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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
 

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

by Patrick Suskind


The year is 1738; the place, Paris. A baby is born under a fish-monger’s bloody table in a marketplace, and abandoned. Orphaned, passed over to the monks as a charity case, already there is something in the aura of the tiny infant that is unsettling. No one will look after him; he is somehow too demanding, and, even more disturbing, something is missing: as his wet nurse tries to... (read more)

Top tags: fiction,  historical fiction,  france,  murder,  thriller (all tags)

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Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

saii
  • Rated 5 stars

“knowing the mind of this man was really captivating and intriguing.
The ending was not the best thing but it is definetly worth reading”

saii’s full review »
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Didn’t Like It

Laur J
  • Rated 2 stars

“Like "afternoon delight", reading this was a disappointment from what I anticipated and imagined.
Definitely written from a masculine perspective, it's almost a sci-fi book set in literary, standard setting: the writing and central character is so isolated and misanthropic to the point of perceiving others as a lesser and separate species. Absolutely no warmth, of course - and I get it, that's part of the point. Not so very unlike Frankenstein (as written, not the films), yet none of...”

Laur J’s full review »
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Community:
  • Rated 4.057587 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4.5 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • Stephen W

    stephen w said:

    “To me the most interesting question is whether Grenuille's is a monster or not, he is a psychopath by any measure, but given the conditions of his birth and upbringing and his unique gift/curse could he ever be accepted within society.”

    posted Monday, July 14 2008
  • Hanan H

    hanan h said:

    “ean Batiste Grenouile is a French Youngman lived in 18th century who was born with a highly olfactory sense, with no scent of his own, that made him feel superior over humanity. He lived his life as an outcast and a journeyman with no family or friends except earthy odors. Meanwhile, he evolved his sense to smell beyond human smelling limits, and became expert with perfumery trying to gain what he has deprived all his life: Respect, Love, Kindness and Innocence. So, his gift of smelling guided him as an evil spirit to commit serial of crimes.
    This book shows how look can be deceive, with this harmless creature that caused such a terror. You can clearly see how selfish is the human being, by taken advantages of others or by taken wrong and hideous ways to achieve his own goals, which was true for Grenouile and other major characters in the book. Sometimes, a gift can be a cruse if not trimmed and accompanied with good cause and noble intentions. The most shocking part was the end which made you feel sad or confused and wondering: why?? Could you kill to fulfill your needs?
    This book is well-written, made you see, feel, understand, and smell the innermost emotions and thoughts of each character. The author did a great job by creating a wonderful plot using broad arrays of factors: weather, time, faces, and emotions, thought. Perfume is a world inside a book with living people, touched emotions, and hundred of smells.”

    posted Thursday, July 10 2008
  • morrighan m

    morrighan m said:

    “How good is this book. Is it really worth reading? I can't really get a feel from the posts. I never heard of this movie- or maybe I missed it. When did it come out? Who plays in it?”

    posted Thursday, June 26 2008 ( | view 2 replies )
  • suzana79

    suzana79 said:

    “one of the books that I simply could not put down until finished.Definitely worth reading.Smell descriptions are amazing (some might find it shocking), picturing well the world from Grenuille's perspective.”

    posted Thursday, June 12 2008
  • GiantSTepS

    giantsteps said:

    “The book is much better.
    And for iblamb, I think the best part of the book is the details...”

    posted Friday, May 9 2008
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