out that he is been avoided as if he doesn't exist, by people because he is odorless. So he sets out to make human odors, to be loved by people and in process commits horrible murders.
The way the narration goes, it shows that Grenouille is not aware of these murders as a crime but just as a process for making perfume. Just like crushing any ingredient while creating a perfume. He succeeds in recreating the human odor perfume but gets caught for his murders.
The funny thing was the perfume he created helps him to get away from the sentence.
The narration is good and the way the different smells are shown through words are really beautiful.
What can you read after
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer?
About the Author:
Patrick Süskind was born in Ambach, near Munich, in 1949. He studied medieval and modern history at the University of Munich. His first play, The Double Bass, was written in 1980 and became an international success. It was performed in Germany, in Switzerland, at the Edinburgh Festival, in London, and at the New Theatre in Brooklyn. His first novel, Perfume became an internationally acclaimed bestseller. He is also the author of The Pigeon and Mr. Summer's Story, and a coauthor of the enormously successful German television series Kir Royal. Mr. Süskind lives and writes in Munich.
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