Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Koku by Patrick Süskind

238 reviews

woodsybookworm's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In 18th century Paris, a baby boy is born. Discarded by his mother who believes him to be a demon due to his body's lack of scent, no sweet baby smell, little Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is left to scrounge for himself on the edges of society.

Yet, Grenouille has a unique skill - an uncanny sense of smell - and he uses this ability to become an apprentice perfumer. But as his skill grows Grenouille becomes more and more desperate to create the ultimate perfume. What does one use to bottle the perfect scent? People of course! Hunting the streets at night for his perfect prey, Grenouille uses the essence of young women to create profoundly new concoctions. 

I love stories from the perspective of the villain and Grenouille is a great one! His childhood and really his life in general is terrible so he becomes slightly endearing as a character, even with his many flaws...

This book is written in extremely flowery (budum tish 🥁) prose but if you can stick with it then I think it's an enjoyable read. Plus, it's been adapted into a movie and a TV show - though the TV show is set in modern times and references the book rather than directly follows Grenouille's story - and I recommend them both! 

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juliem2023's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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mariannelarousse's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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zoya_nazyalensky's review against another edition

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  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

The writing style is nice, though there is very little dialogue and that usually bothers me.
CWs: the n word and g word are used in the text!

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venuslikeidk's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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gabbynasty's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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crustywhitedog's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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scarlettrogue's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny slow-paced

4.75


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renorsomethin's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
wtf did i even read 

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cup_cake's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Das Parfum [ist] ekelhaft gut.

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