Book details
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
by Patrick Süskind
1985 · Penguin Books
About the book
In eighteenth-century France, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born among fish guts with an absolute sense of smell but no natural body odor of his own. Because he lacks a human scent, others perceive him as an invisible, unsettling void. Grenouille masters the art of distillation and enfleurage in Grasse to translate his olfactory genius into power. He becomes obsessed with preserving the fleeting aroma of human beauty, eventually murdering twenty-six young women to harvest their scents. By combining these individual oils, he creates a master perfume designed to manipulate human emotion and command total adoration from the world.
This novel serves readers who appreciate historical fiction centered on the darker aspects of the Enlightenment and the visceral mechanics of the five senses. Those interested in the psychological profile of a social outcast will find a detailed study of alienation and obsession. Readers finish the book with a technical understanding of the traditional perfume making process and a chilling perspective on how sensory perception dictates social identity. It provides an unsettling look at the bridge between aesthetic perfection and human depravity, leaving the audience with a lingering awareness of the scents that define their own surroundings.
Details
- Published
- 1985
- Publisher
- Penguin Books
- ISBN
- 9780375725845
- Language
- EN