amelierawr's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Richis verdient besseres
>currently rereading for school
>currently rereading for school
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia
Minor: Incest
caitc90's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille known as Grenouille was born in 1738 in the gutters of a fish stall and tossed aside. He was born without a scent, every woman who cared for him noticed it. Although he was born without a scent, he had the most incredible sense of smell, he could smell where you came from, what you ate for lunch yesterday wearing the same outfit, he could differentiate between the scent of clear glass and green glass. No one was capable of smelling the way Grenouille was. Even with his tremendous smelling ability it wasn’t until he was in his 20s and isolated himself from humanity that he realised he himself was scentless. After this realisation he set off to make the perfect perfume.
Part one of the book gave me such a creepy crawly feeling I didn’t know if I would continue reading the book. I think as a mother myself the scent of your baby is such a particular scent, to think of a baby that didn’t have one felt so strange and uncomfortable. The description of him as a child creeped me out so badly and the way his actions were explains it made me stop reading a couple times.
After the initial grossed out-ness, part two of the book was pretty slow. I was expecting more murder because of the title. It was part 3 that got me interested in the book again, when he came out of isolation and went back to making perfumes.The ending of part 3 was not what I expected but it was funny to imagine.
The end of the book was perfect, I couldn’t think of a better way to end it. I’m not a fan of historical fiction but I thought it sounded interesting, also there’s a movie to watch too so I thought it would be an enjoyable read. I’m glad I read it but I think I’ll likely stay away from historical fiction for awhile.
Part one of the book gave me such a creepy crawly feeling I didn’t know if I would continue reading the book. I think as a mother myself the scent of your baby is such a particular scent, to think of a baby that didn’t have one felt so strange and uncomfortable. The description of him as a child creeped me out so badly and the way his actions were explains it made me stop reading a couple times.
After the initial grossed out-ness, part two of the book was pretty slow. I was expecting more murder because of the title. It was part 3 that got me interested in the book again, when he came out of isolation and went back to making perfumes.The ending of part 3 was not what I expected but it was funny to imagine.
The end of the book was perfect, I couldn’t think of a better way to end it. I’m not a fan of historical fiction but I thought it sounded interesting, also there’s a movie to watch too so I thought it would be an enjoyable read. I’m glad I read it but I think I’ll likely stay away from historical fiction for awhile.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Murder, Stalking, and Violence
jane_black's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When I tell you I was enthralled from the beginning, I'm not exaggerating. This story captured me because of the author's writing but mostly, because of its main character, who is a psychopath (if you tell me otherwise, I'm not gonna believe it) with one clear goal: to become the greatest perfumer of the world. I'm just gonna tell you this tiny bit of a spoiler: He fucking does.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Cannibalism, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Pedophilia, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia
marialenov's review
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
velociraptor's review
challenging
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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Cannibalism
kafkasdiary's review
dark
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
this was soooooooo good. if you’d like to delve into classics but don’t know where to start, this is the perfect book for that. <i was afraid that he wouldnt get the punishment he deserved but thank god he did at part 4> maybe I’ll write a proper review someday abt this book who knows
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, and Cannibalism
marypetrushko's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Violence
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
mauricem00ny's review
dark
mysterious
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: Murder, Violence, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Pedophilia
Minor: War
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