Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind is a bewitchingly haunting tale of isolation, obsession, desire and death. It follows the bizarre life of Jean-Baptise Grenouille, an abomination of a man born with an extraordinary gift for scenting the world around him, far beyond the propensity of any other human. 

Abandoned in the streets of Paris at birth, Grenouille grows up to discover his exceptional sense of smell, becoming obsessed with creating a scent—a perfect concoction of love and power. 

Living solely in his world of scent, Grenouille is utterly detached from reality, devoid of any morals, emotions or any sense of objectivity that makes one a prosaic part of society. The isolation from reality leads him down this dark path of obsession, perfection and no conception of consequences. Actions, words, views, emotions - he is indifferent to everything that isn't scent, and so the immorality of murder is just as vague as his desire and apprehension of the external world. 

Grenouille - the tick, as he is constantly referred to in the story - was such a stubborn, loathsome and concealed creature who awaited his entire life to scent blood - his goal, his pursuit of creating a perfect concoction. As the tick finds its prey, it feeds on it, to the point of killing the animal. Likewise, every person that Grenuoille fed on throughout his life eventually met with the same miserable fate of being perished. But Grenouille, the tick is determined and is driven and stopped by nothing but his remarkable talent and sheer will. He finds the most powerful scent, the scent of innocence, purity, beauty, budding sensuality - all of it combined to make his greatest, the most powerful perfume of love, power and desire.

Perfume is not just a gory tale of obsession and desire, but at its core, it is a rich, evocative story that delves into the complexities of human identity and the human condition, as well as the extremes of human desire. Grenouille, devoid of any scent of his own, is just as invisible to the world as he is to himself. His quest to create a perfect scent that would help him obtain the power of controlling the love of mankind, the power of being seen, desired, respected, and loved, was essentially his pursuit of gaining a scent, a personal scent—the very identity that he lacked. His indifference to the world was a reflection of his indifference to himself. The metamorphosis of Grenouille, from the tick to being Grenouille the Great, the god himself, was next to futile if the god was still obliterated of his own self.

Essentially, it's a brilliant novel that pulls the readers into the realms of surrealism and the absurd. Grenouille is not one to sympathize with, yet Patrick’s rich prose and the unique, complex premises of the story plunge the readers into questioning their own sense of morality, as we find a ghostly thread of empathy attached to our anti-hero, despite the depravity of his acts.

However, as eerily beautiful and haunting as the story is, the pacing of the narrative can feel uneven at times. There are moments when scenes seem overly dragged, lingering too long on certain details, while other events seem too rushed, glossing over crucial details like mere fillers. Perfume could've easily been a 5-star read had it not been for the imbalance in pacing that seemed to detract from the intensity of key scenes. Overall, Perfume remains a unique, dark, unsettling, yet beguiling tale that will continue to haunt you long after you've finished the book.

It's definitely interesting, as any book that delves into the inner workings of a deeply flawed and monstrous main character.

The author does a great job of painting the mental and emotional landscape of Jean Baptiste Grenouille. I don't sympathise with him, but I understand why he'd act in the ways he does; which is what I like about books with antiheroes.

I'm undecided about whether or not I like the absurdity of the book - especially regarding the last couple of events in the book and people's reactions to Grenouille's scents. On the one hand, without those almost fantastical elements, the book would not be interesting. The author paints a world that is unknowingly dominated by scent, and so naturally, when somebody who is so perfectly capable of mastering the art of perfumery (god tier, one could even say) comes along, the world itself bends itself to his will.

On the other hand, it makes me kinda go "huh." at times. It interrupts my immersion bc it's so ridiculous, so absurd. But weirdly enough I don't hate it. I am willing to give this book the benefit of not having to be realistic bc it never claims to be.



side note: some of the descriptions, especially regarding the smell of things, makes me wonder if the author is incredibly talented at writing from the point of view of a pervert or if the author is a pervert himself.

Wow, this book was a wild, wild journey. And there was no chance I could have ever predicted the ending! The story felt very immersive, especially with the extensive descriptions of all the smells that 18th century Paris and France had to offer, both the mesmerising and the hideous. 

It wasn't as gruesome as expected, but still the gruesome deeds done were enough to form our opinion of Grenouille. Despite these deeds, there is also humour in some parts, especially with the narrator's descriptions of Grenouille. Holy hell does the narrator loathe him sometimes! 

Perhaps there are some themes about the loss of meaning and identity when you can't smell yourself, but all in all, it was a thrilling, entertaining story of a guy who smells. Or doesn't smell? It's complicated! 

I do feel like I have to pay more attention to perfume after reading this!

"Perfume" follows a serial killer who develops an obsession with scents. Upon discovering that he himself has no natural odor, he creates perfumes using grotesque ingredients including deceased animal remains, rotting food, and horrifically, body parts from murdered young girls. These concoctions grant him an almost supernatural ability to manipulate others, perhaps due to his own lack of scent.

The story powerfully illustrates humanity's capacity for darkness, with the protagonist himself acknowledging his monstrous nature. In many ways, he embodies evil itself. The writing is simultaneously beautiful and horrifying, leaving me muttering "WTF" every few pages. It's possibly the most beautifully written yet disturbing book I've ever read.

While I was drawn into the story, I had some major issues with it. The way young victims are described is very uncomfortable and unnecessary. It's also frustrating that the killer only gets caught after killing someone from a wealthy family - what about all the other victims? Lastly, I really disliked the character Richis, who treats his daughter in very disturbing ways throughout the book.

booktok people will say jean-baptiste grenouille was just a misunderstood french bad boy and not one of the most psychotic murders in all fiction
"what's the spice level?" miss that is a man (TW animal cruelty)

killing a baby dog in front of it's mother so that he can replicate it's scent

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