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butteredtoastinbed's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I liked this book more than I thought I was going to. I am not usually a fan of historical fiction or classics but I found myself really enjoying this.
The main character was not likeable (which usually is a big turnoff for me) but that was exactly the point of the story and it helped with moving the story along and the complexity of emotions brought up throughout. There were a lot of background characters that I sometimes got confused between when they were mentioned by name, but they rarely overlapped so this was not too much of an issue. The pacing was also excellent, I at no point found myself in a slump or bored with the story. I also really liked the ending, I was worried that the end of the story would not be satisfactory after going through the entire novel with the main character, but I think it was great and left me very satisfied and with the story nicely wrapped up by the end.
It’s only not a 5 star rating for me because the story and characters didn’t captivate me and draw me in as intensely as I would want for a 5 star book. Overall, it is a great book that I enjoyed and would definitely recommend. I am however unlikely to reread it in the near future, not because I didn’t like it but because the story was perfect left where it was and I also don’t think a reread would reveal more story that I may have missed the first time through.
The main character was not likeable (which usually is a big turnoff for me) but that was exactly the point of the story and it helped with moving the story along and the complexity of emotions brought up throughout. There were a lot of background characters that I sometimes got confused between when they were mentioned by name, but they rarely overlapped so this was not too much of an issue. The pacing was also excellent, I at no point found myself in a slump or bored with the story. I also really liked the ending, I was worried that the end of the story would not be satisfactory after going through the entire novel with the main character, but I think it was great and left me very satisfied and with the story nicely wrapped up by the end.
It’s only not a 5 star rating for me because the story and characters didn’t captivate me and draw me in as intensely as I would want for a 5 star book. Overall, it is a great book that I enjoyed and would definitely recommend. I am however unlikely to reread it in the near future, not because I didn’t like it but because the story was perfect left where it was and I also don’t think a reread would reveal more story that I may have missed the first time through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Excrement, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Torture, Cannibalism, and Stalking
hilary_reads_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Pedophilia, Violence, Excrement, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Murder
evevallarta's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
4.75
Me sorprendió de principio a fin, me divertí y me encantó. Aunque la mitad del libro se puso un poco lenta y es lo único que me bajo un poco el ánimo que venía construyendo desde el principio, tengo que admitir que la manera en la que escribe Süskind no es para todos, pero a mí fue *chef kiss*
La historia ya la conocía y aún así nad se compara con la experiencia de esta lectura. Muy atmosferica, hubo momentos donde me sorprendí asqueada por DESCRIPCIONES de olores!!
Una aventura de un asesino, unlikeable, tonto pero astuto. Claro que el papel de la mujer en este libro es inexistente, indiferente, ignorado.... Pero es que este no es un libro sobre eso, este es un libro con un narrador omnipresente que nos muestra los pensamientos de los personajes que se entrelazan en la historia, nada de endulzar el personaje, son tal y como son.
Cada fin de capitulo de la primera parte terminaba sonriendo y qué final!!
👏👏👏nada más que decir
La historia ya la conocía y aún así nad se compara con la experiencia de esta lectura. Muy atmosferica, hubo momentos donde me sorprendí asqueada por DESCRIPCIONES de olores!!
Una aventura de un asesino, unlikeable, tonto pero astuto. Claro que el papel de la mujer en este libro es inexistente, indiferente, ignorado.... Pero es que este no es un libro sobre eso, este es un libro con un narrador omnipresente que nos muestra los pensamientos de los personajes que se entrelazan en la historia, nada de endulzar el personaje, son tal y como son.
Cada fin de capitulo de la primera parte terminaba sonriendo y qué final!!
👏👏👏nada más que decir
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Excrement, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cannibalism
winsomefish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Sexual violence, Blood, and Excrement
Moderate: Vomit and Murder
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: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Pedophilia, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
withlivjones'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: Animal death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Misogyny, Torture, Xenophobia, Excrement, Antisemitism, and War
torismazarine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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: Death and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Violence, and Cannibalism
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Excrement
maess's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
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, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Excrement
Minor: Racial slurs and Antisemitism