Status
Available
Description
Survivor, genius, perfumer, killer: this is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He is abandoned on the filthy streets of Paris as a child, but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: a sense of smell more powerful than any other human's. Soon, he is creating the most sublime fragrances in all the city. Yet there is one odor he cannot capture.
User reviews
LibraryThing member thorold
It's hard to decide whether this book is just famous for being famous, or whether there's really something there apart from 18th century costume-drama, gratuitous slaughter of virgins and a lot of lyrical description.
The basic idea is a magic-realist conceit that makes scent into the essential
All very clever, no doubt, but I'm not sure what it's supposed to prove. Grenouille, a stunted, deformed and not very intelligent bastard born under a fish-stall, is obviously intended at least in part as a grotesque parody of the Nietzschean Übermensch, a being who has risen above the delusions of morality and religion. And presumably the 18th century setting is supposed to bring in associations with the Marquis de Sade; we certainly get a lot of hints of the approaching death and destruction of the French revolution.
This has obviously been an enormously successful book, possibly simply because it was made into an American film (which I haven't seen). Without knowing of that success, I would have guessed that it's far too lyrically self-indulgent to succeed as a literary novel, and too lacking in sympathetic characters (or characters of any sort, really) to be enjoyable as a historical novel or a crime story. But maybe there is something to it, after all?
The basic idea is a magic-realist conceit that makes scent into the essential
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external projection of our humanity: Süskind's central character, Grenouille, has no human social attributes at all (he sees other people only as an inconvenience, or occasionally as a resource to be exploited) and therefore no scent, but he learns to synthesize, and later to steal, scents that can make other people relate to him as a person. All very clever, no doubt, but I'm not sure what it's supposed to prove. Grenouille, a stunted, deformed and not very intelligent bastard born under a fish-stall, is obviously intended at least in part as a grotesque parody of the Nietzschean Übermensch, a being who has risen above the delusions of morality and religion. And presumably the 18th century setting is supposed to bring in associations with the Marquis de Sade; we certainly get a lot of hints of the approaching death and destruction of the French revolution.
This has obviously been an enormously successful book, possibly simply because it was made into an American film (which I haven't seen). Without knowing of that success, I would have guessed that it's far too lyrically self-indulgent to succeed as a literary novel, and too lacking in sympathetic characters (or characters of any sort, really) to be enjoyable as a historical novel or a crime story. But maybe there is something to it, after all?
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I wanted to take a shower after reading this book--it is seriously, seriously creepy. About a serial killer stalking virgins for their essence to create the perfect perfume, the novel is filled with fantastic touches and the simply bizarre.
All in all, I have to admire the way the author vividly
The book is translated from the German, and the translator seems to have done well by it given how evocative and gripping I found the novel (and often darkly funny). If I'm not ranking it higher--well, blame the climax and denouement--which I found ridiculous.
All in all, I have to admire the way the author vividly
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creates a grotesque monster, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, as memorable and original as Dracula. An olfactory genius on the order of a Mozart, he has no smell of his own but can distinguish between the most subtle of scents. I'd also give the novel high marks for how it evokes France on the eve of revolution--the sights, sounds, and of course, especially the smells, and for how it conveys the perfumer's art. The descriptions of all the elements of smell and their power is unlike any other book I've read. The book is translated from the German, and the translator seems to have done well by it given how evocative and gripping I found the novel (and often darkly funny). If I'm not ranking it higher--well, blame the climax and denouement--which I found ridiculous.
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LibraryThing member FicusFan
I am glad I finished this book. It was supposed to be a psychological mystery and/or horror. I just found it boring. Strange unloved little man, who has no scent of his own, possess the most amazing nose for scents. He lives and sees the world through his nose. Because he has no human
Not only didn't I care about the main character, I wasn't interested in him. The only interesting part was when he first learned about making perfume.
The horror part was definitely low key, as were the murders. The best thing I can say is that it was short.
The story was set in the 18thC and emphasized the general and continuing stink of everything. I always find the contradiction interesting. If everything stank so badly, how did anyone notice either good or bad smells ? I would think their noses would be dulled or burned out?
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connections,and has had none since birth, he is unconstrained by manners, rules, laws or compassion. Controlled mayhem ensues.Not only didn't I care about the main character, I wasn't interested in him. The only interesting part was when he first learned about making perfume.
The horror part was definitely low key, as were the murders. The best thing I can say is that it was short.
The story was set in the 18thC and emphasized the general and continuing stink of everything. I always find the contradiction interesting. If everything stank so badly, how did anyone notice either good or bad smells ? I would think their noses would be dulled or burned out?
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LibraryThing member serendipitina
Perfume has one of the more original plots I have read. A compelling coming of age story of a murder. Suskind provides a unique, deeply psychological coming of age of baby boy, who was left for dead at birth, and grows into a lonely, unloved man. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille screamed his way into life
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refusing to let his mother deny him life. But early on, those who try to care for him, sense something not quite right. He seemingly has no scent or odor himself, but his own sense of smell is quite acute. Grenouille can smell the subtlest of scents, even through walls. He uses this unique trait to become a perfumer, and not just any perfumer. His desire to create the ultimate perfume leads him to murder, several murders. The reader will want very much to despise Grenouille, but yet, Suskind makes it so you can't completely despise him. Suskind also tells this story with such powerful details that the reader can not only see the environments in which the story takes place, but can also smell many of the odors and scents that Grenouille encounters. This is a well written and beautifully told story, that you sometimes forget it is a story about murder. Show Less
LibraryThing member riofriotex
This was a choice of my local book club; otherwise, I probably would not have chosen to read it. Nevertheless, it made a good book for discussion. The book was originally published in German in 1985. Set in France in the 1700s, it’s the story of a man born without any odor himself but with an
He becomes an apprentice and eventually a journeyman perfumer, and the best part of the book are the descriptions of techniques of fragrance extractionn of that era, such as distillation, maceration, and enfluerage.
His quest to create the perfect scent (one that can influence human emotion) leads to murders and peculiar adventures (seven years spent alone in a cave, time as the subject of an odd scientist with strange theories). The ending of the book is very bizarre and rather gross.
I can’t really recommend this one, except possibly as a choice for a book club looking for unusual titles to discuss.
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incredible sense of smell.He becomes an apprentice and eventually a journeyman perfumer, and the best part of the book are the descriptions of techniques of fragrance extractionn of that era, such as distillation, maceration, and enfluerage.
His quest to create the perfect scent (one that can influence human emotion) leads to murders and peculiar adventures (seven years spent alone in a cave, time as the subject of an odd scientist with strange theories). The ending of the book is very bizarre and rather gross.
I can’t really recommend this one, except possibly as a choice for a book club looking for unusual titles to discuss.
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LibraryThing member BellaFoxx
Synopsis
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
Translated from the German by John E. Woods.
I read good things about this book, it was even recommended by friends. For the first few chapters I was intrigued, the descriptions were lush and the scents assailed the senses, I could almost smell the stench of the city as described. Also, the description of Grenouille as a baby,
"It seemed to Terrier as if the child saw him with its nostrils, as if it were staring intently at him, . . . using it's nose to devour something whole. The child seemed to be smelling right through his skin, into his innards."
By the time I was halfway through the book, all this wordiness was beginning to tire me, the detailed descriptions of places and people, how they got where they were, why they were doing what they were doing and thinking about what they were going to do and their opinions in society in general was just too much. It was as if the author was so in love with words, he forgot what he was writing about.
Then the story went from slightly science fantastical to totally ridiculous and I ended the book feeling slight disgusted, cheated and upset about the time I spent reading this book that I would never get back.
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
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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 frest-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 brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.Translated from the German by John E. Woods.
I read good things about this book, it was even recommended by friends. For the first few chapters I was intrigued, the descriptions were lush and the scents assailed the senses, I could almost smell the stench of the city as described. Also, the description of Grenouille as a baby,
"It seemed to Terrier as if the child saw him with its nostrils, as if it were staring intently at him, . . . using it's nose to devour something whole. The child seemed to be smelling right through his skin, into his innards."
By the time I was halfway through the book, all this wordiness was beginning to tire me, the detailed descriptions of places and people, how they got where they were, why they were doing what they were doing and thinking about what they were going to do and their opinions in society in general was just too much. It was as if the author was so in love with words, he forgot what he was writing about.
Then the story went from slightly science fantastical to totally ridiculous and I ended the book feeling slight disgusted, cheated and upset about the time I spent reading this book that I would never get back.
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LibraryThing member perlle
Not like anything else I've read. Felt like a modern day Grimm's fairy tale told from the perspective of the villain.
LibraryThing member MelmoththeLost
I'd been looking at this book on bookshop shelves from time to time but never got around to reading it so I was very pleased to find it going begging at the Unconvention a few weeks ago.
A year or two ago I read another work set in 18th century France with a very similar decadent theme - Laurence
So what to say about Süskind's hero (or rather anti-hero) and his novel?
Grenouille is a profoundly Satanic or Luciferian character - which is quite appropriate considering the great interest in Satanism in France, particularly amongst the educated classes, in the 18th and 19th centuries. He is therefore a most fitting central figure given the place and period in which the novel is set and its theme. He is Satanic or Luciferian not so much for his complete lack of conscience or any form of human feeling (though these are a part of it) but for his narcissicm and arrogance from which he engenders his own Fall - a Fall which is therefore "tragic" in the ancient Greek dramatic sense. It is both the result, the essentially inevitable result, of the sequence of choices which he makes throughout his life, and also fitting, yet highly ironic, that it is his being perceived as angelic by those around him which is the catalyst for the eventual denouement, though of that I will say no more for fear of spoiling it for future readers.
It is also, I think, appropriate that Süskind packs an awful lot of ideas, of poetry and powerful writing into a novel which many other writers might have been tempted to pad out or stretch to 500 or more pages. In that, he has successfully distilled and concentrated the essence of his ideas in a way which is, yes, highly appropriate for a novel dealing with so concentrated a substance as perfume itself. Well done that author!
As Gooner has said, the detail about perfumery and the technicalities of the perfume industry which Süskind weaves into the novel are fascinating and provide much of the sense of the atmosphere in which it is set.
I will, however, mention a couple of anachronisms which trip Süskind up.
Firstly his references to cholera in Paris in the 1740s and 1750s, whereas cholera only arrived in Europe from Asia via the Middle East in the late 1820s - the first known European epidemic was in 1829.
Secondly he refers on a number of occasions to the use of Eucalyptus in the perfume industry in the 1750s and early 1760s; the eucalyptus is a family of trees native to Australia and according to wikipaedia its products were introduced to Europe no earlier than 1770, having been brought back from the Antipodes by one of Captain Cook's expeditions. It is I suppose possible that the name "eucalyptus" was used during the period in question for other, genuinely available, ingredients and that therefore the reference is not inappropriate but if so I've managed to find no evidence of that so anachronism does seem likely.
Whether anachronisms like these spoil the novel depends both on whether one spots them for what they are and whether one is bothered by slips like these and how important historical accuracy is for a reader. This is essentially an historical novel with a good dollop of fantasy so perhaps it shouldn't be regarded as a serious problem.
A year or two ago I read another work set in 18th century France with a very similar decadent theme - Laurence
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Haloche's Pleasures of the Flesh which was unable to live up to the promise of its basic idea. I now realise that Haloche's novel was trying to be another "Perfume" but failing almost completely in that attempt since she was simply, unfortunately, nowhere near good enough a writer to pull it off.So what to say about Süskind's hero (or rather anti-hero) and his novel?
Grenouille is a profoundly Satanic or Luciferian character - which is quite appropriate considering the great interest in Satanism in France, particularly amongst the educated classes, in the 18th and 19th centuries. He is therefore a most fitting central figure given the place and period in which the novel is set and its theme. He is Satanic or Luciferian not so much for his complete lack of conscience or any form of human feeling (though these are a part of it) but for his narcissicm and arrogance from which he engenders his own Fall - a Fall which is therefore "tragic" in the ancient Greek dramatic sense. It is both the result, the essentially inevitable result, of the sequence of choices which he makes throughout his life, and also fitting, yet highly ironic, that it is his being perceived as angelic by those around him which is the catalyst for the eventual denouement, though of that I will say no more for fear of spoiling it for future readers.
It is also, I think, appropriate that Süskind packs an awful lot of ideas, of poetry and powerful writing into a novel which many other writers might have been tempted to pad out or stretch to 500 or more pages. In that, he has successfully distilled and concentrated the essence of his ideas in a way which is, yes, highly appropriate for a novel dealing with so concentrated a substance as perfume itself. Well done that author!
As Gooner has said, the detail about perfumery and the technicalities of the perfume industry which Süskind weaves into the novel are fascinating and provide much of the sense of the atmosphere in which it is set.
I will, however, mention a couple of anachronisms which trip Süskind up.
Firstly his references to cholera in Paris in the 1740s and 1750s, whereas cholera only arrived in Europe from Asia via the Middle East in the late 1820s - the first known European epidemic was in 1829.
Secondly he refers on a number of occasions to the use of Eucalyptus in the perfume industry in the 1750s and early 1760s; the eucalyptus is a family of trees native to Australia and according to wikipaedia its products were introduced to Europe no earlier than 1770, having been brought back from the Antipodes by one of Captain Cook's expeditions. It is I suppose possible that the name "eucalyptus" was used during the period in question for other, genuinely available, ingredients and that therefore the reference is not inappropriate but if so I've managed to find no evidence of that so anachronism does seem likely.
Whether anachronisms like these spoil the novel depends both on whether one spots them for what they are and whether one is bothered by slips like these and how important historical accuracy is for a reader. This is essentially an historical novel with a good dollop of fantasy so perhaps it shouldn't be regarded as a serious problem.
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LibraryThing member elliepotten
This book had what I call the 'Madame Bovary effect' on me. That is, while I appreciated the plot, the prose and the social history, I wasn't that bothered about the characters and got to the end of the novel thinking, 'Actually, I didn't really like it that much...' I found myself comparing it to
That said, I can't deny that this is a very accomplished novel. It tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a young man with an incredible nose who can tease apart the threads of scent in even the most hectic of city streets, differentiate between tiny gradients of fragrance, and discern odours that other people can't sense at all. The most elusive and desirable fragrance he encounters is the scent of a young virgin, and his obsessive pursuit of this ideal, his single-minded determination to create the ultimate perfume distilled from unblemished young women at the height of their perfection, leads him on an sinister quest to find the means to that exquisite end. He’s a hideous character, twisted and frightening in his genuine belief in his own crusade, but at the same time you can’t help admiring his genius and feeling some empathy for him despite his own complete lack of it.
The overwhelming level of olfactory description is definitely the main thing that stays with you as you close the book. Every scent, from flowers to humans to mountain air, is described in a flamboyant and exuberant swell of language. Unlike similar descriptions of taste, for example, or sound, I found it harder to ‘experience’ them as I read, and found that those passages veered from being sublime to, well... a bit much. In fact, that pretty much sums up my feelings about the book as a whole. Sometimes the description was divine, sometimes it was too much. Sometimes the process of perfume distillation and creation was fascinating, sometimes it was too much. Sometimes the more far-fetched or surreal aspects of the plot were deliciously compelling, sometimes they were... yep, you guessed it, too much. This is a novel of excess, of ambition, of genius, with threads of theatricality and black humour running through its pages – and I think every reader will respond differently to the sensory tidal wave. There’s only one way to find out for yourself – strap on your armbands and get swimming!
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Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, with its slightly blunt, spare translation, its intense sensory descriptions and its surreal exaggeration of reality - except that I was blown away by Like Water for Chocolate and wasn't by Perfume.That said, I can't deny that this is a very accomplished novel. It tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a young man with an incredible nose who can tease apart the threads of scent in even the most hectic of city streets, differentiate between tiny gradients of fragrance, and discern odours that other people can't sense at all. The most elusive and desirable fragrance he encounters is the scent of a young virgin, and his obsessive pursuit of this ideal, his single-minded determination to create the ultimate perfume distilled from unblemished young women at the height of their perfection, leads him on an sinister quest to find the means to that exquisite end. He’s a hideous character, twisted and frightening in his genuine belief in his own crusade, but at the same time you can’t help admiring his genius and feeling some empathy for him despite his own complete lack of it.
The overwhelming level of olfactory description is definitely the main thing that stays with you as you close the book. Every scent, from flowers to humans to mountain air, is described in a flamboyant and exuberant swell of language. Unlike similar descriptions of taste, for example, or sound, I found it harder to ‘experience’ them as I read, and found that those passages veered from being sublime to, well... a bit much. In fact, that pretty much sums up my feelings about the book as a whole. Sometimes the description was divine, sometimes it was too much. Sometimes the process of perfume distillation and creation was fascinating, sometimes it was too much. Sometimes the more far-fetched or surreal aspects of the plot were deliciously compelling, sometimes they were... yep, you guessed it, too much. This is a novel of excess, of ambition, of genius, with threads of theatricality and black humour running through its pages – and I think every reader will respond differently to the sensory tidal wave. There’s only one way to find out for yourself – strap on your armbands and get swimming!
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LibraryThing member melydia
This is the life story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man with superhuman olfactory senses but no body odor of his own. The whole tale is abundantly strange, from Grenouille's unusual birth to the string of bodies he leaves in his wake, whether he knows it or not. He reminds me somewhat of Buffalo
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Bill from The Silence of the Lambs. I would advise against reading while eating, as many of the scent descriptions are vivid and unpleasant. Grenouille experiences the world through his nose, and the world of 18th-century France was quite odoriferous. The weirdness of the story escalates at the end, until I started having trouble swallowing it. It was like the whole theme of the narrative shifted for the last few chapters. And if you look at it from that angle, the ending is (mostly) logical and satisfying, but most of the story leading up to it didn't quite fit. That said, I flew through this book and was fascinated by the idea of telling a story chiefly through scent. And it is indeed told well. I'm just not sure to whom I'd recommend it. Perhaps people who like dark and weird fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member seph
The blurb on the cover of my copy of this book promised "A totally gripping page-turner...", but I'm afraid this one fell short of that mark. The story starts out interesting enough, watching the way Grenouille discovers the world through scent and pulls himself into better and better situations,
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but then a long lull sets in as the book becomes an obsessive homage to scent. Perfumers and people with scent fetishes might find themselves unable to put the book down at that point, but I was all too willing. The story gets interesting again just as it skims in a most anti-climatic manner over a long-awaited highly built up plot point, only to rebound to a second unbelievably bizarre climax. I felt kind of cheated in both instances, and then the story came to an unsettling end, and that's that. I like to sit down and write these reviews as soon as I finish reading, while the thoughts and emotions are all still fresh in my head, but with this book the only thought in my head is that I hope the next book I dive into is more interesting and compelling. This book wasn't a bad read, but it really didn't leave any kind of impression with me at all, so I can't say it was a great read either. Show Less
LibraryThing member KLmesoftly
Part of me is saddened by the fact that I'd seen the movie before I read this book, as the film is a very faithful adaptation, but on the other hand, I'm not sure I could've handled the suspense if I'd read this unaware of the ending. The prose is eerily detached, much like the protagonist, though
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it enhances the slow build to the novel's climax, rather than lessening my interest in the story. Grenouille is by no means one of the "friendly" serial killers that populate many recent works--Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, for example--but I wouldn't have him any other way. Show Less
LibraryThing member Laine-Cunningham
A very dark read and yet you have these moments where you really feel for the main character. He's not a nice guy but consider the situation under which he grew up and how terribly he was treated. Then, just at the time when you're feeling compassion, the author kicks in something to remind you how
Exceptionally well done all the way through, including with the plot. The end was very different than what I expected, and a masterful performance. I will be looking for more novels by this author. A fantastic read!
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bad a person he really is. And when you're starting to feel a high ick factor from being in his head, you suddenly read something that enhances your sympathy.Exceptionally well done all the way through, including with the plot. The end was very different than what I expected, and a masterful performance. I will be looking for more novels by this author. A fantastic read!
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LibraryThing member Sarah.Hansrote
the best book i have ever read!! the descriptions are so detailed that you suddenly are in his body using his nose and thinking like him. a book that everybody needs to have read at least one in their life.
read the book before you see the movie, this is one of the rare movie that will not ruin the
read the book before you see the movie, this is one of the rare movie that will not ruin the
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book and makes you understand it bette Show Less
LibraryThing member BellaFoxx
I read good things about this book, it was even recommended by friends. For the first few chapters I was intrigued, the descriptions were lush and the scents assailed the senses, I could almost smell the stench of the city as described. Also, the description of Grenouille as a baby,
“It seemed to
By the time I was halfway through the book, all this wordiness was beginning to tire me, the detailed descriptions of places and people, how they got where they were, why they were doing what they were doing and thinking about what they were going to do and their opinions in society in general was just too much. It was as if the author was so in love with words, he forgot what he was writing about.
Then the story went from slightly science fantastical to totally ridiculous and I ended the book feeling slightly disgusted, cheated and upset about the time I spent reading this book that I would never get back.
“It seemed to
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Terrier as if the child saw him with its nostrils, as if it were staring intently at him, . . . using it’s nose to devour something whole. The child seemed to be smelling right through his skin, into his innards.”By the time I was halfway through the book, all this wordiness was beginning to tire me, the detailed descriptions of places and people, how they got where they were, why they were doing what they were doing and thinking about what they were going to do and their opinions in society in general was just too much. It was as if the author was so in love with words, he forgot what he was writing about.
Then the story went from slightly science fantastical to totally ridiculous and I ended the book feeling slightly disgusted, cheated and upset about the time I spent reading this book that I would never get back.
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LibraryThing member lindaspangler
fascinating book about a man who smells as well as a bear, who has no scent himself. Also a murderer. reads like a very myth but set very much in an historical context in 1800 century France
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
You will never think about "smell" in the same way after you read this book. Mostly about obsession and how we can allow ourselves to be consumed.
LibraryThing member shrubbery
It's well-researched and Suskind can obviously write, but its basic silliness gives way to a bad lag in the middle and outright ridiculousness by the end. The book's a bit different but it's too slow and unsatisfactory.
LibraryThing member BraveNewBks
I found this book really engrossing -- the basic premise is of a man with an extraordinarily (almost magically) sensitive nose, such that he separates and identifies every scent he's ever smelled. The problem, of course, is that he must find a way to possess the very few scents that entrance him...
LibraryThing member SimoneA
I read this book probably around 10 years ago and all I remembered was that I was really impressed by it. However, that feeling is now completely gone. The good thing about it is the way scent is described, but that does not outweigh the bad things. After the first few chapters I was bored with the
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elaborate descriptions of scent and the pure evilness of the main character. Maybe it was the translation (Dutch) that made the language sound a bit awkward at times, but I ended up finishing this book quickly, because then I'd be able to get rid of it again. Show Less
LibraryThing member bardsfingertips
This was a very quick and easy read for me. The story was exceptionally linear, single-minded, and without any self-indulged meandering. It has lush and lovely descriptions of the character's demigod-like nose and its perception of the world that were a joy to read and immerse myself in.
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All-in-all, the thing it really made me think of the most was, "Hmm, this reads like when Anne Rice was actually good." Show Less
LibraryThing member vtn
I was curious about this book as it is such a hype. Naturally, I had a lot of expectation so I saved it for proper savouring during a recent mountain trip. I finished it in two days as it was an easy read.
The writer picks an unusual angle to tell his story: he explores the world through smell. The
Let me start, as always, with the good stuffs. The descriptions are amazing. How do you thoroughly describe smells? Even prolific wine writers must resort to nasty descriptions such as odors of manure and wet dog to describe their tastings due to lack of descriptive vocabularies. Through his creative narration, the writer evoke a powerful olfactory journey in his written world. He can even describe the smell of a doorknob!
Süskind also brings in an interesting notion that smell plays an important albeit stealthy role in us being accepted in our social pack. As Grenouille has no smell on his own, he becomes an outcast. I guess he is talking about pheromones and Grenouille's lack of it.
Reading the book, I did not imagine the brick-and-mortar Paris but the smell of Paris built on wisps in different thickness and colours to represent odors. It is extremely unique.
The story line, smooth and wonderful as it is, is a little strange. The tight pace unfortunately unravels to a looser thread and creates a plausible ending which is a pity. The immediate reaction when I finished was I didn't know what the fuss was all about. It is certainly unique, it is creatively written, it is engaging but something is missing and up to now, I really cannot pinpoint what that is.
I can wholeheartedly say that this book is recommended. However, like the delicate, wispy and fluid nature of smell, the goodness of the book keeps on coming in and out of my grasp. I cannot really say whether it's a good book or not. This is unsettling, just like the book.
The writer picks an unusual angle to tell his story: he explores the world through smell. The
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book, originally written in German, is a story of a young man, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who is born without a smell on its own (how that is even possible I am not sure) but instead is blessed with a keen sense of smell. He then works at a perfume house in Paris and then becomes obsessed with the quest to create various types of human smells. The obsession turns him into a killer. Let me start, as always, with the good stuffs. The descriptions are amazing. How do you thoroughly describe smells? Even prolific wine writers must resort to nasty descriptions such as odors of manure and wet dog to describe their tastings due to lack of descriptive vocabularies. Through his creative narration, the writer evoke a powerful olfactory journey in his written world. He can even describe the smell of a doorknob!
Süskind also brings in an interesting notion that smell plays an important albeit stealthy role in us being accepted in our social pack. As Grenouille has no smell on his own, he becomes an outcast. I guess he is talking about pheromones and Grenouille's lack of it.
Reading the book, I did not imagine the brick-and-mortar Paris but the smell of Paris built on wisps in different thickness and colours to represent odors. It is extremely unique.
The story line, smooth and wonderful as it is, is a little strange. The tight pace unfortunately unravels to a looser thread and creates a plausible ending which is a pity. The immediate reaction when I finished was I didn't know what the fuss was all about. It is certainly unique, it is creatively written, it is engaging but something is missing and up to now, I really cannot pinpoint what that is.
I can wholeheartedly say that this book is recommended. However, like the delicate, wispy and fluid nature of smell, the goodness of the book keeps on coming in and out of my grasp. I cannot really say whether it's a good book or not. This is unsettling, just like the book.
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LibraryThing member Nandakishore_Varma
There are some books which can be called unique. They may be good, bad or indifferent: but their authors strike out from the trodden paths of narrative themes and structure to explore totally new vistas, so that the product becomes unique. Perfume by Patrick Suskind is such a book.
Jean Baptiste
But simple identification is not enough for Jean. He is driven by the insatiable urge to possess any smell he likes for himself; he will move heaven and earth to extract it from its origin, make a perfume out of it and keep it with him. He is not bothered that the object which originates the smell will be destroyed in the process of extraction: he is a "smell-vampire". And like a vampire, it is the smell of virgins which drives him wild. Ultimately, Grenouille's gift and single-minded obsession proves to be the cause of both his uplift and undoing...
Suskind has written a gripping novel which will hook and pull the reader in from the first sentence onwards. However, this is not a simple horror story or thriller: it has got layers of meaning hidden beneath one another which will come out on careful reading.
Jean Baptiste Grenouille is a masterly creation. His insatiable thirst for smells makes him a truly terrifying "collector": one who cannot enjoy his passion the normal way, but must possess the object of his desire (I was reminded of Frederick Clegg in John Fowles' "The Collector") completely. The fact that he lacks a characteristic odour himself enhances his vampiric nature. Also, all the people who profit from him come to a grisly end, like the poor misguided souls who make a pact with the devil.
Joseph Campbell has made the slogan "Follow your bliss" very popular - but how to know whether your bliss is good or bad? I have always wondered about the concept of "negative bliss". Both Gandhi and Hitler could have been said to be following their bliss in different ways. While reading this novel, I was struck by the realisation that the difference is in one's attitude. If one is doing it because one cannot be doing anything else - following one's karma, if you want to put it that way - then it is bliss. But if one is driven by an insatiable need which feeds on itself, one ends up being a vampire. Ultimately, it consumes oneself.
Highly recommended.
Jean Baptiste
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Grenouille is "an abominable and gifted personage, in an era which was not lacking in abominable and gifted personages". Born a bastard in the stinking heart of the city of Paris in the eighteenth century under a gutting table, the first cry he utters sends his mother to the scaffold for abandoning an infant. Grenouille grows up by sucking many wet nurses dry, survives the horrendous childhood of an orphan in an age without mercy, and grows up to become a successful perfumer. For this is his unique gift: the child who does not emit any smell himself is blessed with extraordinary olfactory capabilities, which allows him to recognise, separate and catalogue in his mind all the different odours he comes into contact with.But simple identification is not enough for Jean. He is driven by the insatiable urge to possess any smell he likes for himself; he will move heaven and earth to extract it from its origin, make a perfume out of it and keep it with him. He is not bothered that the object which originates the smell will be destroyed in the process of extraction: he is a "smell-vampire". And like a vampire, it is the smell of virgins which drives him wild. Ultimately, Grenouille's gift and single-minded obsession proves to be the cause of both his uplift and undoing...
Suskind has written a gripping novel which will hook and pull the reader in from the first sentence onwards. However, this is not a simple horror story or thriller: it has got layers of meaning hidden beneath one another which will come out on careful reading.
Jean Baptiste Grenouille is a masterly creation. His insatiable thirst for smells makes him a truly terrifying "collector": one who cannot enjoy his passion the normal way, but must possess the object of his desire (I was reminded of Frederick Clegg in John Fowles' "The Collector") completely. The fact that he lacks a characteristic odour himself enhances his vampiric nature. Also, all the people who profit from him come to a grisly end, like the poor misguided souls who make a pact with the devil.
Joseph Campbell has made the slogan "Follow your bliss" very popular - but how to know whether your bliss is good or bad? I have always wondered about the concept of "negative bliss". Both Gandhi and Hitler could have been said to be following their bliss in different ways. While reading this novel, I was struck by the realisation that the difference is in one's attitude. If one is doing it because one cannot be doing anything else - following one's karma, if you want to put it that way - then it is bliss. But if one is driven by an insatiable need which feeds on itself, one ends up being a vampire. Ultimately, it consumes oneself.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
This book was odd, really odd. I struggled with it because it was odd. The protagonist, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is not likeable. His mother planed to leave him in a pile of fish offal to die but he survived. She was beheaded, thus his name Jean-Baptiste, is a reminder of his mother and his last
************This section may contain spoilers not otherwise available in most areas**********
For originality this story takes 5 stars. I felt like there is so much there the author is trying to say through this story but what I feel is that it follows the life of Jesus only in reverse. Grenouille is introduced by his mother who is beheaded. He spends time in the wilderness but instead of resisting temptation, he goes with the grandiose. At this point he heads into his ministry. Instead of healing he brings death even though at first he often brings lots of money to those he joins. Instead of being rejected as he is taken to die (very similar to Jesus by the way) all people feel total love for him and want him.
Character development; yes Grenouille’s character is developed and through him we know some of the other characters but it really is a march through several characters lives.
The language of perfume and the business is very interesting. The writing is poetic at times.
Emotional impact. Because this is a bit of a horror in so many ways, there is not a feeling of pleasure nor is it a nice picture of people. It is also a mystery and the ending is truly unpredictable at least I think so. I think it is going to be hard to quit thinking about this story.
This book made me think about the killings by people who are bullied in school, shunned by society and have gone out and killed. The protagonist is not treated badly in general but he also is not especially noted. He is just easy to overlook. He has no scent, he has no identity. People pay no attention. He has no attachment to people. He hates how they smell. The only thing he loves is smell. The protagonist is a murderer but as in so many cases, he takes his reason with him and no one will ever know why.
Odd story, just odd.
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name means frog. But the oddest thing about Grenouille is he has no odor. He has no scent at all. Grenouille was born July 17, 1738 in Paris, France. While Grenouille has no odor he has an extraordinary sense of smell. The story follows Grenouille over the next thirty some years as he is rejected by the wet nurse, the monk, placed in an orphanage, indentured to a tanner and finally he manages to get into the perfume business where he is able to learn how to put his sense of smell to his advantage. During this early time, he discovers a scent that he “has to have”, the smell of a young virgin on the brink of womanhood. The next span of time, Grenouille takes himself into the wilderness where he spends seven years to avoid smelling any human smell. This section is very strange, there is a part that reads like Genesis and it reads as if Grenouille is a god, a creator. From here, Grenouille goes to Grasse (he has his papers as a journeyman perfumer) and he finds a business to attach himself where he learns more methods used in creating perfumes. He also finds a new virgin and again wants to capture that scent. Jean-Baptiste has also discovered he has no scent and therefore no identity so he begins working on creating scents for himself. He finds different ones that work for various occasions. He also decides to create a scent that will make mankind love him. Well that is enough, if this intrigues you, you will need to read the book. The ending is, well, it is a bit of surprise. One thing that also occurs, everywhere that Grenouille goes, death follows. The mother dies, the orphan mistress dies, the perfumer in France dies. The deaths are natural deaths but all odd deaths or deaths they feared the most.************This section may contain spoilers not otherwise available in most areas**********
For originality this story takes 5 stars. I felt like there is so much there the author is trying to say through this story but what I feel is that it follows the life of Jesus only in reverse. Grenouille is introduced by his mother who is beheaded. He spends time in the wilderness but instead of resisting temptation, he goes with the grandiose. At this point he heads into his ministry. Instead of healing he brings death even though at first he often brings lots of money to those he joins. Instead of being rejected as he is taken to die (very similar to Jesus by the way) all people feel total love for him and want him.
Character development; yes Grenouille’s character is developed and through him we know some of the other characters but it really is a march through several characters lives.
The language of perfume and the business is very interesting. The writing is poetic at times.
Emotional impact. Because this is a bit of a horror in so many ways, there is not a feeling of pleasure nor is it a nice picture of people. It is also a mystery and the ending is truly unpredictable at least I think so. I think it is going to be hard to quit thinking about this story.
This book made me think about the killings by people who are bullied in school, shunned by society and have gone out and killed. The protagonist is not treated badly in general but he also is not especially noted. He is just easy to overlook. He has no scent, he has no identity. People pay no attention. He has no attachment to people. He hates how they smell. The only thing he loves is smell. The protagonist is a murderer but as in so many cases, he takes his reason with him and no one will ever know why.
Odd story, just odd.
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LibraryThing member MarcusH
While the general concept of the plot is unique, the story as a whole is horrific. Suskind's story of a man born with an abnormally sensitive olfactory sense draws literature of the past to find inspiration (Frankenstein, The Raven, The Monk, etc.). The biggest difference between those time tested
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and proven classics of gothic suspense and Perfume...a cohesive beginning, middle, and end; and villainous main characters that actually contain a believable connection to humanity. Show Less
Awards
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Novel — 1987)
PEN Translation Prize (Winner — 1987)
Whitcoulls Top 100 Books (98 — 2008)