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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
 
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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Paperback)

by Patrick Suskind (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 17.99
Price: CDN$ 13.13 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer + The Jew's Beech + The Rider of the White Horse (The Dikegrave. German Classics)
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  • The Rider of the White Horse (The Dikegrave. German Classics) by Theodor Storm

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Product Details

Product Description

From Library Journal

Upon its publication last year in Germany Susskind's first novel Perfume immediately became an international best seller. Set in 18th-century France, Perfume relates the fascinating and horrifying tale of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a person as gifted as he was abominable. Born without a smell of his own but endowed with an extraordinary sense of smell, Grenouille becomes obsessed with procuring the perfect scent that will make him fully human. With brilliant narrative skill Susskind exposes the dark underside of the society through which Grenouille moves and explores the disquieting inner universe of this singularly possessed man. The translation is superb. Essential for literature collections. Ulrike S. Rettig, German Dept., Wellesley Coll., Wellesley, Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


From AudioFile

In leisurely, aristocratic measures soaked with irony, PERFUME unfolds the gruesome, picaresque allegory of an olfactory genius-monster--a murderous perfumer of decadent eighteenth-century France. Sean Barrett gives a masterfully effete reading, with flawless articulations of character and wicked, understated nuances. He wisely plays the humor not at all, instead accentuating a kind of connoisseur's study of the Grand Guignol. Eschewing overtly Gallic inflections, he puts pre-Revolutionary France in his voice merely through lightness of touch. A feast for lovers of voluptuous language, sly wit and epicurean mayhem. Y.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE's Earphones Award. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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Customer Reviews

125 Reviews
5 star:
 (75)
4 star:
 (21)
3 star:
 (11)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (11)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (125 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Can you smell 'Tedium'?, May 19 2003
By A Customer
This is, indeed, an interesting read but better suited, I think, to a short story. The book is short on plot and devoid of basic characterizations. It is all about intense olfactory descriptions that, frankly, I found pretty tedious after awhile. At one point the main character spends seven years in a cave with no communication with the outside world. I, too, felt a stifling claustrophobia and couldn't wait to be through with the book. I appreciate the author's inventiveness but be warned that this is not a typical historical novel.
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4.0 out of 5 stars An absorbing and uneasy tale, Sep 6 2009
By I LOVE BOOKS (Italy) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
My opinion here is completely unbiased. I haven't seen the film and knew nothing about this story before I started the book.
A very unusual but gripping tale, I must say. Well written, definitely.

This is the story of Grenouille, a baby born without hopes and left on a pile of rubbish by his own mother. Certain death, especially in 1738, would be expected but does not happen. Against all odds, Grenouille survives and grows up with a very distinctive feature: his olfactory system. From infancy, no scent, no smell, unpleasant or otherwise, escapes his nostrils. He categorizes each one of them and an endless sort of data base is stored in his brain.
A very inconspicuous fellow, without distinctive features, he is able to survive in a world that has deceived him from day one. And in turn, in his profound uneasiness, he becomes the deceiver. Little by little he starts to realise that his olfactory ability is indeed something that could turn useful, one day. Something for which people would appreciate him perhaps. Real love, real affection, he does not know. Perhaps he yearns for it. But in reality, he loathes people and is comfortable in his loneliness. And one day (he's about 12 by now) he picks up a faint scent in the air that he cannot name but gives him an incredible yearning. An irresistible urge to find the source of that scent and an infallible nose lead him to that source.....

From then on, a lot else happens. And Grenouille, that fragile, plain, indistinct, shadowy and secretive being takes us from one side of France to the next on a twisted olfactory errand. It is impossible not to be awed by this very distinctive feature of his. With it, when `utilized' properly, he is able to do wonders. But it is equally impossible not to commiserate him, not to feel sorry for a very lonely, lost soul even though his malignant twist cannot but horrify us.

A very unusual, disturbing story. A story where smell, stench, scent or delicate perfume mingle and replace our eyes and ears. I bet that this book will make you think about some veritable concepts contained here: i.e. our olfactory system has an incredible memory. Lost loves, Granny's apple pie, baby days, all it takes is a whiff of something we smelled before and we are travelling back in time...

If some nuances were lost in translation (from German) I do not know, but I found the prose stylish and entertaining. A 5 stars book from the beginning. My only disappointment came towards the end. An end which probably befits the whole medieval, grotesque tale but it was way, way too far fetched in my opinion (hence the 4 stars). Still, well worth reading it as it has the quality of a classic.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastique!, Nov 24 2007
By Doobwa (Winnipeg, MB Canada) - See all my reviews
Once I picked up this book I could not put it down. It's dark, absurd, unique, beautiful and disturbing all at once. I loved every bit of it.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars a sad sick story
Absolutly the worst most painful thing I have ever read. Having recieved it as a gift.I read it to the end Awaiting somthing redeeming in this miserable contrived tale to arise... Read more
Published on Feb 27 2007 by marlow

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and compelling read
I'm a sucker for good endings and this book had one of the most absurd and glorious endings I have ever seen. Read more
Published on Aug 21 2005 by James Nakagawa

5.0 out of 5 stars my favourite
This is still my favourite book (not that I'm a huge reader, so...). I read it without knowing anything about it, except that it was "great". Read more
Published on Nov 2 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, nevermind Lori Dee
This is a book not quite like any other you've read. That alone makes it worth reading, but you'll also love the character development, the intriguing personalities, and some of... Read more
Published on Jul 16 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Why you should get this book
There are some stories you just don't forget, even if you don't like them. This is one of those. It is not a happy fable, with a happy ending. Read more
Published on Jul 14 2004 by Keith M. Hamm

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
I would put this book in the category of a classic. It is chilling, memorable and frightening. Suskind is a story telling master. I could not put the book down. Read more
Published on Jun 21 2004 by Barb - Arizona

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Perspective
There really is no way to go in-depth into the book without giving away it's secrets (which are marvelous.) It's really a very simple tale. Read more
Published on Jun 19 2004 by Michelle Achee

5.0 out of 5 stars the sweet smell of insanity
Truely one of the best novel's I have ever read.No novel to this date has ever come close.Such an odd twist turning your senses into a reason for lust and murder. Read more
Published on Jun 16 2004 by looneylex

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent
I've just this second finished reading it. Just a truly incredible book for all sorts of reasons. Just read it...you won't be sorry. Read more
Published on Jun 9 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable, educational
Ah! Strong, unusual plot; imperfect main character; imaginative phrasing; and minutely drawn historical detail. Read more
Published on May 31 2004 by J. Harrell

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