Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Das Parfüm by Patrick Süskind

47 reviews

jennyspencer's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Stalking, and Abandonment

guccishoestrings's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

2.75

I am not going to do my usual review style for this book because it is very..... unique. This story is about the character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille but it also tells the story of those who come into contact with him throughout his life.

The story begins the day he is born, his mother left him to die and wet nurses are scared to take him in because he emits no smell (meaning he is possessed by the devil). This also leads him to be a social outcast throughout his entire childhood and teenage life while also surviving a deadly illness that scares him making an even bigger outcast. He finds comfort in the scent of small to the point of needing it to be perfect to be able to live in peace. This leads to him eventually becoming an apprentice to a perfume maker and this leads him on the trail of creating the greatest smell to ever be smelt in the world.

This is a story about the obsession and pursuit of perfection at all costs and when achieving said perfection the outcome not being what is expected (if you have read Frankenstein, you know the theme I'm talking about). This leads to everything he had done being meaningless and thus is life being meaningless and at the end allows himself to die because he has no need/drive to live anymore.

This book was interesting but, it was written in the way of literary books in the 80s were written (book was published in 1985). This could lead to the book being boring in sections and really exciting in others. The story itself is great but, like I said, it could get really boring at times which is why it gets such a low score. I would recommend to anybody who likes books written in an old fashion style that like books like Frankenstein.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death and Sexual content

Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

mayg's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Incest

thefriendlydragon's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

The writing style is nice, though there is very little dialogue and that usually bothers me.
CWs: the n word and g word are used in the text!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gabbynasty's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

crustywhitedog's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Incest, Pedophilia, and Cannibalism

Minor: Infidelity, Torture, and War

ladynocturnal'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

3.25

 This is a character study of a twisted man. The violence is mostly understated, there is not a lot of gore or blood in this book. The focus on scent and perfume gave some much needed originality. My only compliant is that the author makes some gross comments about the female victims in this novel. I do not need to know how the breasts of a dead teenager look. The middle section gets a little boring. The beautiful writing makes it worth a read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia and Violence

Minor: Incest, Sexism, and Torture

stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest and War

zauet's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

bgick'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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racism, Xenophobia, and Cannibalism