Perfume by Patrick Suskind
Set in 18th-century France, this novel tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man born with an extraordinary sense of smell but no personal scent of his own. He becomes an apprentice to a prominent perfumer and learns to create the world's most intoxicating perfumes. However, his obsession with capturing the perfect scent leads him down a dark path, as he begins to kill young women to extract their scent. The book is a chilling exploration of obsession, identity, and the power of scent.
The 387th greatest book of all time
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This book is on the following lists:
- 4th on Big Read (German) (Germany)
- 10th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 32nd on My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read (Australian Big Read)
- 53rd on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 56th on Big Read (Bulgarian) (Bulgaria)
- 71st on The Big Read (BBC)
- 855th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- World Fantasy Award—Novel (World Fantasy Awards)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)