Perfume

the story of a murderer

by

255 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2001 by Vintage International.

ISBN:
978-0-375-72584-5
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
50208049

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(9 reviews)

Follows an odorless baby found orphaned in Paris in 1738 as he grows into a monster obsessed with his perfect sense of smell and a desire to capture, by any means, the ultimate scent that will make him human.

46 editions

reviewed Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Vintage International) by Patrick Süskind

Old-fashioned

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.

reviewed Perfume by Patrick Süskind

Review of 'Perfume' on 'Goodreads'

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.

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Subjects

  • Perfumes industry
  • Murder
  • Fiction

Places

  • Paris (France)