(book review)

The brilliant and mysterious ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Suskind was first printed in Switzerland in 1985. Today, it is recognized as the most famous novel written in German since the times of Remarque’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, published in more than 12 million copies, including Latin, and finally filmed. The film, released in world distribution in 2006, was a smash hit, and its creators received six awards from the German Film Academy.

Many of you may have seen the movie, but the movie resembles the book as apples pass for oranges. The book is about a person who wants to be loved. The film is about ha person who persists in performing the perfect perfume. “Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will…There is no remedy for it.”

This literary hero is an unhappy person. He is odorless and never knew love. And, paradoxically, a person who has never been loved doesn’t know how to love. So Grenui doesn’t know how to love. But he knows how to collect smells.

Grenui is brilliant, but doesn’t know about it and disregards іt. At the same time, he knows clearly how to use his gift for applied purposes. Grenui keeps on self-improving and looks for new ways to amass aromas. From this angle, this story is about a commendable connoisseur.

Unfortunately, many readers perceive this story from the most sapless side. Grenui is a manly maniac who just mercilessly murders maidens. Grenuy from the film causes contempt, Grenuy from the book arouses involuntary admiration and sympathy.

Today, the victorious march of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille,  a magnificent all-conquering-monster, continues. Undoubtedly, this dazzling romantic detective story, which has already become a classic, will long excite, attract and intrigue readers of a wide variety of addictions and tastes. In my opinion, the merit of this author is that he presented the story as ‘the story of one serial killer.’ It is not overloaded with a smorgasbord of secondary characters.

This controversial book in my ranking gets 10 out of 10. I recommend reading for a unique idea and wonderfully talented writing.