Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Parfymen

Rating this book is difficult. I despised the main character and the ending, and the whole story is rather disturbing. But it’s also very well written, and I found the descriptions of scents and perfumery really interesting.

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schmetterly's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Best book ever!

Though the end was a little bit... macabre. But it fit the story.

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renorsomethin's review against another edition

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dark medium-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

wtf did i even read

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stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is wild! Sure, the story had it's dark moments, but it's also ridiculous (in a good way). I genuinely was not expecting some of the things that happened - especially in those final chapters. I also love the fact that it focuses so much on scent. It's an underused sense in literature, but so good as conjuring up emotions. Just do listen to the audiobook on public transit like I did - I was VERY aware of the scents on the bus that day.

But I think my favourite part is that it reads like a text from the 18th century. I've read a lot of Victorian literature for both school and for fun, so I'm very familiar with the writing style of the time. I had to double check that this book was actually written in the 1980s - you could've fooled me.

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zauet's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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liv_31's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

one of the best books I’ve ever read

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asimpson7's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was so strange. I don’t really know what to think about it. It started off strange and I was confused as to where it was going and why but then it had a truly grim and odd ending. It was an interesting and entertaining read, however I was very confused by it all, and I am glad I do not have that sense of smell as it seemed a curse rather than a blessing.

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miamoo1004's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed the book the ending had me shocked. I also enjoyed Grenouille’s character and how he was perceived and that we got to see his thoughts and dreams it added a lot more depth to his character.

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