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A review by tararoi_
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
3.0
This is a chilling tale following the scent-obsessed murderer named Jean-Baptiste Grenouille on his twisted quest to make the “ultimate perfume”. It is a story of social isolation, of obsessions and genius.
The book starts with the birth of Grenouille, if the fish market. You see, from the very beginning, the story heavily relies on the sense of smell. It is because of heady sensory overload that I nearly sympathized with him. I had to brush that off as soon as he began to display is darker-than-his-already-dark self.
As for his character, I think it was intense. I don’t know how Suskind fabricated a psychopathic character with such complexity and precision. His obsession and vanity was obvious through and through. He has crazy stalker skills, literally sniffing out his victims and killing them. His patience is more disturbing than the crimes. To think there can be such people out there…
.
The end was a little hurried, and surreal in that sense. I did not feel it was consistent with the rest of the plot. I guess Grenouille got tired. Or I didn’t want the book to end.
(I could lose myself in the book thanks to the evocative descriptions of eighteenth-century Paris and Southern France.)
.
Overall: dark and twisted.
The book starts with the birth of Grenouille, if the fish market. You see, from the very beginning, the story heavily relies on the sense of smell. It is because of heady sensory overload that I nearly sympathized with him. I had to brush that off as soon as he began to display is darker-than-his-already-dark self.
As for his character, I think it was intense. I don’t know how Suskind fabricated a psychopathic character with such complexity and precision. His obsession and vanity was obvious through and through. He has crazy stalker skills, literally sniffing out his victims and killing them. His patience is more disturbing than the crimes. To think there can be such people out there…
.
The end was a little hurried, and surreal in that sense. I did not feel it was consistent with the rest of the plot. I guess Grenouille got tired. Or I didn’t want the book to end.
(I could lose myself in the book thanks to the evocative descriptions of eighteenth-century Paris and Southern France.)
.
Overall: dark and twisted.