Freewheeling Andy Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Jean-Baptise Grenouille was born in the most foul-smelling place in the foulest smelling city in the world, Paris. Yet despite (or perhaps because) of the place of his birth, he had no odour of his own, but a preternaturally refined sense of smell. In the end, he knows no pain, and has no real emotions, except for those associated with smell. He never develops morality, or drive, except for that related to his nose. This book is a fantastically evocative tale of someone with no "soul", brilliantly written, wonderfully dark. Grenouille is the master perfumier, has the greatest nose of all, and begins a quest to create the perfect odour for himself, the blank cypher. The book itself is full of feeling, despite the main character being basically soulless, being self-destructive, and the book itself being one of the blackest, most quietly brutal books I've ever read. A great book, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I just read Perfume the other day. I have to agree its a great book. Due to the subject matter, its probably not for everybody, but its a great look into the mind of an amoral killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted July 12, 2006 Author Share Posted July 12, 2006 Not for everyone, probably true. But I think it's probably better "horror" than most horror novels that are about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Not for everyone, probably true. But I think it's probably better "horror" than most horror novels that are about. True, because its so matter-of-fact..No mumbo-jumbo or hocus pocus...just a really evil human being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Ooh, i think this is another one to add to my ever-growing list - it's intriguing me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magdadh Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 I agree, it's very scary. And the ending .... ouch. I read it years ago and still remember. Excellent. I still have no idea what the point of it is, though, unless of course we count providing exquisitely written, bit sick entertainment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 I tried it but it failed to capture me. I was quite bored by the halfway point and wishing it would pick up story wise. I wasn't captivated by the huge descriptive passages of, well, not much really, and I do feel like I missed out on something great but I just couldn't see it. A bit like those magic eye pictures..... I never was too good at them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Stein Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Perfume is superb, and has one of the best closing scenes I've read. I wonder if the film will be any good? My only regret is that Suskind has written so little in the 20-odd years since - a couple of novellas and a few stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I remember reading this one when it was first published 20 yrs ago. I really enjoyed it very much at the time and found it to be a great horror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I can remember the smells that float out of the book more clearly than I can remember the smell of my favourite foods! Suskind is so very evocative in Perfume's descriptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted September 19, 2006 Author Share Posted September 19, 2006 I spotted a trailer for this in the cinema the other day, too. I can't imagine how they're going to film it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 ..thought I'd stick my Perfume movie post here (originally posted in the cinema thread), to catch the people that have read the book and seen the film, I'm quite interested in the crossovers. I'm not sure I want to read the book, knowing the harshness of the story (think I'm too delicate to read it!).. let me know what you thought of the movie!! ______________________________________________________ I went to see 'Perfume' last night (I think, or the night before!). I haven't read the book and knew a little of the story. What I had imagined the story was, was completely different to what was revealed, so it had me pretty well gripped for the whole 2 and a half hours! The scenery is spectacular; the landscapes and the scenes of France were incredibly beautiful. I loved the way the movie captured the smells (difficult to do I imagine!). The movie used disgusting images that were very dully lit, which worked really well for the horrible smells, they really did repulse you. There were alot of 'urghs' in the audience! The nice smells were encapsulated with beauty, succulent fabrics, very nice lighting and a sense of euphoria or lust. It was very well done! The worst part of the film for me was that the movie was set in France, yet some characters spoke with a cockney accent, or an ordinary 'british' accent or american...or...in the case of Dustin Hoffman, an american accent with a hint of france thrown into the odd word (which annoyed me even more!). I think it would have enhanced the film for me if it had remained true to being set in france, I would even have enjoyed it with subtitles!! The story was great though, a really original and interesting idea; and really quite tragic to my mind. I may have to have a search for a thread on Perfume when I'm more awake to discuss the ins and outs of it more (hopefully the film isn't too different from the book). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 read this book about 10 years ago....completely forgot about it till I had some old boxes of books that I'm donating brought down from the attic....this gets to stay:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 You should see the film! I want to know how it compares to the book.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Perfume: a disapointment. What a great concept for a story. A man with an exquisite sense of smell, driven mad by it in fact, but with no smell of his own. I had high hopes for a gritty, and eerie story of murder and madness, with a touch of the historical; but alas this book failed to deliver. The plot was ill crafted, disjointed, and in some places - pointless filler. The denoument; an orgy with cannibalism to boot, how can you fail to horrify with that?....well Suskind did. The book is 255 pages and about 100 of them a pure extraneous crap and serve no means. Perhaps in the hands of a gifted editor this could become a great short story..... Not recomended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I first read this one 20yrs ago and I still remember feeling disappointed. It did not live up to my expectations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I know, I really wanted to like this book and it had potential. Oh well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Oh dear! It is on my TBR pile and I was thinking about reading it soon. Perhaps I will put it to the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I wouldn't want to put you off Renniemist, but I personally would not get excited by it!! Read the whole list first!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Thanks:lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted February 19, 2007 Author Share Posted February 19, 2007 Just in case you missed it, here'smine and some other peoples' thoughts. I loved the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Well now I am really confused. Only thing to do is to read it and make up my mind. Thanks everyone I will read it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I read it quite recently and liked it! Thought it was an easy read. Perhaps a bit of a gloss over quite a serious topic but loved the whole premise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Well there you go. That clears everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted February 20, 2007 Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 Well there you go. That clears everything up. Yep. Some people really like it. Some people don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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