Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Das Parfüm by Patrick Süskind

27 reviews

sabrinaleaf's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

Si un livre qui a pour personnage principal un tueur en série avec un don extraordinaire de l’odorat est plate, vous savez qu’il y a un problème

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Incest, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

linnea1801's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

1.5

If I didn’t have to read this for school I would have dropped it a few chapters in. The main character was so despicable that it hurt every time he got away with something.

It was also extremely infuriating that all the victims were CHILDREN and they were still very sexualised

However, the way that scent was described was very intriguing. In my opinion it was overdone in the middle section, but especially in the beginning it was interesting. All in all I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone but it definitely wasn’t the worst book I was forced to read for school.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

lindevlh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

“Het parfum” is een zeer zorgvuldig  geschreven psychologische thriller dat zich afspeelt in de 18de eeuw, specifieker de vieze, stinkende en de rijke straten van Parijs. Hij opent een nieuwe manier van denken in je brein. Je gaat op een rollercoaster van emoties: ervaar verdriet, woede, eenzaamheid, avontuur,, wanhoop en pijn. Vreugde, opluchting, hoop en vrede. Het boek maakte me zo kwaad dat ik alle personages levend wou begraven, maar soms kon je niet anders dan empathie voelen met elk personage. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and War

marialenov's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

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

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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. 

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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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia, Violence, and Cannibalism

Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

maxire's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gore

Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

achanceofbella's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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

4.5

Personally loved it but needs a specific sense of humour… embarrassing for me giggling away in public at the most devastating life story i’ve ever heard. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death of parent

Moderate: Murder

eleko's review against another edition

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Minor: Death of parent