Perfume

Perfume
by Patrick Suskind

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Book Summary Information

Author: Patrick Suskind
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-07
ISBN: 0307277763
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Vintage

Book Reviews of Perfume

Book Review: A Sensual Pleasure
Summary: 5 Stars

I had heard nothing of the film but was curious when I saw the DVD on the rack at a supermarket. The cinematography was sumptuous and the story was so different and unique that I felt I had to read the book. I read it in French, but nevertheless I was surprised how similar were both the book and movie. For me, the book was a very dark fairy tale, on the same order as the film "Pan's Labyrinth." As rich as it is, I think the book could be analysed from a number of viewpoints, however, to mention one, in the book, the protagonist, Grenouille, secludes himself in a cave in an isolated part of France. The book covers his seven years of isolation, spent mostly dreaming, over a number of pages. The movie pretty much avoids this period for time constraints and for movement of the story line. However, what struck me about this passage was how it highlighted just how removed Grenouille was from society and the world. I'm unaware of any literary subject described as living in such a solipsistic universe as Grenouille. His talent for decrypting the world of smell is so keen that he is the 18th century version of a super-hero (or villain in this case). His ability married to a childhood of abuse and neglect projects him into such sociopathy that his murder of 25 young virgin girls means nothing, but is only a means to an end, that of distilling their essence into an olfactory remnant. Grenouille's creation, the ultimate perfume, is so powerful that it completely overwhelms anyone encountering it such that they lose all inhibition, all reason, all ego boundaries. Nevertheless, even holding the most potent force on Earth in his hand, Grenouille rejects the power and comes to a well-deserved end. While sometimes the book drags a bit, and some characters are introduced who don't particularly add to the overall development, the ideas posed by the book should, like the aroma of lavender soap, stay with you for quite some time after reading.

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Summary of Perfume

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 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.

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