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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (International Writers) (Paperback)

by Patrick Suskind (Author), J.E. Woods (Translator) "In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of..." (more)
Key Phrases: fluidum letale, greatest perfumer, journeyman tanner, Madame Gaillard, Giuseppe Baldini, Madame Arnulfi (more...)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (411 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Penguin's unabridged production of this international best seller is a thoroughly captivating production. Suskind's demented protagonist, Jean-Baptist Grenouille, is a "gifted abomination" whose highly developed sense of smell could easily make him the greatest perfumer of all time. Given the general stench of 18th-century cities, good perfumers were held in high regard. However, Grenouille the misfit, scorned by society throughout his life, hasn't the heart to create pretty perfumes for society's elite. When he finally does earn the adoration of the masses through his twisted genius, he decides that he would much prefer to "exterminate all these stupid, stinking people from the earth." Reader Sean Barrett does not overdramatize the often sensational events here but instead relates them with a measured, detached air that perfectly captures Suskind's cool tone. Also, his reserved narrative style allows listeners to appreciate Suskind's expert use of language (passages from this novel can be found in dictionaries of similes). This extraordinary production is highly recommended for all serious fiction collections.?Beth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Review
?Superb storytelling all the way?the climax is a savage shocker.??The Cleveland Plain Dealer -- Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (January 26, 1989)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0140120831
ISBN-13: 978-0140120837
Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 7 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (411 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #793,950 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fluidum letale, greatest perfumer, journeyman tanner, mixing bottle, essence absolue, own odor, human odor

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Madame Gaillard, Giuseppe Baldini, Madame Arnulfi, Antoine Richis, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, Grenouille the Great, Count Verhamont, Father Terrier, Laure Richis, Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Jeanne Bussie, Plomb du Cantal, Porte du Cours, Pic du Canigou, Monsieur Baldini, Maitre Baldini, Second Consul

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 10 books:

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas in Back Matter
Three Stories and a Reflection by Patrick Suskind in Front Matter
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight by Vladimir Nabokov in Back Matter
The Nature of Blood by Caryl Phillips in Back Matter
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas p�re in Back Matter

See all 10 books this book cites

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Customer Reviews

411 Reviews

5 star:		(279)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(26)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (411 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

193 of 205 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A HAUNTING AND MESMERIZING TOUR DE FORCE, March 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Perfume: Perfume (Paperback)

In 18th century France, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with no scent of his own, but with with a supernatural ability to detect the scent of others is driven to murder in order to create the perfect perfume. This extraordinarily original premise encompasses the most elegant, aristocratic and erotic novel I have ever read. Flawlessly written and drenched in irony, Perfume tells a haunting tale of a man reminiscent of the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast (beast), and even Faust. Amd finally! A writer with enough talent to let us experience Grenouille's thoughts and emotions. Although, of course, identification with him is impossible, (Grenouille is the most chilling character in literature) I did manage to understand Grenouille's all-consuming passion, much to Suskind's credit. Suskind's prose is lush and evokative (the decadance of 18th century France simply comes alive) without spilling over into the purple prose of books like Violin or The English Patient. Perfume is a bizarre tale, but it is also lyrical and hypnotic--almost a fairy tale of terror. If you're looking for something different, something special, I highly recommend Perfume. The only other book I've found to equal it in originality is Jose Saramago's Blindness. Perfume, however, remains my alltime favorite.

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102 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, but not quite a Masterpiece, December 4, 2001

By	richard_t "richard_t" (South America) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Paperback)

When the first english language version of "Perfume" was released in 1986, readers went crazy. Many placed it among the best books they'd ever read, myself included. A reread, fifteen years later yields a different, more muted, reaction. The book is good, very good. But it is not great.

"Perfume" succeeds so well because the premise is so startlingly novel. An olfactory genius in 18th-century Paris who can make a fortune creating perfumes more complicated and subtle than any ever made, is a sociopathic monster. Or as Suskind describes him, a "tick" who can roll up into a defensive ball or periodically drop himself into society. Grenouille is a compelling and disturbing character because Suskind has painted him in such realistic tones. Each effort to capture a new scent impels him farther, taking more chances and testing his limits, exploiting new techniques and his own criminal daring. This is true criminal pattern and makes Grenouille terrifyingly believable.

But the book can not be a great one, because Suskind's prose tends toward the overdone. Perhaps it reads better in the original German, but his maddening penchant for rephrasing and repeating the same notion and turning a sentence into a paragraph finally dulls the senses and sets the reader skimming along searching for the next important point.

The plot is so unique that it is brilliant. The execution is powerful, not only in Grenouille's characterization, but also because Suskind has done his homework and is smoothly at ease with 18th century mores and the science of perfume. But the squishy repetitive prose and unfocused paragraphs keep "Perfume" from joining the ranks of literary masterpieces.

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37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious and breath taking read, October 10, 2006

By	- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Paperback)

Upon hearing that this book was made into a movie that is to come out at the end of this year, I knew I had to read the story as I like to read the book first and see the movie after. Scent is something that people can't ignore, they can close their eyes and cover their ears, but a smell can reach them and intrude all private spaces.

Perfume is a tale of a period serial-killer, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille born in 18th century France of a woman who cut and cleaned fish. Born in the market, under her table he was to be left for dead, but miraculously as the people busied themselves with work they heard a powerful wail, a cry like no other. The mother caught at trying to dispose of her baby was punished by death, the little infant taken to a monastery but given away because his lack of scent frightened all around him. Taken by a woman who was battered by her husband when he was alive, who could not smell and feel, he was raised like any other orphan, as long as the church paid her yearly. Jean-Baptiste rouse suspicion from children who were scared of him, they couldn't get any feeling for what he was, for they knew he was not like all other humans. There was that lack of scent, the absolute nothingness and fear he spread, he preferred to be left alone, he worked hard and endured years of hard labor that would have any other human drop dead, but not Grenouille. He waited coiled up inside of his mind like a tick ready for fresh blood, he waited for an opportunity to conquer the world of scent and that he did.

As Grenouille jumps form job to job, landing a position with Baldini, a perfumer in Paris simply by chance he learns all that he can about proper extraction and perfume procedure, all of which are greatly described to the reader. Grenouille who lacks scent himself, has an immense library of scents which whiffs he only needed once in order to bottle and store them inside his own head. He can come up with the most exquisite combinations of scents and oil, pomades and cosmetics, bringing Baldini to the top of fame, letting him take all the credit. All that Grenouille wanted to learn was for his own knowledge, and as he traveled from town to town, people who helped him or who took him in meet with strange and sometimes gruesome deaths. Grenouille is a character who first omits great sympathy, with his cold soul, his strange manners and un-civilized at first behavior. I felt pity, I laughed and felt bad for him, but as time progressed his desire of scent capture moved form household objects to small animals and then humans. His indifference to pain and suffering quickly diffused any pity and made me read of him with a very weary mind.

Once he caught a scent of a ripening womanhood, he was transfixed. Among the 18th century Paris, that was crowded and stank of dirty people, food and excrements, he smelled a pure and beautiful scent, which he described as silk and milk. It was the scent of a red haired girl peeling yellow plums by the river. Jean-Baptiste knew from that moment on that the only scent he really wanted to create was that of a pure human in its crystalline form. After his first murder he inhaled the lingering spirit and put it away in his memory, he then traveled along the coast and waited years for an opportunity to study the science of perfume more and to apply it to his own devilish plan.

This book, has so much more going on that I can possibly describe, the world of Jean-Baptiste and his scents was a pleasure to read. I have never been so transfixed and captivated by a sense I take for granted, and this book was a refreshing eye opener.
Hundreds of scents are described in Patrick Suskind's novel, the smell of a blossoming woman, the metallic tang of a doorknob, the soft creamy sheep wool, oaky warmth of wood pulp, oranges ripening with juice, the moonlight cape of magnolias, the fresh windy smell of a puppy and finally, Grenouille's perfect perfume composed of twenty five virgins.

The ending was pretty shocking and total punch, it left me wanting to read more but also satisfied with how well the story wrapped up. I adored the descriptions of nature and of old Paris, I felt transported to the world of great costumes, powdered wigs, dirty living conditions and interesting relationships. Great read with a chilling villain who succumbs to his own desires and of the alluring world of scent which will never be the same.

- Kasia S.

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1.0 out of 5 stars 255 pages total, 155 being blah blah blah
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5.0 out of 5 stars A scentillating examination of a murderer's mind!
Humans that are deprived of one or more of the senses naturally compensate by focusing and overdeveloping the remaining senses. Read more

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4.0 out of 5 stars Totally creepy - in a completely absorbing way . . .
PERFUME reads like a grotesque fairy tale - but you can't put it down! If you have a taste for the bizarre AND a well-written novel, give it a try. Read more

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5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you may I have another?
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