emmacartlidge's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, Death, and Gore
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Excrement, and Pedophilia
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.
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
elleccc's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Beautiful writing with an intriguing plot. You will find yourself in conflict with your morality. Perhaps, in the end you’ll be able to answer the important questions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Misogyny
Make sure to check out the trigger warnings!inkdrinkeranonymous's review
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
aelinstark's review against another edition
dark
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
0.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Animal death, Torture, Pedophilia, and Suicide
xjuliaaaaaax's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.0
Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is not remedy for it.
Perfume is a novel that is really a character study, or perhaps a portrait or fictional biography.
Unlike Lolita, you’re not tricked into sympathizing with Grenouille and the author never tries to justify grenouille’s acts. We follow Grenouille from his undesired birth throughout his life. People hate him and he hates people. His world is full of scents that no one else can perceive and he is alone in this world. When he captures the most sublime scent he’s ever smelled, he obsesses over capturing and preserving it.
While not much happens in the book, I enjoyed the journey and the writing. Süskind’s descriptions are primarily olfactory, and he goes into detail on the aromas, scents, and stenches in each scene. He also dives into the processes of perfume making. I enjoyed both these aspects, though others may find them repetitive or tedious. I recommend only reading this if you’re in the mood for something atmospheric, mostly made of vibes, and meandering. The ending was very unexpected to me, but not unsatisfying.
I also saw others point out how Süskind described women. Yeah there are some questionable descriptions. Particularly egregious was describing breasts as, “pert as hard-boiled eggs.” However we don’t talk about women often so it’s not super annoying, and I read it as how the characters conceptualize women more than how Süskind views them if that makes sense? I’ve definitely read other things though where descriptions of women completely ruin a reading experience so thought it worth mentioning.
Overall, not something revolutionary or something I’ll likely reread, but I enjoyed it.
Unlike Lolita, you’re not tricked into sympathizing with Grenouille and the author never tries to justify grenouille’s acts. We follow Grenouille from his undesired birth throughout his life. People hate him and he hates people. His world is full of scents that no one else can perceive and he is alone in this world. When he captures the most sublime scent he’s ever smelled, he obsesses over capturing and preserving it.
While not much happens in the book, I enjoyed the journey and the writing. Süskind’s descriptions are primarily olfactory, and he goes into detail on the aromas, scents, and stenches in each scene. He also dives into the processes of perfume making. I enjoyed both these aspects, though others may find them repetitive or tedious. I recommend only reading this if you’re in the mood for something atmospheric, mostly made of vibes, and meandering. The ending was very unexpected to me, but not unsatisfying.
I also saw others point out how Süskind described women. Yeah there are some questionable descriptions. Particularly egregious was describing breasts as, “pert as hard-boiled eggs.” However we don’t talk about women often so it’s not super annoying, and I read it as how the characters conceptualize women more than how Süskind views them if that makes sense? I’ve definitely read other things though where descriptions of women completely ruin a reading experience so thought it worth mentioning.
Overall, not something revolutionary or something I’ll likely reread, but I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
sofipitch's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I liked how sensual the book was, and I'm a fan of the magical realism genre so I do like that story telling style. But there was also a lot I didn't like about the book. I almost put it down after first picking it up because I felt like the way Grenouille was written was ableist. He isn't explicitly disabled but some of the things intended to make him scary just feel like describing an autistic person. But I gave this book the benefit of the doubt but then encountered casual racism, in the use of the word "n-word-ly" used in the narrative, there's another racist section about the Romanian and jewish ppl, which might have been on purpose by the author to show how stupid the thinking in 1700s France was, but it's hard to tell and at this point the author is getting a LOT of benefit of the doubt. There's also the fact that no female character even talks, they mostly just serve to get murdered and aren't described unless to fetishize their beauty, which just rubbed me the wrong way. The pace of the book also made no sense, the climax and falling action just felt really anti-climactic and poorly thought out. A lot of the action and what's described in this book seems just for shock value rather than having any literary merit. I like the writing style and the setting but I think if that were taken away it's just meh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Cannibalism, and Stalking
Moderate: Excrement and Misogyny
Minor: Racial slurs and Antisemitism
ricochets's review against another edition
dark
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Suicide
Minor: Abortion, War, Child abuse, and Death of parent
katharinaaa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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: Pedophilia and Murder
Minor: Suicide and Incest
liab's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Una buena selección para horror.
Lo encuentro interesante que empieza desde el nacimiento y las cosas raras que pasan. Es como leer o escuchar un episodio sobre criminales. Es bien inquietante, los detalles son buenos pero aun te inquieta. Honestamente nose cómo describir cómo pienso del protagonista, es extraño y te da incomodidad casi mientras más lees. También es como que su partida siempre afecta bien drástico, es como paranormal. El perfume termina en un extremo que ni lo esperaba
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Animal death
Moderate: Animal cruelty