Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Softcover

Patrick Suskind

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671643703 ISBN 13: 9780671643706

Publisher: Pocket, 1987

Synopsis

Survivor, genius, perfumer, killer: this is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He is abandoned on the filthy streets of Paris as a child, but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: a sense of smell more powerful than any other human's. Soon, he is creating the most sublime fragrances in all the city. Yet there is one odor he cannot capture. It is exquisite, magical: the scent of a young virgin. And to get it he must kill. And kill. And kill.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion-his sense of smell-leads to murder.
In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"-the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.
Translated by John E. Woods
"A fable of crimial genius.... Remarkable."
--"The New York Times
"Superb storytelling all the way...the climax is a savage shocker."
--"The Plain Dealer
"An astonishing performance, a masterwork of artistic conception and execution. A totally gripping page-turner."
--"The San Francisco Chronicle

From the Back Cover

“Superb storytelling all the way...the climax is a savage shocker.”–The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Edition details

• Publisher: Pocket
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0671643703
• ISBN 13: 9780671643706
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 310