A review by bookbelle5_17
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, by Patrick Süskind

dark reflective sad tense slow-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

Review of Perfume
By: Patrick Suskind
            A dark story about a man Jean Baptiste Grenouille, who is born without an odor, but he is also born with unnaturally strong sense of smell. As an adult, he becomes a perfumer, and becomes obsessed with finding the perfect scent by committing murder.
            This story gave me feelings of intrigue and disgust all at once as we see the world through Grenouille’s eyes.  He is disgusted with humanity and takes advantage of the ignorance of them. Since scent is Grenouille’s talent and obsession, we a get a lot of these detailed descriptions of all different scents. I love the way the author describes the various scents, including the odors I would fine gross.  His skill with smell with almost scientific accuracy as he creates these perfumes that exhibit intoxicating scents that exude desire, innocence, and a generic human odor. Also, some of Grenouille’s actions are disturbing, as he not only murder humans, but also animals, making me not able to read it.   Not only do we get great descriptions of smells, but we also have beautiful sentences to tell this story.
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