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Vintage

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

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Description

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Set in eighteenth-century France, the classic novel that 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. 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. Translated from the German by John E. Woods. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (February 13, 2001)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 255 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0375725849


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 45


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.86 x 8 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #13,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #149 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #365 in Classic Literature & Fiction #1,420 in Suspense Thrillers


#149 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction:


#365 in Classic Literature & Fiction:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Delectably Deviant
This story is a delicious blend of horror, fantasy and historical fiction. It explores the themes of obsession, identity and power and the way it can create and destroy a person and the people around them. I enjoyed this story for its pretty, flowery descriptions of disturbing content. The author literally paints the scene around you page after page, that you can even almost smell it. For fans of unhinged main characters, this is a definite one to pick up off the shelf. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023 by Taylor
    • "Perfume" - A Surreal & Chilling Tale Gloriously Told
First and foremost, German author Patrick Suskind's novel, "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," is a celebration of the written word, and an affirmation of good popular literature. Suskind's beautifully crafted narrative excites the imagination and expands the reader's senses - especially that least appreciated of faculties, the olfactory. John E. Woods should be lauded for bringing the richness and texture of the author's language to his English translation. "Perfume" is much more than a murder mystery or suspense thriller. It is an extraordinary tale that defies genre classification. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was born in the most squalid, stinking marketplace of 18th-century Paris, perhaps even the most putrid place in all France, on July 17, 1738. And, as the author explains, the stench of 18th-century Paris is one that modern man cannot begin to fathom - manure, moldering wood, rat droppings, human excretions both common and exotic, caustic lyes and sulfur from the tanneries, congealed blood from the slaughterhouses, the great unwashed masses, spoiled and rotting food, etc., etc.. His mother, who suffered from "gout, syphilis and a touch of consumption," was otherwise healthy. She was not concerned when her labor began. She had delivered four other babies beneath her fish booth, all illegitimate, and disposed of all four, along with the bloody refuse of fish and entrails at the end of the market day. Amoral, she had no idea she was doing wrong, nor did she particularly care. Jean-Baptiste was fortunate. He cried lustily at birth, thus calling sufficient attention to himself, that his mother was forced to acknowledge him. The baby boy was allowed to live. Taken in by the church, he was placed in the care of a wet nurse. In the novel's wonderful first paragraph, Suskind introduces John-Baptiste. "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. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, and if his name - in contrast to the names of other gifted abominations, de Sade's, for instance, or Saint-Just's, Fouche's, Bonaparte's, etc. - has been forgotten today, it is not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance, misanthropy, immorality, or, more succinctly, to wickedness, because his gifts and his sole ambition were restricted to a domain that leaves no traces in history: to the fleeting realm of scent." Grenouille had no scent of his own - absolutely no odor. This was a terrible handicap which caused all to shun him from infancy, without understanding why they avoided him. However, in a bizarre attempt to balance this aberration, nature provided Jean-Baptiste with the most acute sense of smell of any human that ever lived. At an early age, he was able to clearly distinguish differences in people with his eyes closed. He knew the different scents of wood, which he had to chop everyday, and even which of a variety of cows provided the milk he drank each morning. He spent his every waking hour identifying, ordering and classifying scent. This extraordinary olfactory gift, and his passion to pursue, capture and distill all scents, were to be the cause of his unforeseeable elevation in society, which rarely recognized one of his lowly class, and also, his ultimate downfall. Mr. Suskind chronicles here Grenouille's life - from his stint at the home of Madame Gaillard, who took in orphans like Jean-Baptiste, to his arduous apprenticeship with the tanner Grimal, his work with the famous perfumer Baldini, where he became a journeyman perfumer, and his wanderings throughout all Paris to learn the city's every smell. He aspired to become the omnipotent god of scent. He knew that the person "who ruled scent also ruled the hearts of men," for "scent was the brother of breath." Then came the day he discovered the single most exquisite scent of all, which he became obsessed to possess for his own. Grenouille had never known love or the slightest affection, not even a tender touch. No one educated him about right and wrong, and he had no inherent ability to distinguish between good and evil. From the earliest age, he did what was necessaey to survive. He was truly a man with no conscience - totally narcissistic. Morality played no part in his life - the pursuit of scent was all that gave him joy. It is to Patrick Suskind's credit that I felt such empathy for this creature. I don't excuse his behavior, but given his background and life, how else could he have been expected to turn out? "Perfume's" various settings are illustrated, and the characters depicted, as Jean-Baptiste would perceive them, through smell. The descriptions are so vivid, and the use of language so bountiful, that I found myself reading passages aloud at times, just to savor the words. The historic detail is meticulous and fascinating, as is the process of perfume making, much of which is described here. This is a compelling tale, that is surreal, almost otherworldly. It is also a chilling portrait of a psychopath with a mission. The conclusion is brilliant, unexpected and riveting. A marvelous read! JANA ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2005 by Jana L.Perskie
    • Fantastic story
The author is a master of describing scent. His main character is so intriguing. Beautiful prose. I gave my copy to another book lover because I had to share this great story
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2023 by Sarina A. Hart
    • Brilliant, Insane, Twisted
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Das Parfum. Die Geschichte eines Mörders) by Patrick Süskind (translated by John E. Woods) takes place in France, telling of a serial murderer with an extraordinary sense of smell, who is chiefly motivated by scents. Mr. Süskind is a German award-winning author and screenwriter, this book is, indeed, the best-selling German novel in history. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was born with a gift, a sense of smell very few, if any, posses. This gift has helped him rise from the slums of 1800th Century Paris, to being an apprentice to Giuseppe Baldini, a prominent perfumer. For Grenouille, however, mixing perfumes is not enough and he becomes obsessed with capture scents of objects. The “ultimate” perfume, however is the scent of young, beautiful virgins and the only way to capture it is to kill them. This book was assigned to my teenage daughter at school. She read the first chapter and “hated it”, thought it was weird and equally disgusting. The descriptions of 1800th Century Paris, as well as Grenouille’s circumstances of birth were quite graphic. I decided, however, that I should read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind along with her, as I usually try to do. I read the first chapter and absolutely loved it. The author holds nothing back, describes the foul stench of Paris, the undeniably hard life, the disgusting existence. “Grenouille’s mother, who was still a young woman, barely in her mid-twenties, and who still was quite pretty and had almost all her teeth in her mouth and some hair on her head and – except for gout and syphilis and a touch of consumption – suffered from no serious disease, who still hoped to live a while yet, perhaps a good five or ten years, and perhaps even to marry one day and as the honorable wife of a widower with a trade or some such to bear real children… Grenouille’s mother wished that it were already over.” How can you not love a novel with this sentence in it? Kudos to translator John E. Woods! This book is brilliant, insane and twisted – a grotesque fable, sometimes funny and beautifully written. Even my daughter came to enjoy it after the first chapter. I loved the descriptions of life during that time, something you don’t often see. I’m sure that if we were magically transported to that time period, we wouldn’t be able to breath, to say nothing of being in the presence of other humans due to the stench. Aside from the fantastic narrative, the book is also a lesson the history of perfumery. I also found the religious symbolism, as well as the analytical study of social and economics of the time extremely fascinating. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2022 by Man of La Book
    • Good book
Very interesting and not expected.
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023 by mallory
    • Book is amazing, delivery was atrocious
I have read this book before and it is phenomenal. I decided I wanted a copy, since I got rid of my copy from years ago. I ordered it BRAND NEW, but when it arrived pages within were folded and bent and the cover was slightly torn. BRAND NEW, not at all. It was a rip-off.
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2023 by John

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