Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Das Parfüm by Patrick Süskind

26 reviews

gingervandorsten's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I have rarely read a book as weird and gross and generally unpleasant as this one, but I also think this book is so, so good. The writing, the descriptions, the tension, the ingenuity of everything in here is striking and so impressive.
And then

he murders a dog. And then there's a detailed description of a young girl's breasts. And then there's a father borderline lusting over his daughter. And then there's a huge orgy.

And I think I understand the reason that Süskind put in these things, made these choices; they clearly have the desired effect of making the reader uncomfortable, and showcasing just how f-ed up Grenouille really is, but some of this was a little too messed up to me to be pleasantly disturbing in the way that horror can be, you know?
Regardless - I don't think you should avoid this book because of the amount of disturbing things that happen in it, because if you appreciate the weirdness (to an extent) it's honestly a really masterful tale of hubris and humanity and gross and beautiful olfactory imagery. And the last line. Good lord.

Side note: it's very amusing to me that most people who read this book seem to consider it with a kind of "What in the actual fuck is going on here this is sick"-view but also see it as one of the best books out there. Mainly because I agree. I guess Süskind enamoured us with this gross little book through the perfume of his gorgeous, ironic and self-aware prose. 

Also, the Dutch translation by Ronald Jonkers is very good! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Excrement, and Cannibalism

Minor: Pedophilia

mme_carton's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

ssummar's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Violence, and Cannibalism

Minor: Death, Sexual content, Torture, Excrement, and Abandonment

megsspookysanctuary's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Torture, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment

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

ohdeerboi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Excrement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Sexual content

Minor: Excrement

lesemaus2303's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Excrement, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Torture, Cannibalism, and Stalking