Perfume: The Story of a Murderer in Pick-a-Shelf

Mar 01, 2013 Jayme(theghostreader) rated it it was ok

Shelves: library-books-read, raw-books

This book was odd. The history on perfume was interesting. How perfume was made and why it was used and popular was interesting. You meet Jean Baptiste as an infant and I felt sorry for the main character. Being tossed from wet nurse to orphanage to apprentice and then just dumped and thrown out into the world. However after that I stopped feeling sorry for him . I felt he went a little crazy. Why would he want to live in a cave for seven years was odd to me. I get that he is a hermit but that j ...more

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May 24, 2011 Rachael Sherwood rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011, favorites

What a strange little book. Part magical realism, part horror, part ...? Not even sure! Perfume is the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man born with no scent of his own but who possesses the most refined sense of smell ever bestowed upon man. Grenouille can understand and separate smells the way we parse language or sights. Odors are Grenouille's life and although he is born into poverty, his talents lead him onto the path of becoming a master perfumer.

But Grenouille's goals are not so mund What a strange little book. Part magical realism, part horror, part ...? Not even sure! Perfume is the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man born with no scent of his own but who possesses the most refined sense of smell ever bestowed upon man. Grenouille can understand and separate smells the way we parse language or sights. Odors are Grenouille's life and although he is born into poverty, his talents lead him onto the path of becoming a master perfumer.

But Grenouille's goals are not so mundane as material success or social status. He only learns the trade so that he can bottle and create his own scents. To Grenouille, at least at first, all scents are equal. Instead of bottling simple florals or musks, Grenouille yearns to capture the scent of rocks, doorknobs, and even create a human scent for himself. His obsession turns deadly when Grenouille, who usually regards the stench of humanity as disgusting, catches a whiff of a young, redhaired virgin. Her scent is so overwhelmingly beautiful and innocent to him that he murderers her so that he can take in the scent. Grenouille has no regard for the girl or her life, the only things that interest him are new smells, the creation of his perfumes, and himself.

The book follows Grenouille's attempts to learn how to extract the scent from any living or dead thing, mostly in an attempt to bottle this exquisite scent. In the process, he travels across France, becomes a hermit, a test subject in a scientific experiment, and a serial killer. It's a story of obsession, taken to new disturbing heights. Although somewhat disguised by both the prose and tone, Grenouille is still an incredibly creepy figure. Completely detached from humanity, he is incapable of seeing his victims--or anyone else-- as anything but means to an end. Even through the writing, which occasionally leaves Grenouille's head to visit other characters, we never see any glimpse of the women's personality or soul; we are only allowed to see them as Grenouille does: a goal. In other novels, this might be an oversight or failing, here it is clearly purposeful and quite effective.

I really enjoyed reading the book. Suskind (and his translator, John E Woods) translate the olfactory realm to the page in a way I have never read before. Reading through Grenouille's descriptions of the scent of Paris made me nauseous. (It reminded me of being pregnant. Walking through the streets of Chicago with my heightened sense of smell, I was struck by how absolutely disgusting the city smelled, and how glad I was that my increased capabilities had an expirationdate.) I suspect some people may be turned off by his descriptions of the perfume making process and long lists of varying odors, but to me they were just methodical enough to mirror Grenouille's thought process and immerse me in his world without overwhelming with unnecessary detail. Without an understanding of the character and the world he inhabits, the ending would be absolutely bewildering. Instead, it is shocking, but still seems...logical.

Recommended to fans of magical realism, people who are in the mood to read something very different, or horror fans who like stories of killers and have high tolerance for "dryer" prose. (I didn't find the writing dull at all, but it is quite different than your average thriller)

side note: I have not seen the movie for this book, and I am completely confused as to how this could be adapted. I'll give it a shot, perhaps, but I mean....I really don't get it! ...more

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May 06, 2010 Katey rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 09, 2013 Agustin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 1001-booklist

I've never read a book where the author does such a great job of making the reader view a character as vile, demonic and just an overall monster.

Suskind made me feel this way towards Grenouille which made me want to keep reading far after I should have stopped. It's a great book. Highly recommend it although the end will leave you somewhat unhappy. At the same time, it really couldn't have ended another way. ...more

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