Rating: 
Summary: Rather repulsive..
Review: This book is easily the least likeable I have read this year. Although the book's style and evocative descriptions should get it three and a half stars, its smug, amoral character lose it two and a half of these. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is an utterly inhuman monster, with no capacity for love or decency or any understanding that these might be desirable qualities. I suppose such people exist, though they strike me as rare and, more to the point, not really responsible for most of the world's evil. Concentrating on such characters is inherently contrived unless there is some way of relating their peculiar predicament of pure soullessness to humanity as a whole. As such, this is a "toy novel," a book which exists as a wondrous contrivance, but lacks the fundamental gravity that makes it lasting literature. Perhaps the first example of this genre is Pale Fire, which Mary McCarthy compared to a Faberge gem. Other examples could include Milorad Pavic's The Dictionary of the Khazars. Authors who transcned this genre would include Italo Calvino, especially in such works as the Baron in the Trees, Invisible Cities, and If on a Winters Night a Traveller.As a toy novel, Suskind provides an interesting account of eighteenth-century France filled with details about the perfumery world that some may find boring but I find fascinating. The real problem with the book is its cheap misanthropy. Like many serial killers Grenouille is a petty mediocrity who has somehow arrogated himself the right to kill those "beneath" him. This attitude has itself become a cliche, but it is especially irritating that Suskind should indulge it. There seems to be a special pleasure on Suskind's part on finding unpleasant ends for those characters that Grenouille does himself kill. At one point, Grenouille's search for the ultimate scent produces an outburst of animalistic behavior that Grenouille and Suskind seem to feel superior towards. But since the ultimate scent is a magical device, the "truth" about man's bestial nature is simply an authorial manipulation. At another point a mob of the Parisian underclass is provoked by the scent into a truly vile act, which leads Suskind to comment with heavy irony that this was the only time they had been moved by love. One should read Richard Cobb and Olwen Hufton to realize the falsity on that statement. Suskind has recently been viewed as a new force in German literature, in contrast to the supposedly old-fashioned left-wing moralism of Gunter Grass. But Grass was always more profound and more creative, and one reason why he is so clearly superior to Suskind is that he knows that evil and suffering are cruel and tragic, and not a shallow game. Compared to Grass or to Louis Ferdinand Celine, Perfume is simply a pornographic indulgence.
Rating: 
Summary: Student's View
Review: I am a student from an International School in Trinidad. I was assigned to read this novel for my 11th grade Honours English course. Naturally I was skeptical to read it at all because I'll be honest I cannot stand reading. I could think of many different activities I would much rather do. However, this book is incredibly important for many different reasons. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for everyone who is taking ADVANCED PLACEMENT courses (AP) such as English Literature. Also this book is a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and actually gave me my first experience of "a page turner" or "i just couldn't put it down" whereas before I couldn't bring myself to pick a book up. This book is vital for students who are taking a liaterature course that requires analysing elements of literature and writing. Anyone who likes magical realism would also appreciate this novel for its literary elements. From a 17 year old's perspective....
Rating:
Summary: A Book Unlike Anything You've Ever Read
Review: Rest assured, this is a novel unlike any you have ever read before. Set in eighteenth century France, the story follows the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an individual who has been victimized to the point that he has become the villian. He is described as a "vampire of scent", who uses his highly refined sense of smell to create otherworldly perfumes, all the while pursuing what his nose perceives to be the perfect scent. What follows is a suspenseful tale of an individual and his battle against humanity. It's an excellent book. The novel was translated from the original German.
Rating:
Summary: Original and fascinating
Review: I read this book shortly after it first came out; I return to it periodically with admiration and recommend it highly. What a remarkable, original, amazing piece of work! Patrick Suskind writes wonderfully well; his facility with descriptions is second to none. Grenouille is a unique, terrifying, fascinating character, and the prose that illuminates him and his world is haunting and beautiful. I was transported to 18th century France, experienced the sounds and smells of it, met some of its most unforgettable inhabitants, and was thoroughly mesmerized. I finished the book completely in awe of and humbled by the writer's talent. One thing I can say with assurance--it is unlikely you will ever come across anything similar to this book. In my experience, it is absolutely one of a kind.
Rating:
Summary: Megalomania or self loathing ? A fairy tale of horror
Review: Hailed as a tour-de-force of creative writing, Patrick Suskin's "Perfume" is a classic fairy tale of horror. Is it any wonder that a human society so filled with putrifying rot, disease and sickening body odours should produce a specimen of pure evil as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille ? As I followed the development of Grenouille's personality into the monster he became, I found my feelings toward him becoming increasingly ambivalent. Is he the inexplicable human embodiment of evil we are asked to believe or the refracted image of a distorted humanity that is estranged from and therefore seeks love ? There are shades of Caliban in the murderous Grenouille. He is both perpetrator and victim. His panic on discovery of his lack of body odour is truly pitiful because it becomes the shameful emblem of his perceived rejection by society. The denial of his humanity is what drives his self loathing and megalomania which must run its tragic course. There is enough evidence in Suskind's tale to support this reading. Just in case I give the impression that "Perfume" is laden with heavy messages which might detract from your enjoyment of it, well, it needn't, as Suskind's prose is as fluid, supple and intoxicating as the scents he writes about. It's a stunning piece of work that will be enjoyed by all. It doesn't come more highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: One of the strangest books I have read
Review: Perfume is easily the strangest book I have read, mostly because I have never read a book that deals almost entirely with olfactory concerns. It was a very interesting book, and I recommend that anyone read it, because Süskind's style is very unique, and sensations from this book are out of this world. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing, Astonishing, Appalling
Review: Although the idea of Perfume being related to something as base as murder is an interesting twist, it is nothing compared to the fugue that Sueskind creates in this book. The story grabs you from the first sentence and it keeps you turning the pages. Perfume vividly portrays eighteenth-century France from a viewpoint not often considered - and definitely omitted from history books - while recounting the story of a man with a nose for unsavory things, such as murder. Highly readable, highly enjoyable, highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: excitante
Review: este libro, que trata la increible historia de un hombre que es capaza de oler y utilizar su olfato de un modo increible para sus maldades, es excitante aunque resulta a veces un poco cuesta arriba creer que tales habilidades alguna vez existiesen. Debemos pensar que en las historias pasa lo que se llama suepension de la realidad, es decir la realidad de la novela debe de ser consistente dentro de si misma aunque sea diferente de la realidad del mundo exterior para dar credibilidad a la historia. al final de esta historia este antiheroe trata de usar sus habilidades para alimentar su megalomania y ejercer dominacion. la historia esta manejada con buen ritmo y no s e deja caer, es sin embargo a mi modo de ver las cosas una lectura de caracter liviano. LUIS MENDEZ luismendez@codetel.net.do
Rating:
Summary: Cobain's favorite book
Review: Kurt Cobain once said in an interview that Perfume was his favorite book. It's easy to see why... Near the end, Grenouille's spilling of the secret scent triggers a mindless orgy of the awfulest proportions. However, the monster standing there could only feel hatred towards the beastly throng. There was nothing left to do but pour it on himself and get butchered. "Here we are now, entertain us?". By the way, it's a great book.
Rating:
Summary: amazing in every way -- brilliant and entertaining
Review: Perfume remains one of my all time favorite novels. This is one of the rare times that a runaway bestseller is actually a great work of literature also. Suskind is so tremendously innovative in both his ideas and his writing. You will not be able to put this book down from the opening pages which are haunting. The reader begins to inhabit the mind of a madman who is controlled by his lupine sense of smell. The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe gives a similar feeling. Suskind gets everything right -- the pacing is excellent, his writing exquisite and a chilling plot that will leave you hungry for more.
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