Perfume, subtitled The Story of a Murderer, by Patrick Süskind is quite the read. It's a unique and original story of the life of a man told with exquisite detail, considering the subject matter.Really, how good could you describe a particular scent to somebody? It's a challenge indeed, and Süskind's efforts of basing an entire story around just such descriptions is impressive.
The tale follows the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born into complete and utter wretchedness, as a person who quite literally has no scent of his own, but who is paradoxically born with, also quite literally, the world's finest nose. Against absolutely all odds, he grows into the life of a journeyman perfumer on his own mission to create the world's greatest perfume. Oh, and one more thing, people are murdered.
The story is thoroughly absorbing, suspenseful and beautifully written. It's not a murder mystery per se, as there really isn't any mystery to the reader, but the trials and travails of anti-hero Grenouille make for an enthralling read.
No comments:
Post a Comment