Perfume

A world of Love or perfume? One of the best movie I had ever seen. The exceptional talent of such kind of writing, Patrick Suskind one of the best novel writer in the world.The beautiful narration of the movie perfume by John hurt in a melodious voice gives the real realization of a true smell.This smell will last forever!!!❤Patrick Suskind❤John Hurt

I don't know how many others did, but I bought this book because of its absolutely gorgeous cover. I waited eagerly and a little impatiently until it arrived for I had heard of the controversial movie and feared that out of all the years that I hadn't read the book, right now when I was so close, I would be provided with numerous spoilers.Now, what do we know about the book? From the title we can gather its about perfume and for some reason, its about murder and not a story about how Chanel came to be. Set in the mid-1700's France, we're thrown into a world of dirt, stench and every sort of waste possible. Amidst all this disgust, a child who does not emit any smell himself is blessed with extraordinary olfactory capabilities, which allows him to recognise, separate and catalogue in his mind all the different odours he comes into contact with. This child is Jean Baptiste Grenouille, "an abominable and gifted personage, in an era which was not lacking in abominable and gifted personages".You quickly find that this book isn't afraid to discard characters it doesn't require anymore and this bit of amusement kept me going. The book is slow and full of Grenouille's pathetic life as he discovers new smells and creates new ones. He lives to deconstruct even the most complex aromas. If you've never cared about the smell of a brass door-knob, you will after this. Grenouille is an epitome of your childhood horror, a slightly hunchbacked man with an ever sniffing nose that creeps in the shadows. He's probably the most dangerous character you'll ever come across, simply coz he's completely ruthless and will do anything the get that 'perfect scent.' All the murders in this book take a long time getting to and it may leave you a little disappointed for that part alone, seems rushed. But then again, Grenouille's true insanity displays itself then.I read this book, amused the whole time, it isn't particularly scary and though the character is horrifying, you love the author's black humour. The book makes you feel instantly better about yourself and the world you live in while introducing you to a whole new 'palace' of perfumes and scents. The ending given is the sole reason you should read this book. It's unimaginable and exciting and leave you horrified and the image created will linger in your mind for days to come.For those who wish to see the movie after reading, or have already watched it and now want to read the book, the book is a lot more detailed and you get to see the true extent of Grenouille's character, for he's mellowed down in the movie and you don't get to see the full extent of his madness. Watch the movie for it's visually beautiful and I found it to be a wonderful adaptation to the book and the captured the most impossible thing, the smells, very well. Also, after reading the book, you really want to see the last scene brought to life.

The book arrived in fabulous condition. Binding, print, cover - everything about this book is exceptional.

Reviewing the book, not the Amazon order.The book is quite strange in its storytelling. The principle idea is unique, but some events are bizarre. But fast paced, good read.

“A woman's perfume tells more about her than her handwriting. ”----Christian DiorPatrick Süskind, a late German writer and screenwriter's internationally, critically acclaimed and an award-winning novel Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders translated into English with the title, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer The German novel set in the backdrop of 18th century France that rocked the whole world with its intensity, level of fantasy and surrealism, historical realism, sensuality and scents surrounding around a young man, with a god-gifted talented to identify the subtle and underlying scents of worldly things as well as of human beings.Synopsis:In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift: an absolute sense of smell. 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.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 fresh-cut wood. 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.Told with dazzling narrative brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is left abandoned in the back of a fish stall, in the early 18th century Paris, right after his birth by his own mother. Luckily Grenouille is survived by the common people and later, he is adopted by a benefactor, who runs an orphanage, where he grew up with other orphans and bastards like him. At a very tender age, he discovered that he has no scent of his own but has a god gifted nose that can identify scents of any and every worldly things, hence he finds a job as an apprentice of a popular Parisian perfumer, Baldini after his stint at the tannery, where he survived a near death experience. But this talent of making and mixing and finally reproducing the best and rarest smell in the world, the smell of a young female virgin for which he had to shed a lot of human as well as animal blood. Although gradually he earned his fame, but this haunting journey of his soon came to an end when he is caught and imprisoned for killing more than twenty female teenagers, but once again, his unique talent saved the day and his prison sentence when he is set free, only later to be butchered and eaten by an enraged mob of Paris.This hauntingly, chilling and sensual novel holds a subtle power to arouse all the five senses of its readers, although the book has it own flaws. Yet if the readers manages to look past it, then the novel can turn out to be something scandalously enchanting, underlying with magic, murder and mayhem. A psychologically flawed protagonist, touring and journeying across France in search of beautiful smells that haunts him day and night, but he is in dire need to kill human beings and animals in order to recreate them. May not be the most original story line, but it has got layers of historical elements and proof of a failing judiciary system in the early 18th century France. This young man's journey is not only terrifying but is also quite profound.The writing is okay, yet the story line and the author cleverly has resonated so many underlying topics ranging from Bourgeois Liberal Revolution (the time period of the novel's setting) era's flaws, dark satire in the societal changes, the need of perfume in every household, the power and class struggle and many other socio-economic themes. The history is spot on, but what will irk up the readers is the vividness of the scenes that were mostly unnecessary at certain times. It is not easy to handle those graphic scenes, that were penned by the author with subtle emotions and more mechanically. The then Parisian flair from the novel will at times overwhelm its readers but most of the times, it will feel striking enough to lose themselves in its beauty as well as in its odors and beautiful smells. The pacing is bit slow, as there is too much details but then again, those details weren't so well portrayed.The protagonist, Grenouille, lacks depth terribly, as the author has failed to depict the man with realism or even with slightest emotional insight. Thus Grenouille will only tease its readers with his journey and his magical power to sense and detect individual human and animal smells. But the readers can easily contemplate with Grenouille's struggle and desire to recreate the smells that he identifies amongst his fellow humans, especially amongst teenage girls. The author has failed drastically to decipher the explanation and the reason behind his protagonist's choices and irrational decisions to kill in order to reproduce human smells.In a nutshell, this novel is enjoyable, but from an educational or intellectual point of view, the novel fails tragically.

... finished it half ... i have yet to complete it ... but all in all ... a good buy.

Historia fascinante, muito bem escrita.

This novel is so uniquely darkly captivating. The story follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an orphan born with an extraordinary sense of smell and an unyielding obsession with capturing the scent of beauty. The author explores themes of identity, obsession, and the sinister side of human nature, making Grenouille’s journey disturbing yet fascinating. The descriptions are so vivid that I felt enveloped in a world teeming with scents—some intoxicatingly beautiful, others repulsively raw. A balance of suspense with philosophical undertones, that leaves you wanting more.

arrived quickly and in good shape

Copertina e libro originale, stampa del 1986. Ottimo e bellissimo! Gran romanzo!

Ever since teen is my most fav novel of all the times!! 🖤🖤🖤“He possessed the power. He held it in his hand. A power stronger than the power of money or the power of terror or the power of death: the invincible power to command the love of mankind. There was only one thing that power could not do: it could not make him able to smell himself.”Perfume is a story about social isolation; it’s a story about not belonging in the world and the negative effects this can wrought on one’s mind. It’s also a story about obsession, a singular pursuit for perfection regardless of the costs.Consequences simply do not matter for Jean. He is completely detached from reality; he lives in his own world of scent, invisible to all others. Murder means nothing to him because he does not fully understand what he is murdering. He has no feelings. He cannot comprehend what it is to snuff out a life because he is not truly alive himself. He is dead inside and numb to all else in his differentness.“He realized that all his life he had been a nobody to everyone. What he now felt was the fear of his own oblivion. It was as though he did not exist.”“He had withdrawn solely for his own personal pleasure, only to be near to himself. No longer distracted by anything external, he basked in his own existence and found it splendid.”As such befalls misery for all those that meet him. His talent is remarkable and his motivation (when roused) is unstoppable. His singular pursuit for his goal is uncompromising and he will stop at nothing to achieve the most perfect of scents. The secret ingredient he has been looking for comes his way and he cannot rest until he has it. Innocence is a mighty hard thing to harvest, though it is the missing piece he has been looking for; it will give his perfume the power to inspire love: it will be irresistible.However, as the tale of Icarus taught us, those who fly too high will burn. As such the ending of this is simply perfection. The moment captures the heart of the book in one beautifully horrific frenzy of emotions and desire. The delivery is masterful. I knew it was coming (I’d seen the film many years previously) though I don’t think the film could every quite capture the intensity and euphoric nature of the situation.The only reason I have not given this five stars is because I found it rambled a little in places. I think the story could have been cut back and made tighter and more effective, though I loved the prose and the plot. Jean makes for an interesting character study for sure.