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ed_moore's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Süskind’s ‘Perfume’ to no surprise places a lot of emphasis on scent, both in its plot, character and descriptions, and never before when reading have I considered scent so much especially given I have a very limited sense of smell myself. This book was just as brilliant as the pigeon, but in an extremely different way. It was so carefully crafted yet weird, harrowing, uncomfortable and shocking (the series of twists at the ending!)
‘Perfume’ follows a child Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, as he grows into a young man and his super-human nose leads to huge successes in the perfuming business yet he seeks aims beyond profit, to create the perfect scent and also discover his own, for despite the power of his nose he himself lacks smell.
It really made me consider the impact of smell where it’s not played much of a role in my life (as I said earlier) and somehow was conveyed through words which led to the phenomenon of so intimately accessing one scent through the use of another.
The book also had a similar feeling to Dumas’ ‘The Black Tulip’ for some reason which I too thoroughly enjoyed, though was a lot more unsettling.
The book also had a similar feeling to Dumas’ ‘The Black Tulip’ for some reason which I too thoroughly enjoyed, though was a lot more unsettling.
I am quickly falling in love with Süskind as an author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Rape
Moderate: Medical trauma
gm_vak's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
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