Rating: 
Summary: Memiors of a Monster
Review: This is a monster's biography, a linear horror novel where the creativity isn't so much in the telling but in the unique abilities of the "protagonist". Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is the most original serial killer I've ever seen in popular fiction - one that is both alienated and empowered by his nose. The abundant use of "odor" description makes one notice the lack of such descriptions in other works of fiction. Though the arc of the story is predictable, the finale doesn't disappoint.
Rating: 
Summary: Suskind's magic realism
Review: It is sometime hard to capture the rapture of an original work in a translation, but Woods does a great job. Part of the success is that Suskind uses a form of magic realism and the beauty of this book rests in more in content and thought rather than in narrative. By magic realism I refer to the incorporation of fantasy (superpowers, fairy tale-type of events and the such) into the real world and seeing what happens. In the Perfume, our characer has a supernatural ability (scent) and the book allows for almost absurd yet very imaginative situations. A study of self indulgence, self satisfaction and self gratification, this book is worth reading if, and only if, you are interested in a close look at the darker side of human nature and if you are not easily disturbed by how far people can go in their quest for perfection (regardless of how imperfect this thing may be).
Rating: 
Summary: Thrilling, Terrifying and Comic
Review: At once erotic and revolting- as too much of a good scent can intoxicate and nauseate, this tale of the Parisian child, left to die first by his mother and then by a succession of repulsed caretakers- is a dark mystery and metaphor for nothing less than Genesis. The setting is 18C Paris, home base of the great parfumiers, the smell of sweet excess soon to be replaced by another excess- the antithesis of aristocratic power. The bloody scent at this period in Europe, was foreshadowed by the winds from the battlefields across Europe where one million would die in those years before the Revolution. The pressing of petals and the pressing of carcasses into leather are part, with a 7 year self-imposed and scentless burial, all part of this shadow journey of a boy obsessed with the perfect smell- a smell that could transform the devil into a God. For me, this novel touched and lingered in places that for its sheer power- I would have left, unread and gladly buried. At the same time, there is a broadly comic and aspect of jest in the writing; yes Borges- but with the dark, cold European hold on the collective psyche. Whew- not to finish right before sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Frightfully wonderful!
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, but I thought the story idea sounded fascinating. Sure, it's mostly improbable, almost like a frightening fantasy, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Patrick Suskind has gained a new fan in me. Perfume tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a boy born with no scent of his own but who has an amazingly keen sense of smell for his surroundings. Abandoned at birth and raised in a foster home, Grenouille is finally sent off into the world in search of his destiny: to create the world's most perfect perfume. Should be an acceptable task for any normal person, but for Grenouille, who holds this astonishing gift of smell, can not rest until he learns the perfume trade inside and out, as well as find the perfect ingredients for his ultimate perfume -- even if it leads him to murder. Eighteenth-century Paris provides a spectacular backdrop for this amazingly crafted story. Perfume is eerily brilliant and begins and ends with a bang (despite a slight lag somewhere near the middle). I loved it and recommend it to everyone. However, this is not a conventional story and will not appeal to all readers, but I think historical novel lovers and those who enjoy creative, unique stories will find their amusement here. A fable of disastrous proportions -- a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Fragrant
Review: Not unlike the perfumes that this dark tale's protagonist Grenouille puts together, this short novel blends elements from Borges, de Sade and Proust and assembles them in a sensuous text of fragrant prose. It's not surprising that a book that first appeared on the bestseller list 16 years ago has received a great number of positive reviews and a couple of negative ones. What is hilarious though is how violent some have reacted and used words like stupid, boring and ridiculous. Written by a very well educated writer, who grew up in a Germany, that was rebuilding itself from the devastation, that it had allowed itself to fall into thanks to a meaninglessly mediocre postcard painter, only the truly blind will miss the allegorical significance of this work. Apart from the classic feel of the text and the writer's uncanny ability to evoke a rainbow of fragrances, I think that fellow diehard Borges fans will be truly impressed with the way Suskind has made Jorge-Luis's "writing of the God" an integral part of this novel. Reading this book was a guilty pleasure that I advise to all. Don't be distracted by the dissenters. These fellows too have been adequately described in this book. On the very last page that is!
Rating:
Summary: High expectations create a let down
Review: I really wanted to love this book when I picked it up. I had just finished a truly wonderful book, The Roaches Have No King, and this one was continually compared to that one. While it was inventive and different, I found it ultimately unsatisfying as a reading experience. The positive: this book takes a very interesting approach as everything is described by use of olfactory impression. The story is interesting at times, and compelling near the end. It is, like the main character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, unrelenting in its drive toward its conclusion. The ending even makes sense given the preceding storyline. The problem: With those positives, there is a big caveat. It is very hard to care at all for the character, and even in his evil, he is ultimately boring. Many times I felt like saying to the author, "Okay, I get it." If you need to have some feeling for character to like a book, avoid this one. This book will appeal to the reader looking for a strictly different reading experience because of its unique approach. I would say that if that is what you want, you should try the one I already mentioned, namely The Roaches Have No King by Daniel Evan Weiss, which is superior in many ways to Perfume. It, too, has elements that will disturb some readers, but it has a good heart (although somewhat demented).
Rating:
Summary: I Couldn't Put It Down
Review: I read about this book on a blog. I decided to check it out and I was far from disappointed. It was a fascinating page turner. It took me right back to the streets of Paris with all of its sights and smells. This book in intriguing. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Intoxicating
Review: This is my all-time favourtie book. After searching endlessly to find a copy anywhere, I finally came across a second-hand copy at a flea market ..., where I was told that if they had enough copies, they would easily be able to sell at least one a day, which is big business for a little flea market.
The best way that I can describe this book is to use an oxymoron, that being beautifully disgusting. The 18th century French setting, the description of the central charater Grenouille's soulless talents, pursuits and desires for his ultimate scent, and everthing from start to finish is simply magnificent.
The feeling I get from this book every time I read it is one of cyclical completion. For me, the story starts at a logical place (the birth of Grenouille, the "gifted abomination", which is possibly my favourite phrase from the entire book), runs full circle and then ends at a logical place. Not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but I certainly wouldn't want this story to end any other way.
Suskind's description of Jean-Baptiste's exceptional olfactory endowment is thorough and exact. Let's face it, scent isn't exactly easy to write about! If the reader was unable to empathise with what is essentially the character's entire universe, his passion for and understanding of smell, then no one would stick with the book long enough to learn what is his life's purpose (pretty much the entire point to the book), to create his 'magnum opus', a scent that would inspire (or more accurately, command) others to feel love. The author's assertion that people do not feel love for others through any will of their own, but simply through the aura that comes with the emission of scent is quite unique and gives purpose to why Grenouille is such a revolting, fiendish and unloved social detestation. He isn't just a murderer who likes to kill, or who has been wronged and is seeking vengeance, he simply WANTS something that his victims possess. This is truly a brilliant and inspired read, one that I would recommend to anyone at all, but particularly to those who enjoy a dark look into the macabre and cold existence of an inhuman monster. Best of all, it could never be made into a disgusting piece of Hollywood trash as it contains very little conversation or interaction with other characters.
PS. Just an interesting fact, Kurt Cobain wrote the track "Scentless Apprenctice" that appears on Nirvana's In Utero album about this book.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ
Review: I could not put this book down! It is so uniquely written. Unlike anything I have ever read before.And once you start it, I swear you become aware of every scent around you.Truly a remarkable tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Sick !
Review: I had been looking forward to reading this book for years. I found it morbid, sad and sick.
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