Reviews with content warning for Murder - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

“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: 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.

"That cry, emitted upon careful consideration, one might almost say upon mature consideration, was the newborn's decision against love and nevertheless for life."

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.

"But the tick, stubborn, sullen and loathsome, huddles there and lives and waits. Waits for that most improbable of chances that will bring blood, in animal form, directly beneath its tree."

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.

“He realized that all his life he had been a nobody to everyone. What he now felt was the fear of his oblivion. It was as though he did not exist.”

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.

Content Warnings

jodyjodes86's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I really loved this book, the writing is beautiful and you can really imagine yourself there, as if you’re walking beside the characters. I marked it 4-stars mainly because it was quite slow-paced and not too much happened until the last few chapters. But I’d definitely recommend reading.

Content Warnings