Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

86 reviews

guccishoestrings's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

2.75

I am not going to do my usual review style for this book because it is very..... unique. This story is about the character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille but it also tells the story of those who come into contact with him throughout his life.

The story begins the day he is born, his mother left him to die and wet nurses are scared to take him in because he emits no smell (meaning he is possessed by the devil). This also leads him to be a social outcast throughout his entire childhood and teenage life while also surviving a deadly illness that scares him making an even bigger outcast. He finds comfort in the scent of small to the point of needing it to be perfect to be able to live in peace. This leads to him eventually becoming an apprentice to a perfume maker and this leads him on the trail of creating the greatest smell to ever be smelt in the world.

This is a story about the obsession and pursuit of perfection at all costs and when achieving said perfection the outcome not being what is expected (if you have read Frankenstein, you know the theme I'm talking about). This leads to everything he had done being meaningless and thus is life being meaningless and at the end allows himself to die because he has no need/drive to live anymore.

This book was interesting but, it was written in the way of literary books in the 80s were written (book was published in 1985). This could lead to the book being boring in sections and really exciting in others. The story itself is great but, like I said, it could get really boring at times which is why it gets such a low score. I would recommend to anybody who likes books written in an old fashion style that like books like Frankenstein.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content and Animal death

Minor: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, and Incest

butchybats's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.5

Great book!! Loved the descriptions and imagery. Some parts felt a little slow but it was definitely a page turner and quick read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Torture, and Animal death

schmetterly's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Best book ever!

Though the end was a little bit... macabre. But it fit the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Torture, Abandonment, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and War

weed_babushka's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death

nmscavotto's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

This book is so weird but I love it so much 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

katushka's review against another edition

adventurous 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Child death

mariannelarousse's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Violence, and Animal death

thefriendlydragon's review against another edition

• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Mental illness, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Cursing, Violence, Excrement, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Classism, Racial slurs, Cannibalism, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Gore

ohdeerboi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Child death, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Excrement, Pregnancy, Rape, War, and Death of parent

stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is wild! Sure, the story had it's dark moments, but it's also ridiculous (in a good way). I genuinely was not expecting some of the things that happened - especially in those final chapters. I also love the fact that it focuses so much on scent. It's an underused sense in literature, but so good as conjuring up emotions. Just do listen to the audiobook on public transit like I did - I was VERY aware of the scents on the bus that day.

But I think my favourite part is that it reads like a text from the 18th century. I've read a lot of Victorian literature for both school and for fun, so I'm very familiar with the writing style of the time. I had to double check that this book was actually written in the 1980s - you could've fooled me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Abandonment, Xenophobia, Torture, and Suicide

Minor: Incest and War