Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Das Parfum by Patrick Süskind

46 reviews

danielleslibrary's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.75

This was an audiobook for me and I think that was a key to liking this.  The language is very flowery and having a British narrator really let me get into the story.  But I don't think I would have been able to get through the book if I had read it because it wouldn't have hit the same.  It really lags in the middle and then the end is very rushed.  It's like the author forgot they set up at the very beginning this theme of him being evil and had to put something in there at the end to wrap it up. 
And I can only assume the author was bored with their own story because a random orgy is thrown in and some incest for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
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keku_25's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The book started out really strong and fast in a way that really intrigued me, but somehow the rest of the first half went kinda meh. I just procrastinated while reading it. I just felt like some scenes where not that necessary for the plot.
The last third definitely gets .... well it gets something thats for sure. 
He imitates smells just like a psicopath imitates behavior. He copies the smell of "human" just like a psycopath would copy a "normal" person response to something.
The incest was unnecessary.

At the end I just ask myself wtf did I just read.

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bobinsbooknook's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is eery, disturbing and outright shocking … and honestly I really enjoyed it!

Wanted something creepy to kick off my October spooky season reads and this did not disappoint! 

The narrative is so dark and twisted and unlike anything I’ve read before. I loved how the writing style captures the creepy essence - pun intended - that really pulls you into the story and the deterioration contrasting development of Grenouille’s smell and mental state. 

The only reason I can’t rate 5 stars is because the pacing of the book felt a bit off. At times it felt slowed down with long winded tangents in places and other parts which I wish had been fleshed out more had been rushed (
for example the 24 previous murders!
)

That being said of all the ways this book could have ended  I honestly didn’t expect …
an orgy and subsequent cannibalism!


Certainly a shocking and twisted read, and whilst I would recommend - it’s definitely not for everyone and recommend checking content warnings! 
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anna_m_k's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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disguisedposer's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

2.0

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tigertheory's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

unsure why this was such a hit. Sure, style is great, but the plot was so boring. 
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atalea's review against another edition

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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? No

3.5

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satanstan's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I interpret this book as a fictional and symbolic case study of sociopathy. I didn’t have many expectations going into this but was surprised that it leaned more toward the Horror genre than anything else. There are definitely moments that disturbed me. The unique writing grew on me and I just kept coming back to this strange story. I can only imagine recommending this book to perfume enthusiasts or people who are fascinated by the development and inner world of sociopaths. 
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mme_carton's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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jennyspencer's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-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

3.0

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