Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

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Summary: about human essence. what is perceived, not seen
Review: Is a book on the innermost core of human nature: perfume=essence. If it is a thriller, is a thriller that unrevels our perception of other people, not with our eyes, not with our mind, but with our subconscient "all". It reaches virtuosity when imaging the implementation of a perfume that makes its bearer invisible (or makes the rest of the world blind to that person?). And goes far beyond that.

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Summary: Roger Ebert recommended this
Review: I just ordered this, because I saw this in Roger Ebert's Movie Answer Man column: "You didn't ask, but the single greatest performance in the history of audiobooks is Sean Barrett's reading of Perfume, by Patrick Suskind."

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Summary: Still one of my favorites..
Review: Simply a fantabulous book, I couldn't put it down. I first picked it up about three years ago and have read it umpteen times since. The use of words and colorful imagery have to be my favorite thing about it.. that and the fact that I had -no- idea what was going to happen. That is a feat in itself.

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Summary: Unpredictable roller-coaster ride
Review: Interestingly, my reading group (of around 12 people)all had a strong reaction to the book. Most of them hated it intensely, two refused to finish it. I myself loved it (as have a couple of friends). Still, almost everyone in the reading group gave it five stars for its value as a discussion tool. Those who hated it seemed morally outraged, offended. Loving the book made me feel as though I was a deviant. All I can say in my defense is that I found the character so fictitious, so unreal and "larger than life" that I couldn't feel offended. Grenouille is a characature. I even found the book quite humorous, but most of all I enjoyed Suskind's use of language. Every sentence seemed perfect despite it being a tranlation.

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Summary: A book yet to be topped!
Review: Wow! This has to be the fastest reading book ever. I just couldn't put it down. The book sparked a stimulus in me which created an almost indulgence for terror. If you liked A Clockwork Orange you will love Perfume. Perfume is just an evil twist of genius. A book that makes life worth living!

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Summary: WOW!!!!!!!!
Review: I recived El Perfume as a gift a year and a half ago and just got around to reading it. I wish I hadn't waited so long. This amazing novel about a mad man is riveting. A great study of a serial killer.

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Summary: Excellent, engrossing read
Review: A monster, a deranged madman, no a tick of a man, a blackguard of 18th century Paris is loose. His obsession with scent brings the reader to a more heightened awareness of smells in their own world. A murderer who is olfactory obsessed is such a unique twist on western writing that it should be required for all those who study literature. Some have compared it to Goethe's Faust.

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Summary: One way to start a fire
Review: The best thing to do with this book is use it for kindling. I found this book in a give away pile at my college and saw that it received good reviews. Then, after trudging through it, I realized that I should have left it there. It starts off interesing, but fell drastically short of the expectations I had.

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Summary: A Elegant book well worth the read
Review: This is a fantastic book by a fantastic authur that should be read by everybody.

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Summary: not as good as everybody else says it is
Review: the freak'n book's got almost no damn dialoge. The guy tells the story asw a straight narrative and itgets borring after the first part.