Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, by Patrick Süskind

22 reviews

liv_jones'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. 

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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

maxire's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Death

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent

autidanir's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism

Minor: Incest and Pedophilia

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Violence, Abortion, Classism, and Sexual content

moncorn's review

challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Violence, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Animal death

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Abandonment

milohno's review

dark reflective medium-paced

2.0

The first half of the book is incredible and the second half is absolutely awful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Bullying, and Child death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

jaiari12's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Excrement and Misogyny

liilykke's review against another edition

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

4.25

I really liked this book!
From other reviews I realized most people read it out of school obligation, and that kinda ruins it, it's definitely not a book for everyone, but I wouldn't consider it a "bad" book. 
I think it's similar to a) Narcissus and Goldmund - Hermann Hesse b) A Certain Hunger- Chelsea Summers and c) My Year of Rest and Relaxation- Ottessa Moshfegh 
It contains long descriptions of olfactory stimuli, 18th century France in a beautiful and enchanting way.

Spoiler

It deals with the mind of the ultimate sociopath, whose killings are not out of moralistic obligation, to prove a point, nor because he liked the killing itself...but because he sees people in such a way that he is able to kill them in order to get what he needs- a scent.

I think you can read this book again and again and always find something unique. The prose is beautiful, it contrasts the gore descriptions that are presented. 
Süskind has done immersive research into perfumes, everything is articulated in such detail...

Spoiler

I really really enjoyed the descriptions inside the cave, his intense need to be away from everyone, how he described how much he wanted to empty himself.... I don't know how I feel about the ending yet, it was captivating and unexpected but part of me feels robbed of what it could have been, in a way...if that makes sense

I think if you enjoy dark and gore themes, but would also appreciate a discussion about humanity and death, this book is for u <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Gore

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

melie's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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

Moderate: Gore, Murder, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abandonment, Cannibalism, and Bullying

laurapeirs's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cannibalism, Murder, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Body horror

Minor: Incest, War, Torture, Stalking, Sexual violence, Gore, Child death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Pedophilia