![]() ![]() With great gusto the author drops you into the thick of it – into the most squalid circumstances in the most putrid area of the most polluted city in the stinkiest century in the history of mankind. You can see, hear, feel and smell every pustulous detail. In this setting and with clinical detachment Süskind relates the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man with a shark-like sense of smell. The book follows him through birth, abandonment, education, apprenticeship and independence. ![]() The anti-hero is repulsive, his actions are depraved, and his thoughts macabre. Perfume is a story that generated some controversy on the night of our meeting. It could almost be called a page turner. The book is concisely constructed and beautifully written, with a serial killer who provokes a morbid fascination. But it is outlandish, a tale of supernatural power in a sociopath. So, what is the point of it? Is it a fable? A portrayal of our baser instincts and subliminal nature? A satire of society? A political commentary on personality cult? The society it describes is brutal. ![]()
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