Perfume: Summary and book reviews of Perfume by Patrick Suskind, plus links to an excerpt from Perfume and a biography of Patrick Suskind.

An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion - his sense of smell - leads to murder. In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift - an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"-the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.

Media Reviews

The San Francisco Chronicle An astonishing performance, a masterwork of artistic conception and execution. A totally gripping page-turner.   Library Journal With brilliant narrative skill Susskind exposes the dark underside of the society through which Grenouille moves and explores the disquieting inner universe of this singularly possessed man.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Karim Fanous
Olfactory sensation, it's a sweet damnation!
Olfactory sensation, it's a sweet damnation! This book is simply brilliant. Never before have I been grasped so intensely by a book. Especially considering how bizarre and twisted the story and concept are. I have a terrible sense of smell and to...   Read More

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Books with similar themes

• Novels
  
• Historical Fiction
  
• Europe 
  
• France 
  
• 18th Century