Perfume by Patrick Suskind (1986)

A captivating book to say the very least. Though admittedly I thought the concept far fetched prior to reading the book for myself, Suskind sells it, and it is a tale you won't soon forget. You will almost leave your library smelling of many of the smells the author descibes so vividly, and leave you almost longing to smell those you couldn't quite imagine...almost.
A brilliant description of character and motive leaves almost no empathy for protagonist Grenouille, a unique reading experience for me. His motive simply isn't one a reasonably healthy human can relate to.
A fast paced array of flawed and stinking characters will leave you unsettled and perhaps just slightly concerned about how people may be percieving your own body odor.
NDH band Rammestein as well as Nirvana both found this novel worthy of a lyrical tribute. Even I took a few minutes out of my day to write a shi**y ebay review. I hope you will find the book equally (or evn more) moving.

The story in this book was ok- it was the writing that blew me away. Some of the best writing I've read- ranks up there with memoirs of a geisha for me! Highly recommend this book- I refuse to see the movie because it will tarnish the book for sure!

I've read THOUSANDS of books- and I mean, ANY KIND OF BOOK YOU CAN THINK OF. This one just does something to you. The author makes you see things- or smell them- in a completely different way. Honestly. He pulls things out from way deep in your....whatever...and puts it on paper, and suddenly, you find yourself really understanding and BELIEVING things that are utterly insane. He's that vivid. This is one of those books that you read and then say "what kind of person could come up with that?" You'll be disgusted by reading it- but you'll keep reading anyway. Totally mesmerizing. The author is a genius.
However, the ending of this book leaves much to be desired for. Suskind is extremely descriptive of each and every detail throughout the book- down to the most miniscule things you could imagine- he actually takes you there. Then, all of a sudden, he ends the book with a turn of events that only takes about two or three minutes to read, then it's over. It's almost as if a different writer took over, and wanted to just get it over with.
All in all, this is just one of those books that is a must read. Be prepared to have your head a little messed with, though.

I first read this book many years ago, in Portuguese. I have the (rather good?!) habit of re reading the books I truly consider impressive. This is a true comtemporary classic, worth the trip to the seventeen hundreds Paris. It tells about a journeyman, a perfumist apprentice which has strange ideas; he goes out and about, traveling between twisted wit, knowledge and insanity.
Translator by passion and by no means a journalist, I am not really good at writing reviews - and this is a rather romantic book, but filled with very interesting information. Give it a try, odds are you might like it pretty well.

Greetings to my fellow literature lovers,
B. C.