Tough. Both awed by and despised this book at times. But the latter parts — mostly around the middle, long foray into Bandini’s mind and repetitive, detailed concocting — served the story’s affect and ultimately paid off. And what a crescendo of an ending. I just can’t say I enjoyed it.

How can book with such a dark, interesting plot idea be so boring and tedious?

In short:

If you want a book that repeats the same monotonous information that adds nothing in the end and endless paragraphs dedicated to the same cycle of smells, thoughts, and motivations, then this book is for you!

If you want a book with a plot that stretches out the entire written work that adds captivating characters, themes, and sentences, then keep looking, and forget this title ever existed.

When I spritz a little of that Abercrombie Fierce on my wrists before going out.

For me this was just okay....strange but just okay. Chalk it up to another book I am glad to have read,and just as glad to be done with. Meh.

Did I enjoy reading this? absolutely not.

Would I recommend it to others? also absolutely not.

However, this book did reawaken my dormant English major self and I have spent the last week wishing I was forced to write an essay on this book so that I could figure out what the heck it was trying to say. I was all set for a 2 star review but then the last sentence shifted everything. plus that and I discovered that it was one of Kurt Cobain's favorite books and the inspiration for the Nirvana song 'Scentless Apprentice'. Not that that's a great song, or even a good song, but it made my 90s heart happy.

The Perfume was originally written in German but I was lazy and read the translation. It is one of the best selling modern German books and is often required reading in high-school. (which is how I heard of it). It is sort of a coming of age novel about an orphaned, disliked boy who had an extraordinary sense of smell and grew up to be a Perfumer. oh and as the title indicates, he's also a murderer.

Even though it was written in the 1980s, it felt to me like reading a 19th century novel (like Les Miserables or Great Expectations). No one else online seemed to think this but then my deep dive led me to a peer reviewed literary journal article (I told you it brought out the English major in me) that pointed out that it was published serially in a newspaper just like Dickens. so there. I'm not crazy. and also so cool!

If pressed on the theme, I would say that it is a Nihilistic exploration of the idea that morality is based not on reason but on subconscious biological impulses that we can't control. but I'd have to write my essay to be sure.