Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

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 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 show more 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? show less

Suskind's writing paints such a vivid story, and engages the senses so beautifully, that there's a great deal to admire in this book. Getting swept along by the language, it's easy to fall into the grip of Suskind's storytelling skills and read a hundred pages of this book at a stretch. For that, I truly admire it. At the same time, I admit I felt a bit of a disconnect from this one, and as much as I could get swept along by the writing once I picked it up, I never felt any particular pull to come back to the novel once I'd put it down--in fact, if I hadn't been reading this quickly for a book club, I imagine it might have lingered on my reading shelf for months rather than only a week.

The story here is simple, but the character is so show more unsympathetic that I think one almost has to be compelled to keep going by the language, the incredible world- and character-building, and simple inertia. There's also a great deal of humor to be found in the book, and in the end, I'm glad to have read it. On some level, it felt like what Flannery O'Connor might have written if told to write a horror novel or gothic set in 18th-century Paris, but with as flowery a style as she could force herself to adopt. And I love O'Connor, so that's a compliment... but this book did read as a bit overly long for me, and I wish I'd felt more connected or had a better understanding of the main character.

All told, I'm glad to have read it, but I'm not sure I'll pick up another of Suskind's works. show less

One of those books that cracks you open like ice. Disturbing, intriguing, horrifying and educational all at once. A new kind of historical fiction that brings the world of smell into a sharp focus while showing you what life was like in another time. The voice was distinctly modern in that it was a tortured modernist hero in conflict about the love of others and love of self, both cynically existentialist and cripplingly nihilistic. Yet you find yourself continuing to turn the page to see what happens next. The ending is both surprising and beautifully circles to the beginning.

Grenouille (the French word for frog) is possessed of a super power, the ability to distinguish any scent and its source however mixed it may be with others. Unfortunately his morality steers chaotic neutral at best, which means he thinks nothing of murder if it moves him closer to becoming the greatest perfumer in history. Suskind writes with a surprisingly light tone. Rather than building a sense of dread, it feels more like "Let's see what that rascal Grenouille is getting up to next." The intervention of fate becomes something playful, swooping along in Grenouille's wake as it intersects with the lives he's touched. Then it gets decidedly darker in the latter half, a better match for Grenouille's true character as he matures and his show more methods become more extreme.

This is a curious mix of time-honoured themes about the importance of love and the ultimate emptiness of power, rolled together with some Camus absurdity and a dash of magical realism. I didn't find it altogether satisfying, but it's a short enough and reads quick enough, with the highs of humour and lows of horror to spice it up. I learned far more about making perfume than I ever cared to know, but it's an impressive degree of detail that raised my appreciation for the trade. show less

I actually saw the movie first, a few years ago, and loved it enough to get the book! "Perfume" is a banned book. The narrative is uncomfortably intimate and psychologically unnerving. Like "American Psycho", or "We Need to Talk About Kevin", you witness a killer evolve rather than emerge.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was born in a filthy, fish stall, to a mother who had planned to drown him immediately. She was caught and executed, but Grenouille was "an abomination from the start." He exudes no scent of his own, a trait that those around him notice unconsciously. It terrifies even himself. However, he has the most powerful olfactory abilities to ever exist. He can identify smells that have no name. As such he can wander in the dark, show more exhibit seemingly prophetic abilities but always wanting more.

One night he smells a scent so unique, that it categorizes all others. It is a 14 year old girl whom he immediately strangles so as "not to lose a trace of her scent." It is not sexual, Grenouille has no need for that. But this act unlocks Grenouille as a "God" of scent. For he realizes that he can control the actions of others through scent, and harness the power of these "rare flowers." From others he learns how to make perfume, transforming and camouflaging himself. Eventually he begins his pursuit to "capture" the most celestial scent, Laure Richis, a marquis' daughter. But such a relentlessly greedy ambition can only end in the most horrific way.

Grenouille as he is, cannot exist in our world. He can only exist in a bygone era of absolutes. 18th century France is the best setting for this. The Esprit of the times, the primary sources describing the perfume industry and the cosmopolitan access to florals and spices previously unknown. A thoroughly dark, unsettling and enthralling read. show less

Solo per un altro romanzo ho provato la stessa sensazione, nel leggere le righe iniziali, di essere trasportato tra la sozzura delle strade del passato. Solo Michel Faber mi ha dimostrato la capacità evocativa propria di Patrick Suskind, ma le similutidini forse di fermano qui.
Suskind è un autore pungente e, mi passi il termine, diabolico. La storia narrata ne "Il profumo" è paradossale di per sé, ma il destino dei personaggi che si muovono sul suo palcoscenico può definirsi solo beffardo e drammatico. Come se Jean-Baptiste Grenouille fosse un personaggio maledetto oltre che diabolico, un genio alieno e disumano che si aggira in un epoca lurida e puzzolente.
Il romanzo ha un'ottima presa sul lettore e dipinge un affresco dell'epoca show more della decadenza finale dei Borboni in Francia. Quello che può sconcertare maggiormente è che Grenouille nasce e vive come un vero mostro. Non è la società a formarlo, egli la sfrutta soltanto per seguire la propria inclinazione naturale. Per sottolineare il suo essere alieno dall'umanità, Suskind non gli attribuisce alcun odore, un essere senza odore non esiste. Paradossalmente Grenouille è il più grande conoscitore degli odori esistente e grazie alla sua naturale attitudine e la sua diabolica propensione infine scoprirà il profumo in grado di farsi amare. Con risultati imprevedibili per qualsiasi lettore. show less

Grenouille was born a monster, a baby without any scent whatsoever, birthed and abandoned in the most stench-filled area of 1700s Paris, a child who neither understands nor needs love, but who has a sense of smell unparalleled by any other human in the world. He uses that talent to become an apprentice to a perfumer, in his pursuit of a way to capture the scent essence of all things. When he one day smells the most beautiful, most perfect scent he's ever experienced and discovers that it's the scent of a young woman, well, things take a very dark turn and his passion and quest become darker and more monstrous as well.
Disturbing in parts but also just as equally fascinating, this story takes some interesting turns and kept me engaged all show more the way to the end. I usually don't go in for the darker stuff, but somehow I was pulled into this one from the beginning. I suspect it has something to do with how Suskind was able to write such a revolting character but also manage to get you to root for him as well. I feel manipulated and I love it. show less