Reviews with content warning for Gore - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

55 reviews

qiankim's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The plot is very interesting. The story revolves around the character including his goal and development of his perfume knowledge. I love how unique the character's mind is. We never actually know what's going on in his head and what his aims are.

Content Warnings

emmacartlidge's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense 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

4.5

Content Warnings

glueeater's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad 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

3.75

Content Warnings

withlivjones's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I read this book years ago for school and it has stuck with me ever since, and after rereading it it is still one of the most interesting, skin-crawling (in a good way) books I have ever read. We follow the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who is born with a superhuman sense of smell but no scent of his own. Grenouille is such an interesting central character in that the narrator has absolutely no sympathy for him; while the reader might at least feel a little bad for the way he is treated as a child, the narrator constantly and from the very beginning handles him with distain, calling him an “abomination” and a parasitical pest. The book is a fascinating extended character study of a person with no sense of right or wrong and a lot of hatred for his fellow man.

The description throughout the novel is almost nauseatingly vivid, with each character we come across thoroughly examined not only in terms of their scent but also in terms of their character, with their flaws brought to the foreground. Every character and setting is primarily described olfactorily as this is the way Grenouille perceives the world, and by focusing on smell over the other more common senses, it is as if one were to look at the world through an entirely different lens. Süskind even laments about the difficulty of describing scents in words, which is comically meta.

In particular, I love the use of foreshadowing laced throughout the novel, and spotting the clues pointing towards certain characters’ demises make this book a great reread. Furthermore, the biblical imagery is also a fantastic addition to the vivid descriptions throughout, and this is especially clear during Grenouille’s dream sequence - one of the most entertaining parts of the novel for me.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book to everyone due to some of the topics it deals with being sensitive and/or pretty gross, and I find that much like Marmite people either love it or hate it. But if you’re looking for a book that will stay with you for years and you’re okay with the content warnings, I’d give it a go.

Content Warnings