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A review by modestyblaise
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
4.0
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.
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.