Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Written by Patrick Suskind
Narrated by Nigel Patterson
4/5
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Reviews for Perfume
5,904 ratings171 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a mix of engrossing storytelling and oddity. The book is praised for its rich imagery, sublime imagination, and unexpected ending. It is considered one of the best fantasies and a beautifully done story. However, some readers were disappointed with the character development and found the ending to be a letdown. Overall, the book is described as a suspenseful and unusual mystery that keeps readers intrigued.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inhaltsangabe:Jean-Baptiste Grenouille wird im stinkenden Paris im 18.ten Jahrhundert geboren. Seine Mutter glaubt ihn tot und kümmert sich daher nicht um ihn. Da sie wegen versuchter Kindstötung gehängt wird, kommt Jean-Baptiste in ein Heim.Was die Ammen gleich erkennen, ist sonderbar: Dieses Kind hat keinen eigenen Geruch. Aber Jean-Baptiste selbst kann riechen, besser als jeder anderer in Paris. Was andere mit ihren Augen oder mit ihren Ohren wahrnehmen, so erriecht er seine Welt und kann jedem Gegenstand einen Geruch zuordnen. Selbst dem Stein!Er wird herumgeschubst und landet letztendlich bei dem Gerber-Meister, wo er sich mit harter Arbeit und Widerstandsfähigkeit eine gewisse Freiheit geschaffen hat. Er darf durch die Stadt spazieren und die Welt erriechen! Dabei fiel ihm der Duft eines jungen Mädchens auf, das besonders reizend auf ihn wirkt. In seiner Gier nach diesem Mädchen tötet er es.Durch Zufall kann er bei dem Parfumeur Guiseppe Baldini in die Lehre gehen, denn Baldini sieht in Jean-Baptiste ist die letzte Chance, noch einmal von vorn anzufangen. Baldini bringt ihm alles bei, was man über Düfte, Destillerie, Alkohol und Fette wissen muss. Wie ein Schwamm saugt der junge Mann diese Informationen auf und kreiert immer neue Düfte, die Baldini widerum großen Reichtum schenken.Aber Jean-Baptiste will mehr. Viel mehr. Er will viel mehr. Was, das weiß er jedoch noch nicht. Er geht freiwillig ins Exil, um zu sich selbst zu finden. Doch da erst bemerkt er mit Entsetzen, das er sich selbst gar nicht riechen kann.Wie wird der perfekte Duft sein? Und was wird in Grasse noch geschehen?Mein Fazit:Wir lasen das Buch in der gmeinsamen Leserunde. Es gab sehr viele Passagen darin, die mich von der schriftstellerischen Art begeisterten. Wie z. B. die Beschreibung des mürrischen, aber geldgierigen Parfumeurs Baldini. Ein herrlich, wie scheinheilig, aber dennoch köstlich und amüsant.Das Ende ist dafür um so grauenvoller und drastischer. Mir irgendwie unverständlich, aber die Persönlichkeit um Grenouille ist sehr mysteriös wie auch sehr negativ. Eine Person, die auf der Suche nach Liebe und Anerkennung ist, sich aber nur im Hass und der Abweisung wohl fühlt. Ist schwierig, sich eine solche Person vorzustellen. Noch schwieriger, sie als Schriftsteller zu erschaffen.Sicherlich bin ich nicht 100%ig begeistert von diesem Werk, denn stellenweise war es mir auch etwas langatmig. Aber wer dieses Buch liest, der hält ein Werk der Weltliteratur in der Hand. Manchmal malerisch, manchmal auch plump hat der Autor die Szenerie um den Jungen beschrieben, aber stets angemesssen.Vergessen werde ich es nicht, zu empfehlen ist es alle Mal!Anmerkung: Die Rezension stammt aus Dezember 2006.Veröffentlicht am 18.08.15!
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- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This has been one of my favorite movies for the past 10 years and i've got to say they did the book justice. I loved every second.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It was brilliantly written, but it left you feeling like you took part in something horrible after reading it. Like taking a bite of a sweet desert only to find that the aftertaste was of something rotten.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I heard that this book inspired the lyrics of Scentless Apprentice by Nirvana and just went into it with limited knowledge - fantastic book - the prose reads almost like poetry sometimes - very cool story and beautifully written.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent. This was an unexpected story, but full of suspense. The narrator was perfect. it’s such an unusual mystery but so wonderful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best stories ever told. A classic, filled with murder, yearning, beauty, and leaving nothing but a memory of a scent behind.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Great character development; who then do nothing. And the end is such a let down!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sublime imagination and narrative skill. One of the best fantasies I’ve ever read, although it may not seem like one
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this story, but I know I didn't expect to read something so creepy and yet so seductive. The descriptions of smells are incredible and really bring the story alive, as do the descriptions of 18th-century France, particularly Paris. It was a fabulous coincidence to find myself reading this in tandem with Pure, as both feature the Cimetière des Innocents. Perfume is also a great mystery and, while you may think you know where it's going, you really don't.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A very engrossing tale; the writing evokes rich imagery and the ending is so unexpected but so very fitting.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I was given this book by a friend who usually has similar tastes in books and films as I do but this one was a total miss for me. The premise was interesting but as a whole I found "Perfume" mostly repulsive and the ending was so over the top and ridiculous that I was actually angry that I had wasted time reading the book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it so much. Legit couldn't stop listening. One of my new faves.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really enjoyed this book. Full review will be on my channel Journey Thru Pages.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Easy to read and interesting. It didn't make a great impression on me, though, and I don't think I've kept it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My first book I read, I was not disappointed, beautifully done.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Strange, brilliant bastard of Stoker, Shelley, Dickens, and Eco.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What an odd book and far from anything I expected. A story based on the sense of smell and the power behind a scent. For how odd the story was, it did keep me intrigued to see where the book was actually headed.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I 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, 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It all started so well as well! I think most of this book is very easy to read and interesting as well as intriguing.However, just a last section doesn’t seem to seems like a shame to tie up the story line. Naturally, some of this is very Macabre. Enjoyable for those with a taste for amusing antiheroes. Who’s foul tastes become somewhat compelling and intriguing.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On the surface, the book is about one Jean-Baptiste Grenouille - his birth, life, self-obsession, and death. The comparison to a tick is inspired, and the language of the book is lyrical. The language is visual. Jean-Baptiste should have died at birth but didn't. He should have died when a child but didn't. Blessed with an extraordinary sense of smell and an obsession with it and cursed with no body odor, he went on to become a perfumer. His obsession with creating perfume and capturing the scent from the body of young women led him to murder. His perfumes affected people, sending them into an orgy at one point. Does this sound ridiculous? Think of how many political leaders use oratory to sway audiences, and you will look at this book from a new perspective. The book is magnificent at many levels, and disturbing.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I should have liked this way more than I did... It seems almost made for me.
I love perfume. Like, I own probably $1,000 worth of high end perfumes. The moment I get a vaccine, I'm wearing that shit out to every horrid first date I can in rapturous glee. My sense of smell is the strongest of them all for me. I smell everything. My roommates make me smell their milk, and god damn, I can tell it's bad days before them. I'm willing to beg a perfumer to have me try my lot in discerning.
But... I did not love this book. If I had to give you a vibe of what this novel offers, I'd place this solidly in the 1980s-Gothic milieu it came from. You've got an 18th century European setting, an almost vampiric protagonist, and the ever-present, sexy sexy sense of smell. Everything is vaguely supernatural, but solidly couched in the oh-so-decadent 18th century. Granted, Süskind tries to write about how terrible that century was for people, how hard and tireless and bleak it was. But it's like Anne Rice trying to describe a man popping a squat. It ain't coming out any other way than pure gold.
Grenouille (frog! get it?) is first and foremost, a psychopath. It's potentially fascinating in a psychological way, except it's not much explored, and really, what is there to say about a psychopath? They care for no one, not even themselves. It's so, so dull. Grenouille does not change as a character, as a man. He can't. His psychopathy renders him stilted; he is unerring in all goals, unchanging in all ways. Shoot me already.
Bits of this were really great. I loved the ending to the murder drama: It was deliciously sickening. I liked the commentary of human sexuality, though it bordered on the pedophilic in more ways than made me comfortable. I think if I had read this a few years ago, I'd have gone pretty apeshit over it. Maybe my tastes have changed, maybe the difficult times I've been going through has made reading fiction pretty passe to me. Time will only tell.
Perfume is solid, if a bit boring. I do implore you to read about the weirdest virgin to ever grace the page. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Read it again - just can´t get enough of it while always resisting the temptation to watch the movie to see Dustin Hoffman as maitre de parfum Guiseppe Baldini as he is one of my favourite characters within the book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enthralling book about an amoral character inspired only by odours.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Grenouille 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 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Suskind'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 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A friend of mine read this for her book club, and suggested I also read it. I'm almost disappointed that I took that suggestion. The protagonist of this story is an odious, horrible man, obsessed with scent and possessed of no morality or scruples at all. On his way to capture the perfect essence he murders or causes the death of several people with little to no qualm and his methods for obtaining his ingredients are likewise disgusting. The only redeeming qualities this book has is that it's well-written and contains a good bit of interesting information about the historical manufacture of perfumes and other scented concoctions. I think this is why my friend wanted me to read it, as I dabble in potions myself. Though, I would have liked to have read a book that imparted the same or similar information without the hideousness of this tale.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I first heard about Perfume from an officemate in 2017. He was mesmerized by the unique story of a serial killer portrayed in a film. Good thing I forgot about the spoiler, so I enjoyed reading more of this book until the end.
I do not read enough horror stories nowadays, but I can say that the novel is enthralling and will keep you awake at night. Perfume is one of the most amazing stories I have ever read so far, albeit I cannot guarantee that this will be in my all-time favorites.
Interesting characters and an intriguing plot worth reading.
Highly recommended for fans of dark stories. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with an absolute sense of smell, a gift that eventually makes him obsessed with the scents of everyday objects and people. Such an original story about a psychopath character you will enjoy following and be appalled by. I read this the first time when it came out (mid-80s) and found it fascinating and my current reread was not a disappointment. Beautiful writing with gruesome contents.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More than anything I appreciate the exquisite words Süskind used in conjuring this incredible novel. It is so good. It is so very, very good. In every way.