This is a very unusual book. Grenouille is born into unusual circumstances and then abandoned in Paris during the eighteenth century. He discovers that he has an acute sense of smell and eventually becomes obsessed with bottling the most exquisite fragrance he has ever smelt; that of a young virgin. In order to get this smell he practices on plenty of other girls, killing them in the process. Yep I told you it was unusual.
Grenouille himself is a horrible human being. He is devoid of any personality and of his own smell, people seem to instinctively know there is something strange about him as they draw back whenever he comes near or go out of their way to avoid him. It is this that causes Grenouille to seek out his own 'scent'. Why this scent has to be that of a young virgin I think is purely about Grenouille's ego and greed.
The book is told very much in the style of a grim fairytale with beautiful prose which given the subject matter and the time period worked perfectly. The story had some scientific stuff thrown in with regards to the making of perfume. Some people I'm sure will find this boring but I personally found it fascinating. I enjoyed reading how the perfume makers extracted scent from Roses etc. in order to then use the scent as a tiny component in a perfume.
My main gripe with this book however is the lack of character interaction. I never felt as if I knew Grenouille as a person nor the young virgin who's smell he hopes to capture. Because of this I failed to actually care about any of them and none of the characters that Grenouille came across 'jumped off the page' for me.
The ending was fitting but I'm sure I missed something in it. I was sure the ending was going to have some kind of meaning or lesson given the style of the book but I felt as though I was left with nothing here.
Verdict 3/5
Would I recommend it? Well I didn't dislike this book but nor did I especially like it either. Its worth reading for the wonderful style and unusualness and to make your own mind up.
Posted by Jess
I happened to have loved this book. And, my book club refers to it over and over as having set a certain bar for the grotesque. I think you're the first person I've seen that had mixed feelings, though. Nevertheless, I think it is one of those that is great to have read.
ReplyDeleteI have an eternal passion for, and collection of, perfume, and that's when I first saw this book: listed in a title among other books which were truly about fragrance.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy thrillers (for lack of a better term) very much, and so this novel has always intrigued me. I haven't read it yet, but your review is so good. I'd imagine I'd feel the same way you did, part horrified part fascinated (especially at the perfume processes).
It's interesting to me that his name, Grenouille, is 'frog' in English. I wonder if that has any significance to the author? It doesn't to me.
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ReplyDeleteElisabeth - the majorty of reviews out there felt the same way you did, I dunno I think I was expecting soemthing big at the end but I didnt have a clue what went on there at the end. I am glad I read it though.
ReplyDeleteBellezza - I have no idea how acurate how the perfume techniques in the book were but I did love those sections. Im sure modern techniques are more efficient but back then the amount of rose petals needed just to get a small amount of perfume was staggering.
I have no idea on the significance of the name but I do know the author is German so Im gussing the there is no significance?
So I definitely watched a movie *years* ago that's this exact same story! I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, but it was made by mainstream Hollywood, if you're at all interested.
ReplyDeleteHmm, sounds dark and interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely sounds unusual...and I could be wrong about this, but doesn't grenouille mean "frog" in French?
ReplyDeleteAmanda - it was made into a film, from clips Ive seen it looks quite good.
ReplyDeleteAmy - interesting would be the right word here ;)
Zara - yes it does but I dont know if there is any significance in this as the author is German.
I loved this book, thought it was absolutely wonderful and have re-read it a few times since. I just popped my thoughts on his novella up on Savidge Reads today. His writing is masterful, yet the ending has left me puzzled like you with this one kind of.
ReplyDeleteI honestly can't say whether I liked this book or not. I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. It was very different. An unusual story.
ReplyDeleteSimon - I did like the actual writing but I guess it was the characters themselfs which left me more confused than anything.
ReplyDeleteRachel - that is EXACTLY how I felt about it.
I was rather shocked by parts of this book although the writing was quite good. I don't get shocked by much so that's saying something.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book - I really must read it again, it's been years. I think calling it a "grim fairy tale" is spot-on. I think that allowed me to read it in a different way than I normally would.
ReplyDeleteI loved the ending - it was so ... satisfying!! But I would need to read it again with fresh eyes, see what I think of it now.
Ti - some people in the reviews I read found it erotic which I really couldnt understand LOL
ReplyDeleteShannon - I didnt understand the ending at all LOL I mean what was that, what do they mean 'they did somethng for love' eh?
I loved this book, Jess. It's about 8 years since I read it but I can still remember it really clearly - and yes, I didn't see that ending coming either!
ReplyDeleteI tend to rate this as one of the best books I've read! I thought Suskind's ability to evoke the world of smells was remarkable. The film it good too!
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