Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
£8.60£9.50 (-9%)
An erotic masterpiece of twentieth century fiction – a tale of sensual obsession and bloodlust in eighteenth century Paris
‘An astonishing tour de force both in concept and execution’ Guardian
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 has been forgotten today.
It is certainly not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance, misanthropy, immorality, or, more succinctly, wickedness, but because his gifts and his sole ambition were restricted to a domain that leaves no traces in history: to the fleeting realm of scent . . .
‘A fantastic tale of murder and twisted eroticism controlled by a disgusted loathing of humanity . .. Clever, stylish, absorbing and well worth reading’ Literary Review
‘A meditation on the nature of death, desire and decay . . . A remarkable début’ Peter Ackroyd, The New York Times Book Review
‘Unlike anything else one has read. A phenomenon . . . [It] will remain unique in contemporary literature’ Figaro
‘An ingenious and totally absorbing fantasy’ Daily Telegraph
‘Witty, stylish and ferociously absorbing’ Observer
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Penguin (1 April 2010) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 272 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0141041153 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0141041155 |
| Dimensions | 12.8 x 1.8 x 19.7 cm |
by Blaine
A very good read and very interesting.
by Nigel Elliott
Adore this book – great storyline .
by OJG
Perfume is a brilliantly written story about a man so unloved that he is incapable of ever loving or having any positive human feeling. The story of Grenouille is desperate, you can’t hate him as he has no moral compass, but he is an ogre, an abomination of a man. His wretched life is played out against the pit of 18th century France, where illness, exploitation and decay oozes from every pore. People embody their personality for good and bad, they also smell of who they are. This is what I love about the book – the vivid and powerful nature of scent,which pervades the whole novel. The description of how everything smells adds another level to the writing, which I’ve never found in any other novel. It’s hugely evocative and as a literary tool it makes the book live in a way no other book ever has. It appeals to another sense while reading and I love it for that. My only criticism is that it loses pace in the mid-section during Grenouille’s self-imposed exile. That whole episode seems to be an opportunity for the author to indulge himself by describing a fantastical, unreal world. But for me it was stodgy and held up the narrative. I was glad when it ended. The final chapters though are carnal and brutal. They strip bare the human animal exposing them as easily-corrupted and driven by desire. The ending was unexpected and apt. A very powerful novel, which is beautifully written, succinct yet lyrical.
by missy
Historical murders in France. Equally fascinating and grim. Beautifully written
by Mrs. S. Biddulph
Delivered on time, condition was very good and the book is an excellent read. Couldn’t have been better on all accounts.
by Dylan
The book is lovely except for the frayed pages that make for an ugly finish
by ELI (Italy)
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.
by Dylan
I bought this a while ago now and have only recently got around to it on my “To Read” list. I remember first seeking out a copy when one of my favourite groups, VIXX, took inspiration from it for one of their albums (sidenote: if you know who VIXX are, you’re my favourite person of the day). Admittedly a pretty unusual reason to decide to read a novel, but even on its own the premise here is an intriguing one, and for the most part I’m glad to have read it.
I don’t think it’s a masterpiece truth be told, but that might be just an issue of personal taste. I found the prose here to generally be written in a rather cold, clinical tone and while that matches the disconnected and isolated mindset of its protagonist, it did keep me at something of a distance and unable to fully dive into this depiction of 18th Century France. But it definitely lives up to the potential of its premise, and gets into some rather dark and twisted territory. This is especially true around the midway point when Grenouille shuts himself away in a cave for a considerable length of time. One thing that is played up perhaps a little too much with this novel is the promise of there being something seductive and alluring about its heavy emphasis on scent. Personally, I didn’t find there to be much in the way of allure or even mild sexualization throughout the book. Any fetishization of Grenouille’s murders, a bit like the various depictions of the Jack the Rippers murders, is kept fairly tame and honestly that was a rather welcome surprise.
Perfume is an odd tale, but one that’s compelling too. Like I’ve said, I don’t seem to hold it in the same regard as many other people appear to, but I’d still recommend checking it out if you haven’t already and coming to your own conclusion.