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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
3.5 stars rounded up.
I am both profoundly confused and disgusted by this book. It was a quick read and while I expected this book to be unusual, weirdly interesting and inappropriately erotic I’m still left rather bewildered at what I’ve just read.
The book essentially follows Jean-Baptist Grenouille from his birth to his death - an orphan on the streets of Paris with a ridiculously good nose. It felt so absurd at the start that this boy could quite literally scent people from half a mile away and his way around Paris in the dark. But despite my disbelief, I stuck it out. Grenouille it seems has completely no emotions, no worldly ties, no want for anything except to master and categorise every possible scent in all of France. I was both impressed and disgusted at his cold calculation and focus - he really seemed to incapsulate the behaviour and mannerisms I’d typically associate with serial killers. The cold resolve, sad upbringing devoid of any love or kindness, the psychopathic tendencies, obsessive behaviour and dissociative capabilities. He seemed almost a textbook murderer.
Essentially the story follows Grenouille on his quest to become the most incredible perfumer in all of France. He gets more than he bargains for when he successfully distills the scent of 25 virgins into a perfume and somehow turns his own public execution into a literal orgy of 10,000 people. While the whole book seemed unbelievable this part really got to me.
I understood obviously the emphasis put on the power of scent throughout the book, but that turn around gave me such whiplash I was left dumbstruck. Grenouille seemed to be the only person in the entire would with no scent - sweat? Scentless. Armpits? No odour. I had to appreciate the authors attention to the art of perfumery and scents. Though it was almost comical in how much he craved to be scented like a human while simultaneously hating everything to do with humans.
At first I thought perhaps it was his upbringing which produced this sort of behaviour from him - he craved the love of the people and the only way he was able to achieve that was apparently through the scent of virgins (???). But from the beginning of the book, Grenouille as a child and as a baby had the same unnerving disposition.
Above all, I felt Grenouille was animalistic in the authors writings. There seemed to be no humanity to him whatsoever. He was governed by his sense of scent above all and was so inhumane it was startling.
I found the Perfume very well written yet like most classics unnecessarily tedious in its descriptions, at time going on tangents that served no other purpose than to confuse the reader. While the ending did seems quite out of the blue, it made sense in that Grenouille’s very purpose in life had been accomplished - it was time for him and the move to end. Of course it ended with disappointment on his part, how else really could it have ended when you consider yourself to be superior to God (his words not mine)? Overall a confusingly enjoyable read but not my favourite.
I am both profoundly confused and disgusted by this book. It was a quick read and while I expected this book to be unusual, weirdly interesting and inappropriately erotic I’m still left rather bewildered at what I’ve just read.
The book essentially follows Jean-Baptist Grenouille from his birth to his death - an orphan on the streets of Paris with a ridiculously good nose. It felt so absurd at the start that this boy could quite literally scent people from half a mile away and his way around Paris in the dark. But despite my disbelief, I stuck it out. Grenouille it seems has completely no emotions, no worldly ties, no want for anything except to master and categorise every possible scent in all of France. I was both impressed and disgusted at his cold calculation and focus - he really seemed to incapsulate the behaviour and mannerisms I’d typically associate with serial killers. The cold resolve, sad upbringing devoid of any love or kindness, the psychopathic tendencies, obsessive behaviour and dissociative capabilities. He seemed almost a textbook murderer.
Essentially the story follows Grenouille on his quest to become the most incredible perfumer in all of France. He gets more than he bargains for when he successfully distills the scent of 25 virgins into a perfume and somehow turns his own public execution into a literal orgy of 10,000 people. While the whole book seemed unbelievable this part really got to me.
I understood obviously the emphasis put on the power of scent throughout the book, but that turn around gave me such whiplash I was left dumbstruck. Grenouille seemed to be the only person in the entire would with no scent - sweat? Scentless. Armpits? No odour. I had to appreciate the authors attention to the art of perfumery and scents. Though it was almost comical in how much he craved to be scented like a human while simultaneously hating everything to do with humans.
At first I thought perhaps it was his upbringing which produced this sort of behaviour from him - he craved the love of the people and the only way he was able to achieve that was apparently through the scent of virgins (???). But from the beginning of the book, Grenouille as a child and as a baby had the same unnerving disposition.
Above all, I felt Grenouille was animalistic in the authors writings. There seemed to be no humanity to him whatsoever. He was governed by his sense of scent above all and was so inhumane it was startling.
I found the Perfume very well written yet like most classics unnecessarily tedious in its descriptions, at time going on tangents that served no other purpose than to confuse the reader. While the ending did seems quite out of the blue, it made sense in that Grenouille’s very purpose in life had been accomplished - it was time for him and the move to end. Of course it ended with disappointment on his part, how else really could it have ended when you consider yourself to be superior to God (his words not mine)? Overall a confusingly enjoyable read but not my favourite.
thought i'd like this more ... was a strange book
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-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
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Me in the first half: too much perfume not enough murders
Me in the second half: ok maybe too many murders
Me in the second half: ok maybe too many murders
This horrifying book redefined the way I think about scent. What a crazy sentence.
The writing was beautiful. I just... could not get myself to care about this book which was especially disappointing because I expected to love this.
70/100
update 75/100
missing someone and only having a vague piece of their smell would make me do similar things.
update 75/100
missing someone and only having a vague piece of their smell would make me do similar things.