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amyjmcd's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual content and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy, and Death
withlivjones's review against another edition
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.
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
Graphic: Death, Murder, Alcohol, Animal death, Gore, Suicide, Pedophilia, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Cannibalism
Minor: Incest, Torture, Excrement, Misogyny, War, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
mauricem00ny's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Pedophilia
Minor: War
inkdrinkeranonymous's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Torture, Suicide attempt, Murder, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Stalking, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
nexusgoblin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Stalking, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
buzzi_maus's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
grenouille.
ich will auch auf einem verlassenen berg leben, das ist fast als wär man ein stein; ich wär gern ein stein
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
lk3ssaf's review against another edition
3.75
A very interesting book. I feel like scent is one of the more underutilized senses in literature, and this whole book is about Grenouille's sense of smell. The book managed to do exactly what it set out to do without being overly grotesque.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
megzv06's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Violence
bookbelle5_17's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Review of Perfume
By: Patrick Suskind
A dark story about a man Jean Baptiste Grenouille, who is born without an odor, but he is also born with unnaturally strong sense of smell. As an adult, he becomes a perfumer, and becomes obsessed with finding the perfect scent by committing murder.
This story gave me feelings of intrigue and disgust all at once as we see the world through Grenouille’s eyes. He is disgusted with humanity and takes advantage of the ignorance of them. Since scent is Grenouille’s talent and obsession, we a get a lot of these detailed descriptions of all different scents. I love the way the author describes the various scents, including the odors I would fine gross. His skill with smell with almost scientific accuracy as he creates these perfumes that exhibit intoxicating scents that exude desire, innocence, and a generic human odor. Also, some of Grenouille’s actions are disturbing, as he not only murder humans, but also animals, making me not able to read it. Not only do we get great descriptions of smells, but we also have beautiful sentences to tell this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Murder
fluttertutter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
0.25 short of 5* because of how dark it is 🙃 rather disturbing how the main character thinks