Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is the protagonist of the tale born in Paris in 1738 to a mother who – having previously given birth to four still-borns or near-deads – quickly abandons him, leaving him for dead. Taking 71st place in the poll of 100, Perfume is German writer Suskind’s best known work and was made into a film in 2006, starring Alan Rickman and Dustin Hoffman. Most recently Francesca Main – an editor at Picador who has worked on some of my favourite books in recent years – suggested I read Perfume and, describing it as both dark and atmospheric, I was sold. Rettig, German Dept., Wellesley Coll., Wellesley, Mass.The further I get into the BBC Top 100 Reads, the more I rely on others for recommendations. With brilliant narrative skill Susskind exposes the dark underside of the society through which Grenouille moves and explores the disquieting inner universe of this singularly possessed man. Born without a smell of his own but endowed with an extraordinary sense of smell, Grenouille becomes obsessed with procuring the perfect scent that will make him fully human. Set in 18th-century France, Perfume relates the fascinating and horrifying tale of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a person as gifted as he was abominable. Woods.Library JournalUpon its publication last year in Germany Susskind's first novel Perfume immediately became an international best seller.
Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.Translated from the German by John E. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the 'ultimate perfume'-the scent of a beautiful young virgin. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion-his sense of smell-leads to murder.In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell.
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