263 pages
English language
Published Feb. 17, 1987 by Penguin.
Das Parfum, a contemporary novel, which at first sight stands out for the extensive and astonishing descriptions it contains, hides behind it the story of a young man who lives submerged in the misery of his own being due to his inability to love and the profound social and family rejection that has accompanied him throughout his life. The existential emptiness, the craving for power, the loneliness, the identity problem of the subject and many other aspects emerge from the work in a discreet but at the same time shocking way, where in any case it is not difficult to end up feeling.
Set in 18th Century Paris, a man with no scent possesses an incredible sense of smell. If it were written today, it could easily be a super-villain story: scent is the key to power and control here. It avoids those tropes, but gets mired in others that are unfortunately very gendered and tired. Interesting details on perfumery though, and the language can be entertaining in its hyperbole.
La descripción de los olores cotidianos de este libro me pareció fascinante.
Excellent book.
One of the more compelling books I've read.
At no point did I feel anything like compassion or sympathy for the protagonist, but unlike other books that offer unsympathetic leads (Frank Herbert's Man of Two Worlds comes immediately to mind), this didn't sour me to the novel. To the contrary; I found the story all the more riveting for it. It was a study of a monster in a man's form.
I'm gonna have to let this book sit in my mind for a while, but I think this is going to settle into one of the Top 20 Best Books I've Ever Read.
